Monongahela National Forest — Attraction in Beverly

One of my favorite parks in the country. Spruce Knob Mountain the Huckleberry Trail highly recommended hike down to Judy Springs camp by the waterfall absolutely beautiful. Seneca Rocks absolutely amazing Laurel Fork Wilderness is very secluded definitely recommended for the one who wants to get away from everything. Dolly sods wilderness was everything I expected definitely would recommend doing it with somebody and always when in Monongahela National Forest be sure to be carrying a gun remember in West Virginia if you can legally own it you can legally carry it and there's a reason, you would be suprised what you can run into in the woods I myself have spent many nights sleeping in a tent alone in the woods bears do come up to your tent wolves do walk through ur camp at night coyotes will stalk you be prepared be protected also ticks are very bad I would not bring your dog into Monongahela due to the abundance of ticks also if your dog barks at a bear there's a high chance the bear will kill your dog bears are easily agitated by dogs you will see signs that specifically show you and tell you to control your dog and not let your dog harass the wildlife which is actually against the law crazy right but it's true. Also if you're carrying beef jerky watch out for Bigfoot he will snap into you like a Slim Jim.. and always remember pack out what you pack in that means do not throw your trash on the ground do not put your trash in the fire pits bring a bag with you carry your trash out please I beg and thank you for those who do also please people remember to bury your poop and poop 50 yards off Trail do not poop next to the trail and leave it there with a little pile of toilet paper on top for the next person to come walking down through and see it is not enjoyable it is gross and it is illegal you must bury your poop it attracts wildlife also Bury your dog poop and if you could squirt water on trees where they pee you might not realize but when your dog pees on a tree he's marking territory in an area which belongs to Wolves coyotes bears or even a mountain lion so just think and remember always be safe you might not realize it but the moment you step out of your car and walk into the Woods you are on the food chain animals do attack please be safe. Always remember to hang your food in a tree 50-100 yards away from where you are sleeping never cook food near your tent never sleep in the clothes you eat or cook in never keep food inside your tent and do not leave any food or trash of any kind in your car Bears will destroy your car trying to get in it. One last thing it is illegal to smoke in the woods...

We spent a couple days hiking in the Dolly Sods Wilderness area. We covered about 26 miles of trails. It is a beautiful area but the trails themselves are very difficult to traverse due to the rocks. You must constantly look downward in order to place your foot on the rock least likely to roll your ankle. Where there are no rocks there are muddy pools of water often impossible to circumvent without serious bushwhacking. But that's why they call it wilderness. The main complaint and a far more serious one involves signage. Most intersections, although not all have a sign with trail names or number arrows. Unfortunately the signs are not secured and can be spun around willy nilly. So often they were pointing in the totally wrong direction. We ran into many groups of lost and confused hikers. Unfortunately in some areas trails will simply come to a deadend forcing you to backtrack to the last intersection where you will again beleft scratching your head in frustration. Thankfully we had a good gps app that helped us get back to the parking area. You'll need one too, and sturdy waterproof...

The mountains are always impressive. Unfortunately the same area off A14 / Middle Mountain Rd from Bartow was awful. I've been hunting and camping in the same general area and hiking the same trails for more than 40yrs. The 10 mile Dr to Laurel Fork Tr. Is rough at best. The log trucks have pretty much destroyed the road. Including the one we saw on its side, saved by the bordering trees. Then you have the mess they left righting the truck, trailer and retrieving their dumped logs.

We've always enjoyed hiking the "Loop Road" but this time the path was not passable. In fact, we didn't see much of our previous camp sites and trails maintained at all.

It really is a shame and a wasted opportunity by the DNR to promote the vast amount of outdoor activities available. I'm guessing the local businesses would appreciate the support brought in by tourists and outdoor enthusiasts.

Fix the roads, maintain the trails, create USABLE camp sites (don't just dump rock, level and fill a desirable site) and maintain them.

It's a shame what the trails and camp sites have become...