Blackwater River Rail Trail

The Blackwater River Rail Trail connects the community of Thomas with Coketon, Douglas, Hendricks and Parsons. Many of these communities were once robust mining towns but now stand as remnants of a previous era. The trail begins along the North Fork of the Blackwater River in Thomas and winds past steep-walled strip mines and rows of beehive coke ovens that have been reclaimed by trees and wildflowers for nearly a century. The trail is accessible in Thomas, WV at the juncture of Rt. 32 and 27 or from Hendricks, Rt. 73.

Blackwater Canyon Rail Trail follows a 14 mile section of the old Western Maryland Railroad. The trail is included in the section built by Henry Gassaway Davis, a self-built mogul who established Thomas and nearby town of Davis in the 19th century boom era in the Blackwater Canyon.  Other worldly in appearance and with a unique beauty, Douglas Falls is still a beautiful site to see alongside the trail.

The copper tinted water still visible today leaves little doubt as to the extent the coal and coke industry left on the environment for generations to come. Below the coke ovens at Douglas, visitors can view a cranberry bog on the right of the trail. Cranberry bogs normally are native to the Northern United States and Canada but are a unique feature due to the higher elevation of the region. The trail passes large shale outcrops as well as railroad ties, telegraph poles and many other historic artifacts.

Photograph Credit: L. Andrew Price Emily Grafton, West Virginia Adventure Guide Blackwater Falls State Park, Headline Books, 2002