Itineraries
Cranberry Country Heritage Loop
Journey Overview
Cranberry Country Heritage Loop is a three-day circuit from Marlinton through Richwood and Cowen, exploring the layered history of West Virginia’s Cranberry Highlands from Civil War battlefields to industrial logging transformation. History enthusiasts discover a federal prison site that housed conscientious objectors, an early 20th-century African American separatist community at Watoga, the location of a Wild West shootout, and Droop Mountain Battlefield where Union and Confederate forces clashed. The route reveals how remote mountain communities evolved through conflict, settlement, and industrial change across nearly three centuries.
Best Times to Visit
Late May through early October offers optimal conditions for exploring this heritage route.
- Pleasant temperatures at high elevations (4,000+ feet) make summer hiking comfortable
- Fall foliage typically peaks in early to mid-October, enhancing scenic overlook views
- The Cranberry Mountain Nature Center operates seasonally (typically Friday through Monday)
- Museums and cultural venues in Marlinton maintain regular hours during warmer months
- The Highland Scenic Highway (Route 150) closes in winter due to snow
- Droop Mountain Battlefield hosts reenactments in alternating October years
Itinerary
Day 1: Marlinton to Richwood
CIVIL WAR TO CIVIL RIGHTS
Morning
Breakfast and Marlinton Railroad Depot
Begin with breakfast in Marlinton, then visit the restored Marlinton Railroad Depot, which serves as a trailhead for the Greenbrier River Trail and a regional art gallery. The depot represents the railroad era that transformed Pocahontas County.
- Dirtbean: Coffee shop and cafe with breakfast sandwiches and pastries.
- Greenbrier Grille and Lodge: Full breakfast menu including pancakes, eggs, and country favorites.
- Rivertown Cafe: Historic building with creative breakfast options and upstairs shopping.
Option A: Greenbrier River Trail
Walk a section of this 78-mile rail-trail, which follows the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Greenbrier Branch. Built between 1899 and 1900, this line opened the remote mountain valleys to the timber industry and connected isolated communities to the outside world. A historic cabin and watertower can be seen along a short 1 mile walk from downtown.
- Distance: Variable – out-and-back from Marlinton
- Elevation Gain: Minimal (rail-trail grade)
- Estimated Time: 30-60 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
Option B: Pocahontas County Historical Society
A local history museum housed in the historic Frank and Anna Hunter House and adjacent grounds, where long-time residents and visitors alike can explore artifacts, photographs, and exhibits tracing Pocahontas County’s story from early settlement through the Civil War and into the 20th century, including an authentic 19th-century log cabin on site. Operating hours are seasonal; the museum is typically open to the public during the summer and fall months, with genealogical resources available year-round at the McClintic Heritage Room. If you’re planning a visit, please contact the museum at 304-799-6659 in advance to confirm current hours and any special events.
Pleasant Green Methodist Episcopal Church and Seebert
Drive south on US-219 and turn east toward Seebert to visit Pleasant Green Methodist Episcopal Church, an 1888 African American church listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This Gothic Revival-style building, with its central bell tower and clapboard siding, served the African American community connected to the nearby Watoga Land Association. The church and cemetery offer a poignant connection to a larger story of African American self-determination in early 20th-century West Virginia.
The village of Seebert was once a bustling community with a post office, stores, and a railroad depot. Today, it provides access to both Watoga State Park and the Greenbrier River Trail.
Midday
Watoga State Park: African American Separatist Community History
West Virginia’s largest state park occupies land with a remarkable history. After the Watoga Lumber Company exhausted the area’s timber and abandoned its company town in the early 1900s, the Watoga Land Association, led by T. Edward Hill, acquired approximately 10,000 acres here around 1920 to establish an African American separatist community. Hill traveled the country recruiting Black families to this remote mountain settlement, where residents repurposed abandoned lumber company buildings and attempted to create a self-sustaining agricultural community.
The experiment was short-lived. The steep terrain proved unsuitable for farming, and by the 1930s, most residents had departed. The State of West Virginia acquired the land, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, including Camp Seebert, an African American CCC camp, developed what became Watoga State Park, which opened in 1937.
Today, little physical evidence of the Watoga Land Association remains, but the park’s history represents an important chapter in early 20th-century African American self-determination movements that emerged nationwide during the Great Migration era.
Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park
From Watoga State Park, return to US-219 and drive south approximately 10 miles to the park entrance on the west side of the highway near Hillsboro.
West Virginia’s oldest state park (dedicated July 4, 1929) preserves the site of the state’s last significant Civil War battle. On November 6, 1863, approximately 5,000 Union troops under Brigadier General William W. Averell attacked a Confederate force of 1,700 men commanded by Brigadier General John Echols. The Confederates initially held the high ground, but Averell’s infantry eventually broke through the Confederate left flank, routing the Southern forces and effectively ending organized Confederate resistance in West Virginia.
Among the Confederate officers present was Colonel George S. Patton Sr., grandfather of the famous World War II general. The battlefield features hiking trails, interpretive markers, a CCC-era observation tower offering panoramic views of the Greenbrier Valley, and a small museum housed in a remaining CCC cabin. The park is also recognized as one of West Virginia’s Dark Sky Parks.
- Distance: Approximately 2 miles of trails through the battlefield
- Elevation Gain: Minimal to moderate
- Estimated Time: 1-2 hours to explore grounds and trails
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Lunch in Hillsboro Area
- Hillsboro Public House: Appalachian-inspired cuisine with West Virginia craft beverages
- The Levels Depot: Local meats, cheeses, and cafe fare in a charming setting
Afternoon
Highland Scenic Highway and Black Mountain Fire Interpretive Trail
Drive north on US-219 through Marlinton to the Highland Scenic Highway (WV-150), a 43-mile National Scenic Byway climbing to over 4,500 feet through the Monongahela National Forest. This route passes through a landscape that tells the story of West Virginia’s forest history: before the logging boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s, red spruce blanketed more than half a million acres of the state’s highlands.
Stop at the Big Spruce Overlook to walk the Black Mountain Fire Interpretive Trail. This short elevated boardwalk winds through a recovering red spruce forest with interpretive signs explaining how industrial logging and subsequent catastrophic fires devastated the original forest ecosystem. The trail illustrates the slow process of ecological recovery that continues today, more than a century after the logging era ended.
- Distance: 0.2 miles (boardwalk)
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy (wheelchair accessible)
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
This 750-acre botanical area protects a landscape formed over 10,000 years ago- a remnant of the last Ice Age! The bogs here support plant communities typical of Canada, including sphagnum moss, sundews, and cranberries. The half-mile wheelchair-accessible boardwalk allows visitors to explore this unique ecosystem while interpretive signs explain the area’s natural history.
Cranberry Glades Boardwalk Trail
- Distance: 0.5 miles (boardwalk loop)
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy (wheelchair accessible)
Before becoming a National Landmark, however, the glades were once home to the Mill Point Federal Prison. Surrounded by rugged wilderness on all sides, the government decided to forgo the usual fences, earning it the nickname “the prison without walls.” From 1938 to 1959, the prison’s population included moonshiners, tax evaders, and conscientious objectors who refused military service. The well-educated conscientious objectors taught literacy classes to fellow inmates, many of whom could not read or write. Among the notable prisoners was writer Howard Fast, who spent three months here in 1950 for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and Civil Rights leader James Lawson. If time permits, explore the longer Cow Pasture Trail to see how little of the site remains!
Cowpasture & Thomas Reserve Trail
- Distance: 7 miles (loop)
- Elevation Gain: 400ft
- Estimated Time: 2.5-3 hours
- Difficulty: Moderate
Cranberry Mountain Nature Center
Located at the junction of WV-39 and WV-150, this Forest Service visitor center offers exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the Cranberry Wilderness area, including information about the logging era, forest restoration efforts, and the unique ecology of the highland bogs.
Night
Dinner in Richwood
Richwood, known as the “Ramp Capital of the World,” was a booming lumber town in the early 1900s. Today, this quiet community serves as a gateway to the Cranberry Wilderness.
- Oddfellers Fine Foods: Gastropub featuring locally-sourced ingredients.
- The Oakford Diner: Classic diner fare, including breakfast-all-day
- CB’s Hole in the Wall: Pizza, pasta, and casual American fare
Lodging Options
- Four Seasons Lodge: 27-room lodge on the Cherry River with swimming hole access at Rudolph Falls
- Vacation rentals: Several options in the Richwood area
- Summit Lake Campground: 33 semi-primitive sites at 3,392 feet elevation (seasonal, first-come, first-served)
Day 2: Richwood to Cowen to Marlinton
Shootouts & state parks
Morning
Breakfast in Richwood
Start the day with a hearty breakfast at The Oakford Diner or stop in at Rosewood Coffeehouse for a locally inspired specialty latte.
Mill Whistle Arts & Heritage Center
From six-foot sawblades to coal-mining masks, the Richwood Heritage Center documents the region’s incredible transformation during the logging boom, alongside local art and craft goods.
Murals & Mikes Knob Fire Tower
While exploring Richwood, you’ll undoubtedly notice its excellent public murals and art galleries, all under the watchful eye of its downtown fire observation tower. Originally built in 1941 to protect the scarred Cranberry Valley, the Mikes Knob Fire Tower was lovingly reconstructed above the Richwood Fire Station, 9 miles from its original location.
Midday
Drive to Cowen
Drive north on WV-20 through the Gauley River valley to Cowen in Webster County, a journey of approximately 35 miles through terrain that was once the heart of West Virginia’s industrial logging operations.
Cowen Shootout Historical Marker
Stop in Cowen to find the Legends & Lore historical marker commemorating one of West Virginia’s strangest episodes of violence. On June 10, 1905, a nine-car excursion train from Clarksburg stopped in Cowen, where Texas Bill’s Wild West Show was performing. When railroad police arrested a performer named “Mexican Bill” after an altercation with a passenger, his fellow showmen, declaring themselves “Wild West men,” opened fire on the train to free their comrade.
The resulting gunfight left three showmen dead and six people wounded, including innocent bystanders who scrambled for cover as bullets shattered windows and doors. The incident illustrated both the lawless atmosphere that could prevail in remote logging towns and the strange collision between romantic Wild West mythology and real violence.
Lunch Options
- Hilltop Diner (Cowen): American and Italian fare
- Pack a picnic to enjoy at Holly River State Park
Afternoon
Holly River State Park: New Deal Heritage
West Virginia’s second-largest state park (8,101 acres) tells the story of land reclamation and New Deal-era conservation. By the 1930s, this area had been devastated by industrial logging—the forests stripped, streams silted, game depleted. In 1935, the federal government targeted the area for “resettlement,” relocating 13 families from marginal farmland as part of the Farm Security Administration’s Kanawha Head Project.
Beginning in 1936, Works Progress Administration laborers transformed the cutover landscape, building roads, structures, and recreational facilities during some of the coldest winters on record. The park’s collection of WPA-era architecture includes nine cabins and a massive hexagonal stone-and-timber picnic pavilion, representing the full range of Depression-era building techniques. Many structures feature handsome stone chimneys laid in rubble by workers who had learned masonry on the job.
Today, dense forests have reclaimed the once-devastated landscape, demonstrating what a century of ecological recovery can accomplish.
Tecumseh Falls via Reverie Trail
For those wanting to cap the day with a waterfall hike, the Reverie Trail leads to Tecumseh Falls, a scenic 10-foot waterfall with an overhanging rock ledge. The trail passes through the recovering forest that WPA workers helped restore.
- Distance: 3.0 miles (loop)
- Elevation Gain: Approximately 450 feet
- Estimated Time: 45-60 minutes
- Difficulty: Moderate
Night
Dinner in Marlinton
- Greenbrier Grille and Lodge: Riverside American fare
- Alfredo’s of Marlinton: Italian and Greek cuisine
- Mim’s Kitchen: Country buffet in a renovated church (limited hours, Friday-Sunday)
Pocahontas County Opera House
Check the performance schedule at this restored 1910 venue, part of the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail. Built during the lumber boom by J.G. Tilton (publisher of the Marlinton Messenger), the three-story concrete structure, with its wraparound balcony and American chestnut railing, hosted vaudeville acts, dramatic productions, and traveling performers when Marlinton was a bustling railroad hub. After decades of use as a car dealership and lumber warehouse, the Pocahontas County Historic Landmarks Commission restored the Opera House in the 1990s. Today it hosts regular concerts ranging from bluegrass to jazz, community theater, and cultural events.
Check the schedule at pocahontasoperahouse.org
Lodging Options
- Old Clark Inn: Bed and breakfast in historic downtown
- Marlinton Motor Inn: Basic accommodations on US-219
- Vacation rentals: Multiple options available in and around Marlinton
- Watoga State Park: Cabins and campground (8 miles south)
Day 3: Marlinton and the Greenbrier River Trail
sharps tunnel & sandstone
Morning
Breakfast in Marlinton
Fuel up at Dirtbean Cafe or grab pastries from a local bakery before a day exploring the Greenbrier River Trail and its railroad heritage.
Greenbrier River Trail: Sharps Tunnel and Bridge
The Greenbrier River Trail, a 78-mile rail-trail following the route of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway’s Greenbrier Division, offers an immersive journey through railroad history. The C&O constructed this line in the late 1890s to serve the timber, tanneries, and other industries booming in the region, reaching Marlinton in 1900 and Cass by December 1901.
One of the trail’s most impressive engineering features is Sharps Tunnel, a 511-foot passage built in 1899 that curves through the mountain before emerging onto a dramatic 230-foot curved bridge over the Greenbrier River. These structures illustrate how late 19th-century engineers conquered challenging mountain terrain to reach valuable timber resources.
Rent an e-bike from Greenbrier Bikes in downtown Marlinton for a comfortable ride north to Sharps Tunnel (approximately 12-14 miles each way from Marlinton). The trail’s gentle 1% grade follows the river through remote wilderness, past former railroad towns and abandoned settlements, offering a living lesson in Appalachian industrial and transportation history.
- Distance: Approximately 24-28 miles round trip from Marlinton to Sharps Tunnel
- Elevation Gain: Minimal (1% grade, uphill heading north)
- Estimated Time: 4-6 hours by e-bike (including exploration time)
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate by e-bike
Alternative: Drive to the Clover Lick trailhead for a shorter hike/bike to Sharps Tunnel (approximately 3 miles each way).
E-Bike and Bicycle Rentals
- Greenbrier Bikes
- DirtBean
- Appalachian Sport
Midday
Return to Marlinton for Lunch
- Dirtbean Cafe: Sandwiches, smoothies, and coffee beside the trail
- Old Mountain Tavern: Pub fare in a historic building
- Handmade WV: Local market with grab-and-go lunch options (adjacent to Greenbrier Bikes)
Afternoon
Downtown Marlinton Walking Tour
Spend the afternoon exploring downtown Marlinton’s historic buildings, many dating from the lumber boom era when the town served as a major railroad hub. Points of interest include:
- Marlinton Railroad Depot: The restored 1901 depot now houses a visitor center and trailside information
- 4th Avenue Gallery: Local art and crafts in a historic storefront
- Historic commercial buildings: Many original facades survive along Main Street
- Pocahontas Times Print Shop: Local newspaper in operation since 1883
Beartown State Park
If time permits, drive approximately 7 miles south of Hillsboro on US-219, then east on Beartown Road to Beartown State Park, where a half-mile boardwalk winds through a remarkable landscape of 300-million-year-old Droop sandstone formations. Massive boulders, narrow passageways, and overhanging ledges create an otherworldly environment. The park was donated in 1970 in memory of a local soldier killed in Vietnam.
- Distance: 0.5 miles (boardwalk)
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
If you’re a fan of geology, be sure to take a short drive east on WV-39 to nearby Huntersville, where a stunning, tree-covered anticline can be seen along the roadside!
Night
Farewell Dinner in Marlinton
Conclude the heritage journey with dinner at one of Marlinton’s local restaurants, reflecting on three days of Civil War history, African American heritage, New Deal conservation, and the dramatic transformation of West Virginia’s mountain landscape from virgin forest to industrial devastation to ecological recovery.
MAP
Planning Notes
Navigation & Cell Service
Cell service is spotty to nonexistent throughout much of this route, particularly along the Highland Scenic Highway, at Cranberry Glades, and in remote sections of the Greenbrier River Trail. Download offline maps before departing. Some carriers have limited coverage in Marlinton and Richwood town centers.
Weather Considerations
High-elevation areas along the Highland Scenic Highway and at Cranberry Glades can be 10-20°F cooler than valley locations. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer. The Highland Scenic Highway (WV-150) is closed during winter months due to snow.
Seasonal Considerations
The Pocahontas County Historical Society Museum operates seasonally, typically daily during summer months. The Cranberry Mountain Nature Center has limited seasonal hours (typically Friday-Monday when open). Holly River State Park facilities have seasonal operations. Check ahead for current hours.
Trail Conditions
The Cow Pasture Trail can be muddy, especially after rain. Waterproof footwear is recommended. The Greenbrier River Trail is a packed gravel surface suitable for hybrid bikes and e-bikes. Some sections may be affected by seasonal flooding; check current conditions with local outfitters.
Historic Site Etiquette
Pleasant Green Church is on private property; observe respectfully from the road or with permission. At Droop Mountain Battlefield, stay on marked trails and do not disturb archaeological features. At the Mill Point Prison site, foundations and artifacts are protected; photograph but do not remove any items.
Wildlife
Black bears are present throughout this region. Practice proper food storage, especially when camping. Ticks are common during warmer months; check yourself after hiking.
Leave No Trace
Stay on boardwalks at Cranberry Glades to protect fragile bog ecosystems. Pack out all trash on trails. Respect historic sites by leaving artifacts in place for future visitors to discover.