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Cow Pasture Trail Mountain Bike Trail
Cranberry Glades, West Virginia
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
1 trail review |
|
Status: updated 6/4/09 by Outdoornut |
Difficulty:  Intermediate |
| Length: 7 miles | Global Rank: 814 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Loop |
| Ridden: 1 | Wishlist: 0 |
Directions:
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Description: Ride back out the road you came in, past the first parking area, for the viewing area, and watch for the trail on your left. You will ride this wide trail and when you come to a grass covered old blacktop section in meadow (cowpasture) turn left on the trail. I switches from wide trail to singletrack for a while and then mostly singletrack. This is one of the best places in the state to view wildlife. When you come to a viewing tower stop and take in the view. The trail will cross a nice arched bridge shortly before reaching the Cranberry River Trail. Go left on the River Trail (Gravel Road) and back to vehicle in about 300 to 400 feet. Cowpasture can be linked with a few other trails to make a large 19 mile loop. If you notice the trail directly across the Cranberry River Trail when you came off Cow Pasture, it goes uphill into the forest, that is South Mountain Trail. Don't go up, you can ride it off Kennison Mtn. Trail. See Pocahontas / Kennison Mtn Loop description for that loop.
Description: Ride back out the road you came in, past the first parking area, for the viewing area, and watch for the trail on your left. You will ride this wide trail and when you come to a grass covered old blacktop section in meadow (cowpasture) turn left on the trail. I switches from wide trail to singletrack for a while and then mostly singletrack. This is one of the best places in the state to view wildlife. When you come to a viewing tower stop and take in the view. The trail will cross a nice arched bridge shortly before reaching the Cranberry River Trail. Go left on the River Trail (Gravel Road) and back to vehicle in about 300 to 400 feet. Cowpasture can be linked with a few other trails to make a large 19 mile loop. If you notice the trail directly across the Cranberry River Trail when you came off Cow Pasture, it goes uphill into the forest, that is South Mountain Trail. Don't go up, you can ride it off Kennison Mtn. Trail. See Pocahontas / Kennison Mtn Loop description for that loop.
added on February 12, 2009 by 
SIMILAR TRAILS
Riders who liked this mountain bike trail also liked:North Bend State Park in Harrisville
Cvi Trails in Davis
Red Run Trail in Slatyfork
Dolly Sods North (while Available) in Canaan Valley
NEARBY TRAILS
- Pocahontas/kennison/cowpasture Loop in Cranberry Glades Near Richwood (0.1 miles away)
- Kennison Mountain Trail in Richwood (2.8 miles away)
- Tea Creek Mountain Trail in Slatyfork (12 miles away)
- Gauley-bearpen-boundary-shoals-loop in Slatyfork (12.1 miles away)
- Red Run Trail in Slatyfork (12.1 miles away)
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by Outdoornut on August 3, 2009
Just rode Cow Pasture near mid July 2009 during the annual Slatyfork Shuffle (mountain bike gathering) and the trail was in pretty good shape. There is a bridge damaged you will need to walk over. Be extremely careful on the old bridges if they are wet (like ice). Check out the gps route. Bunch of fun however I would do it the other way if I did it again. Park at the Cranberry Visitors Center and ride out Pocahontas Trail for about 1/4 to 1/2 mile then go right on Bruffey Reserve Trail. It will dump you out on Rt.39. Do not cross the road onto Bruffey from there (it's off limits on that side of the road). Go across the road and ride the entrance road down past the Glades, past the first parking area onto gravel road and then past the second parking area and around gate. This is the Cranberry River Trail. Go just a couple hundred feet and watch because Cow Pasture will take off to the right. Follow it around about six miles and when you come into a big meadow and ride nearly around a huge low hanging pine tree noted in the pictures you will come to the intersection where you will need to take a left. Ride the grassy fire road back up to the stop sign across from the Visitors Center. About 11 miles total. Counter clockwise just makes you climb the blacktop road out of there which kinda sucked.
Similar Trail: Pocahontas_Kennison_SouthMountain_Cowpasture loop, Gauley_BearPen_Boundary_Shoals-Loop, Red Run_Tea Creek Mountain Loop, Props Run, Laurel Creek and Two Lick over in Rimel. Many others.
Additional West Virginia Mountain Bike Info
Related West Virginia Resources
Guidebooks |
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 | Best Bike Rides Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia |  | Mountain Biking in West Virginia |
 | Mountain Bike! Mid-Atlantic States: New York to West Virginia | ||
