Sep 1

Sep 1 Explore Almost Heaven at West Virginia’s Highest Peak: Spruce Knob

Post summary: Tips for visiting Spruce Knob, including activities, places to stay, and more.

At 4,863 feet, Spruce Knob is the highest peak in West Virginia. It’s surprisingly not as well known as other parks in the mountain state. The area lies within Monongahela National Forest and is known for the stunning views from the rugged alpine peak to the surrounding mountains and open fields.

View from the forestry road near the top of Spruce Knob

Spruce Knob is easily one of my new favorite places to explore. The views are absolutely amazing, the trails are a good mixture of difficult and easy, and you’re in such a remote area that it instantly calms your soul the second you turn onto the forest road.

In this guide, I’m sharing lots of useful information for when you visit this area, including tips for visiting, hiking trails and camping suggestions, safety tips, and more.

Important Information for visiting

Depending on how long you want to explore here, you can see the top scenic locations in one day or turn it into a multiday camping trip.

Getting Here/Around

If your first stop is the observation tower, then you’ll want to take US-33 W as if you’re coming from Seneca Rocks. But if you’re heading straight to Spruce Knob Lake campground, you’ll want to take US-33 E coming from Elkins. Both locations can be accessed from either direction, though. The forest roads here switch between paved and gravel, with many potholes and bumps along the road. The roads also have some sharp curves along the thin road so you’ll have to pay attention while driving for when another car is coming from the opposite direction.

The nearest towns are Seneca Rocks, Caanan Valley, Whitmer, and Petersburg.

Note - the forestry roads are not maintained during the winter months.

Where to Stay

Backcountry Camping - many of the trails, specifically Seneca Creek and Huckleberry, have tons of campsites set up with rock chairs and fire pits. Campsites must be set up at least 300 feet away from the trailheads/forest roads, and 200 feet away from the trails and streams. If you plan to start a campfire, please use the pre-made campsites that have fire pits already.

Spruce Knob Lake Campground - 42 campsites are available, some are first come first served while the majority can be reserved on recreation.gov. About 12 of the sites are walk-in, the rest are back-in sites. The campground has bear-proof trashcans throughout as well as outhouses; there is one water handpump available. There is a campground manager on-site; firewood is available for purchase.

Gatewood Campground - this is the group campground, with three sites available.

>> Related: Tips For Your First Solo Female Camping Trip <<

Bear & Weather Safety

Black bears are active in the region, though they try to avoid people. Here are some bear safety tips:

Hang food between two trees at least 10 feet off the ground
Store food in bear-proof containers/bags
Keep the sleeping area at least 100 yards away from where you’re cooking
Make noise while hiking
Remain calm, don’t turn your back to the bear, make yourself look large
Click here to learn more about bear safety

As for the weather, with the high elevation, expect random storms and freezing temperatures any time of the year. Expect snow anytime between the months of October to April.

Leave No Trace

Our parks are absolutely beautiful, and it’s a shame how so many people treat them. To help minimize your impact when visiting the remote landscape of Spruce Knob, please remember the Leave No Trace 7 Principles.

Plan Ahead & Prepare
Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Activities to do in Spruce Knob

Hiking

Spruce Knob offers almost 60 miles of hiking trails. Many trails cannot be reached unless you connect them with another trail. Below are the most popular trails:

Spruce Knob Lake Trail - 1-mile loop
Seneca Creek Trail - 5.2 miles, one way
Huckleberry Trail - 4.6 miles, one way
Whispering Spruce Trail - 0.5 miles, loop

Along the trails, you’ll pass through northern hardwood forests and mountain meadows, waterfalls, blueberry and huckleberry bushes, and the one-sided red spruce trees. There can be many stream crossings, so be wary if it rained recently as some might be impassable. Trails are fairly well marked, with the use of blue blazes on trees.

>> Related: Hiking As A Solo Female: 5 Tips <<

Many of the trailheads have super small parking lots, so you’ll have to park on the side of the road - but please respect the vegetation.

View more trails and the trail maps here.

Stargazing

With Spruce Knob being the highest peak in the state, you’ll have unobstructed views of the night sky over the mountains. There are many spots you could set up for viewing the stars; from the open meadows to the observation tower, or along the forest road where you can find a few open scenic vistas.

Observation Tower

The Whispering Spruce Trail will lead you to the Spruce Knob Observation Tower, which provides 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains. The parking lot here has picnic tables, grills, and vault toilets available (toilets not open in the wintertime). This lot is fairly large but try to avoid coming at peak hours so you don’t run the risk of no parking.

Spruce Knob Lake

This 23-acre lake is the highest elevation lake in the state. It was built in 1952 for fishing and is a popular trout fishing location, though there’s other fish here as well. There is a small boat launch for those looking to kayak or canoe. Electric trolling motors and non-motorized boats are allowed on the lake as well. The one-mile lake trail goes around the entire lake providing ample fishing and photography opportunities.