Morris Creek Road to Cathedral State Park

Morris Creek Road is a relic from the 1920s timber boom that somehow missed the magnificent hemlock grove it now leads to. This narrow mountain track follows Morris Creek’s course through second-growth hardwoods before delivering you to Cathedral State Park, where 500-year-old hemlocks tower like Gothic pillars in West Virginia’s most untouched forest fragment. The road itself tells the story of Appalachian extraction — old splash dams, rusted cable remnants, and railroad grades now grown over with rhododendron thickets.

Technically easy but requires careful driving on the narrow, rocky sections where the original corduro logging road shows through. Any vehicle with decent ground clearance can make it, but wide rigs will scrape laurel branches. Best visited late spring through early fall when creek crossings are manageable and bugs tolerable. No permits needed for the road, but respect the Cathedral — it’s one of the few places in West Virginia where you can stand among trees that were ancient when European settlers arrived. Worth the slow drive for a humbling walk among giants.