Dolly Sods Loop: Red Creek and the West Side Trails

After my last trip to the Dolly Sods Wilderness, I was ready to check out more of the area. Nearly 50 miles of trails crisscross the Wilderness and I only covered about 11 on my last hike. About three weeks after my first visit, I planned an ambitious 20-mile loop as a day hike. My planned route started at the Red Creek Trailhead and would take me through the heart of the Wilderness along Red Creek, traversing the length of the Dolly Sods south to north. I then planned on following trails along the western side of the Wilderness before dropping back to Red Creek near my starting point.

I headed out Friday, August 29th. It was the start of the Labor Day Weekend and I wanted to hit the trails before the weekend rush hit the area. Despite a few sprinkles and overcast skies on my drive, the forecast called for improving conditions by midmorning. I reached the trailhead a little after 830AM and was on the trail about 845.

Red Creek Trailhead

The hike heads north on the Red Creek Trail. I covered the first 1.7 miles on my last trip in the area. I made sure to enjoy the view along the creek near the start of the hike. If you're not familiar with the area, side trails near campsites can cause a little confusion since they are more prominent than the actual trail at places.

Red Creek not too far from the trailhead

The southern reaches of the Red Creek Trail usually sticks close to the creek. Occasionally it climbs away from the creek to avoid steep banks. The trail tends to travel through long stretches of rhododendron. Usually the trail isn't too crowded by the vegetation though. At one point, the trail veered away from Red Creek. It passed a small side stream. I could hear water crashing loudly below. I reached a vague herd path into the gully and found a pretty waterfall. Even at lower water levels, the 20 or so foot waterfall was quite pretty. I'm sure it's even more impressive when the water levels are higher.

Nice mushroom

Nice waterfall on a creek feeding into
Red Creek

Plenty of rhododendron on the first couple miles

Soon after the waterfall, the trail drops back to Red Creek and rosses the creek. The last month has been quite dry and crossing the creek was an easy rock hop. Earlier in the season this is a wet crossing and can be tricky in high water. Like most creek crossings, there are lots of campsites nearby. After crossing the creek, the trail climbs away from the water before leveling off on an old road bed through spruce.

First crossing of Red Creek

Upstream from the crossing

Another mushroom

Passing through some spruce

The trail travels over pretty level terrain above Red Creek. After hiking more than a 1 1/2 miles from the crossing, I could hear a loud roar of water in the creek below. I could see a nice waterfall. Thickets of rhododendron made access to the creek difficult at best. I picked my way through and eventually found my way to the water. The waterfall dropped an overhanging cliff with a deep pool below it. It would have been a nice swimming hole on a warmer day.

The first waterfall I came across on Red Creek

With the lower water levels, I continued downstream on the edge of the creek towards another waterfall. I quickly reached another beautiful waterfall. The main falls leveled off before dropping a few more feet to a small cascade. If the creek levels were much higher, I don't think I would have been able to get to this lower falls- at least without some challenging bushwhacking.

The next waterfall downstream

Looking upstream at the end of the waterfalls

I continued upstream along the creek passed the first falls I came to. I stuck to the edge of the creek bed. In the lower water I could move upstream without getting my feet wet. This would definitely not be possible if the water was much higher. At the top of the first waterfall, I could hear and see another waterfall. This waterfall was the biggest with a long steep slide. While still pretty, I think it would be even more scenic with higher water flow. A nice pool below the falls would have made a nice spot to swim.

The last waterfall heading upstream,
closer to campsites

Unlike the lower two waterfalls, the uppermost waterfall sat not too far from campsites along the creek. This waterfall was more accessible and was probably reachable even in higher water. The lower two waterfalls would have been quite challenging to access earlier in the season.

Top of the last waterfall

After enjoying the waterfalls, I continued north. The trail crosses the Left Fork of Red Creek. The Left Fork was an easy rock hop in the low water. On the opposite bank, the trail reaches a large concentration of campsites on a point of land where the Left Fork flows into the main branch of Red Creek. There are a lot of trail headed off in multiple directions to the campsites. Check your map here. The actual trail isn't that obvious without looking at a map. 

Crossing the Left Fork

I followed the Red Creek Trail another mile or so before it ends at the Blackbird Knob Trail. A few minutes on the Blackbird Knob Trail brought me to the Upper Red Creek Trail. The Upper Red Creek Trail passes through the first of the open meadows that the Dolly Sods are known for. I saw several piles of bear scat along the Upper Red Creek Trail.

Entering the first meadow

Lots of bear scat on the Upper Red Creek Trail,
(or perhaps Sasquatch or Pakuni)

Much of the northern section of the Wilderness
travels through open meadows

The first few meadows were narrow and intermittent. As I continued further north, the majority of the trail passed through meadows. Apart from a few small groves of hardwoods, most of the trees in this part of the Wilderness are spruce.

Hiking through the open terrain is enjoyable

A short section of muddy trail

Small pond near end of the Upper Red Creek Trail

The Upper Red Creek Trail ends at the Dobbin Grade Trail near a small pond. This junction has some great views over the vast open plateau. The Dobbin Grade Trail is notorious for its soupy mud. Not having any great desire to trudge a couple miles in mud, I quickly turned onto the Raven Ridge Trail.

On a brief section of the Dobbin Grade Trail

The Raven Ridge Trail travels more than 2 1/2 miles to the northern boundary of the Wilderness. Nearly the entire trail travels through the open plateau. The views over the plateau and distance ridges do not disappoint. The full length of the Raven Ridge Trail was a lovely hike.

Near the beginning of the Raven Ridge Trail

Most of the morning was overcast. By the time I reached the Raven Ridge Trail, the clouds began to break. I was in the sunshine more often than not. It was a little chilly though with a steady breeze across the open landscape. The Raven Ridge Trail climbs above 4,000', keeping the temperature cooler than the valleys.

View to the south from Raven Ridge Trail

As beautiful as I found Raven Ridge, The Rocky Ridge Trail was my favorite trail in this trip. The trail travels three miles along the western boundary of the Wilderness. Much like Raven Ridge, the majority of the trail traverses open terrain. The real treat along the Rocky Ridge Trail is the views that stretch over the Canaan Valley just to the west. The ridge drops relatively steeply just west of the Wilderness into the valley.

Rocky Ridge Trail with Timberline Resort ski 
trails in the distance

My favorite view on the hike looking over Canaan
Valley and Spruce Island Lake

As its name implies, the Rocky Ridge Trail is at times rocky. Unlike the grassy trail on Raven Ridge, much of the Rocky Ridge Trail passes over rockier footing. Traveling through here is a little slower than other trails in the Dolly Sods. With the beautiful views, you won't mind taking your time here.

Most of the Rocky Ridge Trail stays in the open

The Rocky Ridge Trail was my favorite on 
the hike

Countless side trails and herd paths wander off the main trail. None of them are marked, so take time to explore the side trails. Most lead a short distance to a viewpoint, interesting rock feature, or perhaps campsites. The main trail can also be a little tricky to follow at times. Lots of braiding leads to less traveled paths. Generally they seemed to bring you back to the actual trail. At one point I had to backtrack a short distance to get onto the right path. I encountered other groups doing the same thing. If you aren't comfortable with route finding or reading a map, you may want to go with someone more experienced.

Views are plentiful on the Rocky Ridge Trail

Since the Rocky Ridge Trail sits immediately above the Canaan Valley with open terrain, the trail was quite windy at times. I stopped along one of the side trails to enjoy a view and have some lunch. The wind was quite intense. I had to be careful where I set down my stuff so it didn't blow away.

Rocky terrain along the western boundary
the Wilderness on the Rocky Ridge Trail

As my day went on, I started to see more people. I started at the Red Creek Trailhead. The hike passes fairly close to the much busier Sundew/ Bear Rocks Trailhead access to the Dolly Sods in the northeast corner of the Wilderness. I started to encounter people setting off on Labor Day Weekend trips. The groups were sporadic until I reached the Rocky Ridge Trail. I passed at least five groups along this three mile trail. I kept leapfrogging a group of four. I would pass them, then head off on a side trail and then they passed me. This repeated several times. For a little bit I hiked with a faster duo out for a weekend trip.

Another look into the Canaan Valley with Spruce
Island Pond just visible

As the Rocky Ridge Trail continues south, it moves a away from the top of the ridge. While still open, the views toward Canaan Valley become less frequent. Finally the Rocky Ridge Trail ends at a four way junction. Here I continued south on the Big Stonecoal Trail.

Near the southern end of the Rocky Ridge Trail

I'm guessing this might have been an old road at
one time

Some views as I continue south

Coal Knob

The Big Stonecoal Trail starts off quite rocky. This might have been the rockiest part of my loop. The worst of the rocks become less intense as I hiked south. I occasionally passed through a couple of spruce groves with nice soft footing. The open meadows ended once I began the Big Stonecoal Trail.

The Big Stonecoal Trail gets rocky

Toad

Wide trail through the spruce

At one point, the Big Stonecoal Trail veers to the left. I missed this turn. I followed a very well-trodden herd path that followed a meadow along Big Stonecoal Run. As I continued, the tread became less worn and the brush denser along the trail. I passed a couple of nice-looking established campsites along the creek. Soon my path abruptly ended.

I backtracked to the campsites and consulted my map. The trail crossed the creek at some point and there was an obvious crossing by the campsites. I followed a couple paths that ended in brush. Finally I backtracked again until I found better tread. Sure enough, I missed a sharp turn. A spindly stick was placed across the herd path to show it was the wrong path, but was easy to miss. I continued back on the actual trail.

I'm kind of glad I missed the turn and 
there were some nice campsites nearby

I wasn't too upset about missing the trail. The scenery along Big Stonecoal Run was pretty. The slow creek meandered through an open meadow.  It reminded me of the creeks in Northern New England or the Adirondacks. I don't think I went much more than a 1/4 mile out of the way, a 1/2 mile roundtrip. I would definitely consider using the campsites on this herd path.

The scenery was pretty on this herd path

After nearly 2 1/2 miles on the Big Stonecoal Trail, I turned onto the Dunkenbarger Trail. It was soon pretty obvious this trail doesn't see much traffic. I encountered dense rhododendron thickets along much of the trail. At times I had to push through. The tread was visible but there wasn't any recent clearing.

Overgrown rhododendron crowding the
Dunkenbarger Trail

At one point the trail crosses a creek. The trail appears to continue straight. I followed it to a couple campsites and a dead end. Back at the creek I found the actual trail pushing through more rhododendrons along the banks of the creek. I probably only went off track a 1/10 of a mile this time. The rhododendrons became less of a problem near the end of the trail.

Dense, but more manageable rhododendrons

While there are plenty of herd paths and sections of braiding in the Dolly Sods, all of the named trails have signs at the junctions. The only junction that I found wasn't marked was the transition between the Dunkenbarger and Little Stonecoal Trails. It's not much of an issue because you don't have a choice but to continue on the Little Stonecoal Trail. The transition is pretty obvious between the trails if you look at a map.

Unlike the brushy Dunkenbarger Trail, Little Stonecoal looks to be an old logging road. It descends for majority of its 1.4- mile length. I stopped at a campsite and grabbed a snack near the start of Little Stonecoal. This was the biggest descent of the day.

About halfway along Little Stonecoal, I came across two guys that looked defeated. They followed a herd path by a campsite, got off trail,  and decided to bushwhack. They got themselves into dense forest full of thorns, unpassable rhododendrons, and thick spruce while enroute to trailless Coal Knob. They stumbled down to the Little Stonecoal Trail in low morale. I hiked with them the last 1 1/2 miles back to the trailhead. If you read this Joe and Phil, I hope your night went smoother than your day and it was nice talking with you two.

The final 1 1/2 miles went by smoothly. The crossing of Red Creek, like all the others, was an easy rock hop. This crossing offers a pretty view downstream of a distant ridge in the Roaring Plains. After crossing Red Creek, you quickly reach the Red Creek Trail. The Red Creek Trailhead is less than 3/4 of a mile to the south. We reached the trailhead around 540PM.

Final water crossing of the day near the
end of the Little Stonecoal Trail

The view downstream while fording Red Creek

This hike totaled a little over 20 miles. Despite the distance, I didn't find the hike too difficult. There really isn't any big climbs on the route. The trail gains steady elevation from the trailhead. There is some up and down at times, but nothing too crazy. The elevation gain is a little more noticeable as I made my way along the Raven Ridge Trail, but it's still pretty gradual. A few rocky sections slowed me down a little bit along the Rocky Ridge and Big Stonecoal Trails. A few spots took some care to follow the trail, especially near campsites where the was a lot of braiding. I didn't really rush the hike and took plenty of time to check out some views and explore around Red Creek.

I would definitely recommend this loop or some similar variation. It takes in a lot of what the Dolly Sods has to offer. There are long stretches on the open plateau with good views across the meadows. The section along the Rocky Ridge Trail offers plenty of views throughout its length. Even though I did this trip as a day hike, most people would find it to be a great backpacking trip. There are plenty of campsites throughout the loop. Just be aware that the Dolly Sods gets quite busy on nice weekends in the summer. It's possible to add to this loop with side trips to Lion's Head or Rohrbaugh Cliffs (see Dolly Sods Vistas: Lion's Head and Rohrbaugh Cliffs) for even more views.

My route in orange- for more detail,
refer to this map

For navigation, I recommend the Purple Lizard Dolly Sods/Seneca Rocks Map. The Monongahela National also has a decent map on their website.

Raven Ridge Trail

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Dolly Sods Vistas: Lion’s Head and Rohrbaugh Cliffs

West Virginia's Dolly Sods Wilderness might be the most popular hiking and backpacking destination in the state. The Wilderness offers more than 17,000 acres with nearly 50 miles of trails. The area is comprised of a high plateau with elevations reaching over 4,000'. Red Creek carves out the center of the Wilderness with long ridges rising above the valley.

Despite living in West Virginia for more than a year, I only recently visited the Wilderness for the first time. It's more surprising that it took me so long to check out the area since I live only about an hour from the southern access point at the Red Creek Trailhead. If you regularly read my website, you'll know I had good reason. I have backpacked about 1,400 miles in that time, much of it out of state, so my focus wasn't too much on local day hikes.

As the summer rolled into August, I finally decided to hit the Dolly Sods. Even though there are great opportunities for backpacking trips, I decided to make my first trip a day hike. I planned on hiking to two popular rock outcroppings in the southern end of the Dolly Sods, Lion's Head and Rohrbaugh Cliffs.

I set out on August 7th for the Red Creek Trailhead. This trailhead sits at the southwest corner of the Wilderness between Canaan Valley and Harman, WV. Arriving from the West, this trailhead requires very little travel off the paved road. I believe this is also the low point of the Wilderness where Red Creek leaves the Wilderness boundary at about 2,700'.

I began my hike around 10AM. I began on the Red Creek Trail, which as it name implies, follows its namesake creek.  I followed the Red Creek Trail nearly two miles before turning onto the Big Stonecoal Trail. While there are no blazes in the Wilderness, it seemed like all the junctions I encountered were signed. There was quite a bit of trail braiding however along Red Creek with some herd paths leading to the creek itself and to nearby campsites.

Entering the Wilderness

Red Creek Trailhead

I recommend taking time to check out Red Creek where side trails provide easy access. The creek looks more like a small river and is a rugged, wild stream. You often get a nice view upstream of the higher terrain on the lower reaches of the trail.

Looking upstream at Red Creek

Rhododendron flower

Nice tread near the trailhead

The trail itself is pretty well tread close to the trailhead. It passes through sections of rhododendron. I was surprised that a few flowers were still blooming. Not much rain fell in the weeks before my hike and the trail was generally pretty dry.

Dense rhododendron

Orange mushroom

A bluff over Red Creek from the trail

I turned onto the Big Stonecoal Trail. There aren't bridges in the Wilderness and the trail crosses Red Creek just after the junction. Because of the dry weather, the creek was pretty low. I easily crossed on rocks, keeping my feet dry.

Start of Big Stonecoal Trail

Easy crossing of Red Creek

Looking upstream during ford

The Big Stonecoal Trail climbs away from the Red Creek and follows the drainage of Big Stonecoal Creek. The climb didn't seem to steep. I followed it for a little over a mile before turning onto the Rocky Point Trail

Rocks along Big Stonecoal Trail

Turnoff to Rocky Point Trail

The Rocky Point Trail parallels the southern ridge of Breathed Mountain without much elevation change. I wasn't on the Rocky Point Trail too long before I reached a cairn at unsigned junction. This was the herd path to Lion's Head. There isn't a sign here, so pay attention for the obvious path to the left. I wouldn't count on a cairn, as it's not unusual for them to be removed. Even though this trail is not an official trail, it's well worn and generally easy to follow. Although relatively short, this is the steepest climb up to this point as it climbs to the plateau of Lion's Head.

The climb levels off in spruce trees that provide almost a tunnel like feel. Numerous dry campsites are established along this plateau. There's also a grassy clearing along the spruce as well.

Passing through a tunnel of spruce

There isn't a sign or marker that directs you to the open cliffs at Lion's Head. Just follow one of the herd paths near the last campsite. They all seem to lead to the outcroppings. After following one of the herd paths, I soon reached the long line of cliffs with views over the Red Creek Valley.

Reaching the wall of cliffs on Lion's Head

Hazy view

Initially I reached a long wall of cliffs. Continuing along the wall, I soon realized the cliffs and rock outcroppings stretched pretty far. The view stretched over Red Creek. Across the valley, the white rocks

of the Rohrbaugh Cliffs stood out. Up the valley, you see higher terrain further north in the Wilderness. To the south stands the higher terrain of the Roaring Plains rose in the hazy sky. Even though it was clear west of the mountains in Elkins in the morning, low clouds clung to the higher terrain of the Wilderness. 

The rock outcropping expand pretty far

Plateau near Lion's Head

Looking south

Zoomed in view to the south

It didn't take too long to stumble on the namesake feature of the area. As I moved south along the main cliff band, I passed a slightly jutting point  on the wall. This is the Lion's Head. When you look at the face from the south, the point does look surprisingly like the profile of a lion with with its eyes closed. The rock slopes down to form its snoot and nose. Below the nose a crack, positioned just right, looks like its mouth.

Lion's Head

Lion's Head from lower vantage point

I explored the various rock outcroppings for a while. If you choose to wander, be aware. It's easy to find yourself facing some scrambling and even some brief climbing. Be careful with dogs and small kids. There was even a pretty large tectonic cave in the rocks with a long drop into the earth.

After exploring the Lion's Head area, I followed one of the herd paths back to the campsites. Returning to the Rocky Point Trail, I turned onto a different herd path than I came up on. It wasn't as well defined, but traveling downhill will get you back to the main trail.

Once on the Rocky Point Trail, the terrain becomes pretty rocky below the cliffs on Lion's Head. There are a few views from the nose of Breathed Mountain's ridge to the south into the Roaring Plains. The trail continues to wrap around Breathed Mountain before finally descending back down to the Red Creek Trail.

Bright mushrooms

View from the Rocky Point on Breathed Mountain

The point is in fact rocky

Looks like an old road be with how flat it is here

Back on the Red Creek Trail, I hiked downhill about 3/4 of a mile to the creek itself. The trail crosses the creek again. I encountered a fairly large group camping at the creek. With the campsite, there were several paths leading to the creek. It wasn't immediately obvious which one was the actual trail. Since the creek was shallow, I was again able to cross the creek on rocks and keep my feet dry.

A phallic mushroom

Ford on Red Creek

View upstream

After crossing the creek, I passed several campsites. With several trails leading to the creek and campsites, It took me a moment to figure out which one was the actual trail. I had to backtrack at one point to get on the right path. After I was on track, I soon found my next junction and headed onto the Fisher Spring Run Trail.

Cluster of mushroom

The Fisher Spring Run Trail climbs away from Red Creek on switchbacks before leveling off on an old forest road. At one point the trail crossed Fisher Spring Run. At this crossing, more braiding caused a little route finding the follow proper trail. I followed the Fisher Spring Run Trail for a little over a mile before reaching the junction for the Rohrbaugh Trail.

Onto the Roahrbaugh Trail

The Rohrbaugh Trail was the final trail on my loop. I would follow it for more than 3 1/2 miles. The Rohrbaugh Trail would also take me over 4,000' and the highest part of the loop.

The Rohrbaugh Trail traveled through a variety of terrain. At times I passed through dense thickets of rhododendron. Then at times the trail went back into a spruce forest. I even crossed some grassy meadows. Even though the trail gradually climbed, the elevation gain was pretty subtle. 

Dense section of rhododendron 

Passing through a meadow

Tiny red mushrooms

Closeup of the mushrooms

The main highlight of the Rohrbaugh Trail are the Rohrbaugh Cliffs. While not as vast as the cliffs at Lion's Head, the Rohrbaugh Cliffs provide nearly just as good of a view since they are located directly across the valley from Lion's Head. About two hours had past since I left Lion's Head and the mountain tops were less obscured from Rohrbaugh Cliffs. I ate some snacks and hydrated while taking the time to enjoy the views from the cliffs.

Looking north from Rohrbaugh Cliffs

Looking south

Looking down the Red Creek Valley

Looking west with cliff of Lion's Head visible

The final 2 1/2 miles of trail went by quickly after leaving the cliffs. The terrain was relatively flat I passed through a mix of laurel and hardwoods. This section was probably the muddiest of the entire loop and a few muddy patches slowed me down a little bit. With caution, I could pick my way through the worst of the mud by finding rocks and branches to step on and avoided getting my feet wet.

Moss lined trail

Passing a grassy clearing

Coneflower I believe

Muddy section

I reached the end of the Rohrbaugh Trail at a Forest Service road around 3PM. To close my loop, I turned right onto the road to get back to my van at the Red Creek Trailhead. The road looses significant elevation from the Rohrbaugh Trailhead to the Red Creek Trailhead over three miles. To speed up the final three miles on the road, I decided to run. I reached my van about 330PM.

Another variety of mushroom

Mix of rhododendron and spruce

My loop totaled about 14 miles including some exploration around Lion's Head. the final three miles were on the road. I enjoyed my first trip into the Dolly Sods. I'm glad that I decided to visit both Lion's Head and the Rohrbaugh Cliff on one big loop. Even though the hike covered 14 miles, it wasn't too taxing of a hike. If you're looking for a shorter trip, it's possible to hike to Rohrbaugh Cliffs on a five my roundtrip hike. Lion's Head can be reached as an out and back or loop of 8-9 miles. Both destinations provide nice views over the south end of the Wilderness.

I recommend the Purple Lizard Dolly Sods/Seneca Rocks map if exploring the Dolly Sods. You can also find a map at the Monongahela National Forest website.

My route is highlighted in orange, see
the Forest Service map for more detail

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