Video
Jeff prepares to ride a rooted, rocky and tough section of singletrack at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Wv. Unfortunately a little mud hole Jeff encounters BEFORE he enters the rough stuff prematurely aborts his run.
Trail:
Focus is on downhill trails. In addition there are around 20 miles of double track, fire roads and single track. Surfaces vary from gravel to dirt to rocks and serious drops.
Difficulty:
Advanced beginner to expert in order to get the most out of Snowshoe.
Outdoor Travels Rating:
3.5 bikes out of 5 bikes. This can be one intense ride if you are into downhill trails.
Thumbs Up
• Beautiful Scenery
• Very few people
• Easy access to beer and good food at the end of the ride.
• Bike wash, rentals, repairs and bike shop are nice features.
• Great downhill riding
• Lots of lodging choices
• Surrounding trails not in Snowshoe are abundant
Thumbs Down
• As of July 2009 most of the intermediate trail has been bulldozed. Seems Snowshoe allowed Jeep Jamboree free reign to bulldoze whatever they wanted. For some reason, they chose to bulldoze several choice intermediate level XC trails. Now it's sadly unridable. Snowshoe seems to be more focused on downhill trail.
• As of 2009 the trail map Snowshoe is distributing still shows many trails on it that no longer exist due to the above.
• Riding the few existing intermediate trails require a ride on a bombed out Jeep trail to get to them.
Location:
Snowshoe Mountain is located in the middle of Pocahontas County about 30 miles north of Marlington on US-219.
Directions
From the East - West on US-250 then South on 42 to Goshen, VA, then WV-39 West to Marlinton, WV, then 26 miles North on US-219 to Snowshoe. From the South - North on I-77 from Charlotte to Beckley, WV, then I-64 East to White Sulphur Springs, then 92 North to WV-39 West to Marlinton, WV: then 26 miles North on US-219 to Snowshoe. From the North - I-79 South to Weston, WV, then East on US-33 to Elkins, South 48 miles on US-219 to Snowshoe. From the West - US-50 East to Clarksburg and I-79 South to Weston, WV, then East on US-33 to Elkins, then South 48 miles on US-219.
Facilities:
1,400 lodging units ranging from hotel-type rooms to backcountry huts. Snowshoe also offers several restaurants, pubs, shops and a local grocery store.
Activities:
Mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, skeet shooting, canoeing, picnicking, golf, rock climbing, skateboarding and of course skiing during the winter.
Admission:
Varies depending on activities, lodging and package deals
Contact:
Trail Photos
Cheat Mountain Ridge Trail
These pictures are sadly not representative of the current state of this trail. It was bulldozed in 2009 for Segway Tours and Jeep access.
Cheat Mountain Ridge Trail
View from Cheat Mountain Ridge Trail
Double Track
Singletrack begins
Making it through the roots
Braving the Firetower Stairs
This was pretty singletrack in the day
6000 Steps
As of July 2009, this nice trail was still intact but showed many signs that it is not being maintained well, if at all. It also requires a ride of several miles on bulldozed double track to get to it.
Entrance
A nice field
Into the stream!
Beautiful meadow
Riding the lift back up
Powder Puff
These pictures are sadly not representative of the current state of this trail. It was bulldozed in 2009 for Segway Tours and ORV access.
Riding along
Airport Runway
Mountain view
FIeld of flowers.
Upper Beaver Dam
These pictures are sadly not representative of the current state of this trail. It was bulldozed in 2009 for Jeep Jamboree access.
Challenging section that sadly is no more.
Air time!
Ball and Jack
The beginning
Riding a reare flat section
Rocky washed out section
The Bottom of Ball and Jack
Bear Pin
The beginning is challenging
Another view
Yes this trail is tough, and yes, we rode it!
Post ride beers at the bottom of the mountain!
Mountain Biking
Snowshoe Mountain Resort
Snowshoe, West Virginia
Beautiful surroundings, great facilities and lots of challenging downhill trails
7/15/09 - by Christopher Burk, Outdoor Travels
Ever since I was about ten years old, I have been enjoying an occasional winter ski at Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia and have always wondered what the ski runs looked like without any snow on them. Were they nicely manicured meadows winding through the trees like fairways on a golf course or were they simply a swathe of dirt and rocks looking more like scars than a thing of beauty? Well, I was about to find out. An Outdoor Travels guy’s long weekend was planned as Dana, Jeff and I decided to visit Snowshoe, WV for our 2004 West Virginia bike outing. Jeff and Dana had never been to Snowshoe before and although I had been there many times in the winter, this was my first time there during the summer, and my chance to fulfill a childhood dream. I was finally going to see what the mountain looked like without 180 inches of snow on it. Snowshoe has gone through a tremendous transformation since the first time I skied there. At the time, the only building that existed at the top of the mountain was the modest Shaver Center. There were no condominiums, lodges, coffee shops, restaurants or bars. For those who are unfamiliar with Snowshoe Mountain it is not your typical ski resort. Unlike a traditional ski resort, all the amenities are at the top of the mountain rather than the bottom. This “upside down” layout has its benefits and drawbacks. Being at the top of the mountain offers wonderful sunrises and sunsets. And the first thing you do in the morning is either bike or ski rather than ride the lift or shuttle. On the other hand, the last thing you do is either ride the lift or the shuttle. Trying to get to the top of mountain in the middle of winter can also be quite an adventure. Over the past 20 years, Snowshoe has expanded the “Island on the top of World.” They have literally built and rebuilt just about every building there. What once started out as two lodges, a restaurant and the Shaver Center has been expanded, renovated or bulldozed into an entire alpine-like village. Only two buildings still remain from the original expansion: the Shaver’s Center and Spruce Lodge. And after staying at Spruce Lodge for three days, I would say it’s in desperate need of being renovated or bulldozed itself. But lounging around the lodge is not why we came to Snowshoe. We came to ride, and ride we did. We spent two days dodging trees, crashing over rocks and splashing through streams. We rode everything from fast-paced double track and technical single track to some serious downhill that just about melted our brakes. We even went for a spin on the terrain park. About the only area we didn’t get a chance to check out was the new freeride park. But when all was said and done we had sampled a small but representative portion of Snowshoe’s 120+ miles of trails spread out over 11,000 acres of backcountry. The nice thing about Snowshoe’s trail system is it offers a wide variety of trails. Everything from moderate fire roads and double track to technical single track and gut wrenching climbs. This diversity of trails provides the perfect playground for any level above rank beginner. And if gravity is your friend, the 1,500-feet drop of the Western Territory offer the downhill enthusiasts some of the most technical and challenging trails I’ve been on. Surrounding areas such as Slatyfork, Tea Creek and Cranberry Backcountry offer additional riding opportunities, but let’s face it -- once you’re on top of the mountain, you pretty much stay there. And based on what Snowshoe has to offer, there really isn’t much of a reason to leave. Granted, Snowshoe may not equal some of the year-round resorts out West, but it has definitely improved over the past couple of years. It has done a pretty good job of capitalizing on the growing popularity of mountain biking and other X-game type activities and created a summer-time resort where the sky’s the limit in sports, literally. Oh, and what did the ski slopes look like without snow? I can report that beneath the cover of the fluffy soft snow I’ve grown accustomed to in the winter, their summertime undersides are indeed made up of grass, roots, rocks and dirt…and one paved road that runs the entire length of the bunny slope. Who knew?
