Revamped trail gives greater access to Brush Creek Falls
May 23—PRINCETON — Experiencing one example of Mercer County's scenic beauty is now easier thanks to a hiking trail upgrade which makes the walk longer, smoother and safer.
Visitors looking for Brush Creek Falls get off Interstate 77 at Exit 14, go past PikeView High School on Eads Mill Road and then go down the winding Brush Creek Road which takes them to a parking lot and the start of the trail.
This hiking trail was narrow in places and crossed by streams, plus a pathway to the base of Brush Creek Falls was rocky and hazardous. A project for revamping the trail was finished recently, said Mercer County Commission President Bill Archer.
"Yes. The project has been completed and it is absolutely exciting," Archer said.
Archer said he recently met at Brush Creek Falls with officials from the New River Gorge National Park & Reserve. They had just hiked the improved trail.
"But obviously with the upgrades and everything it was just a thrilling thing for them to enjoy," Archer said.
The visitors also saw how many people come to see the falls and hike the trail.
"While we were there that day there were seven vehicles parked at the bottom (of the trail). One of them was from New York, another one was from Tennessee and all over," Archer said. "It's a difficult turn off (at Brush Creek Road), but once you get there and see the trail improvements that have been made, it's worth it. The Mercer County Commission is in partnership with Camp Creek State Park and also the Nature Conservancy on this particular project."
The trail now extends a full 2 miles from the pavilion on Brush Creek Road, past Brush Creek Falls and onward to White Oak Falls.
"That's a 4-mile hike and it's a good, healthy hike," Archer said. "Many people who have traveled the route before recognized that we had some real narrow areas. Some were like 12 inches or 14 inches. You can walk through those and not even know they were there now. The rocks were removed and the trail was widened, and it's just beautiful."
The Nature Conservancy worked closely with the trail contractor, Echo, to create bridge-like paths with stones across the shallow streams crossing the trail.
"There were some of those that were really rocky, but now they're in a place where they can walk across smoothly," Archer said. "The Nature Conservancy did not want the waters to diverted through a pipe or under the trail, but in a more natural way. And also the contractor widened and improved the walkway down to the base of Brush Creek Falls. That was getting really dangerous there, so he widened the top part of it and stabilized the bottom part of it. Now it's easier for people to traverse there."
A $150,000 grant through from the Alternate Trails Program, which is through the Federal Highway Department, funded the trail renovations, he said. This program is administered through the West Virginia Division of Highways.
Contact Greg Jordan at
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
