West Virginia holds some of the most rugged singletrack riding in the country. While the New River Gorge region offers a slight respite from some of its more gnarly terrain, it still boasts a few of the most iconic rides in the Mountain State.

“It’s on a plateau, so there aren’t going to be super long climbs or descents,” said Andrew Forron, who lives in Fayetteville and has been riding in the New River Gorge for three decades. “I wouldn’t call the terrain super hard. There are some legitimate blacks and some hard trails around. It has amazing traction—even when it’s dry. It’s a special spot in West Virginia. It’s got good dirt, and it doesn’t beat you to death.”

That “good dirt” has seen a lot of history. Hundreds of years ago the Shawnee people hunted along the New River Gorge plateau and its steep canyon rims. More recently, Henry Ford’s mining operations hauled coal down to the river. Today, trail riders rip through dense rhododendron tunnels and jump downed trees. The Kaymoor Miners Trail used to be the only noteworthy piece of singletrack. Now mountain bikers in the area enjoy some 90 miles of trail spread out amongst rolling hills and cliff s long popular with rock climbers.

“Kaymoor [Miners Trail] was a big deal,” said Forron about the region’s scene in the ‘90s. “They were kind of similar to the structure of trails here now—at least in the same areas. Town Park had some trails and it connected over to Kaymoor. There were sketchy old log roads and doubletracks and some motorcycle trails in there.”

Kaymoor, as it’s referred to locally, is an 8.7-mile trail that spans partially up one side of the Gorge and runs from Fayette Station Road just outside Fayetteville to the small town of Cunard, a once-booming coal town. It’s a mix of singletrack and access road with a few hard little punches, but without too many highly technical sections. What makes Kaymoor so captivating is its numerous viewpoints and trailside artifacts of a bygone mining era—sealed-off mine entrances and a stark sign riders pass underneath that reads “Your Family Wants You To Work Safely” offer sobering reminders that this area hasn’t been a recreational haven for very long.

In fact, it wasn’t until 2021 that New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was named the nation’s 63rd national park. Prior to this inception, the National Park Service (NPS) had it run as a National Scenic River since 1978. With its fresh park designation, “the New” was solidified as a world-class destination for tourism and outdoor recreation. That designation, coupled with the boom in remote work that sprung from the COVID-19 pandemic, has sparked new growth and energy in the small town of Fayetteville—population 3,000—which sits at the entrance to the New River Gorge.