kanawha state forest

I'm from Texas so This place was Amazingly Beautiful, you get lost in the beautiful scenery ♡ The roads leading to this place are very curvy I even got a little car sick but It was well worth it!

If you need a place to get away especially on a weekday try this place. It is easy to get to and has many hiking trails, picnic areas where you can disappear for a spell to take in the breath taking beauty of the Mountain State! A must see place.

It took a few wrong turns to weave through the residential neighborhoods to get to the area but we found it extremely nice. While my son worked one day, I went to try the shooting range and had it to my self. It was removed and situated in such a manner as to give protection to out lying areas in event of errant rounds. Gives those of us responsible shooters a nice place to enjoy our sport in a safe environment for all. On the day my family went to the Forest, we experiences nice trails, a nice swimming pool and playground areas for younger children. Quiet and peaceful place to enjoy nature. Nicely maintained by the staff. Highly recommend a visit.

Loved the location of this campground! A little tricky to get to (lots of narrow, windy roads) but definitely worth the trip! When I made our reservation, the ranger I spoke with said he had the perfect spot for me and boy was he right! We were close to the bath house and right along the river. Turns out the site used to be the rangers so he had spent a lot of time cleaning it up and building up the bank along the river. It was absolutely beautiful! All of the rangers we spoke with were extremely friendly and helpful. They were able to give advice about things to do in the nearby cities and also which hikes to take within the park. They even stopped back to follow up with us to make sure we enjoyed our adventures. The hikes within this park were a bit strenuous - at least the trails we hiked! They certainly weren't a walk in the park! There were lots of parks scattered throughout and they also have a nice large pool and many shelters for picnics. Everything was very well maintained. The rangers would deliver ice and firewood - and the prices weren't any higher than you would pay elsewhere. My one and only complaint - the garbage bins were so far away. It would be much more convenient for campers (especially those who only have their RV's) if there was a dumpster near the bath house. I really enjoyed staying here - wish we had been able to stay longer!

This is a real gem. Just 10-15 minutes or so from downtown Charleston you can hike, camp, or fish at a small but beautiful state forest. I can only speak to the hiking and camping as I don't fish. Camping is very good, campsite fees are a little more expensive in some places and firewood is $5 a bundle. However, you get a ton of firewood. Restrooms are fully functional with showers (I don't even think there are outhouses here). Campsites range from open to extremely secluded. The sites across the street from the bathroom tend to be more secluded. You can make reservations or its first come first served. We've never made reservations and have always found sites even on busy weekends like July 4th or Memorial day. Hiking is good, except for one or two trails, the trails are moderately difficult, a lot of uphill climbing. There's plenty of hiking to keep you occupied for a long time. If you like geocaches, there are several in the park. Its a beautiful place, especially for being so close to the state capitol. Lets home they keep the forest pristine and don't allow the mountain top removal mining next door (currently on hold).

We hiked the Endless Wall trail and loved the dense Magnolia bushes. It's a fairly easy hike and we saw several families with pre-teens. It took a couple of hours to hike the trail loop, but we stopped for awhile as well. Some of us had flip flops which were a bit difficult as there were quite a few wet places, rocks and roots and the forest is quite dense. There are quite a few rocky places to look out over the New River Gorge and watch boats go over the rapids. It was just breath taking!

A great place to go for a walk or a hike. Trails are well marked. Different levels of trails depending on what you're looking for. They have shelters if you are looking for a place to enjoy the outdoors for the day.

We drove from St. Albans to the park and really enjoyed the narrow, winding road. Beautiful scenery to and at the park. It was a bit cold for hiking but we enjoyed the short walk we took

It's a shame that more people don't take advantage of this facility. Shelters are very nice for group outings. It's a very peaceful environment in a beautiful setting.

From my notes from my work trip to Charleston in August. I had some free time and needed the exercise so I drove out here and got a trail map and went for a hike. The trails were well marked and I enjoyed the elevation change and the workout I got from my hike. I saw lots of birds but I didn't see any mammals larger than a squirrel. The trails were great and I'm glad I drove out here to hike. While driving back out of the park I saw lots of picnic shelters and saw a lot of people on bikes. This is a great park and well worth a visit.

A beautiful little park about 15 minutes outside of Charleston. Not particularly well advertised or famous (likely the reason it remains pristine), it has a good reputation with local botanists and mountain bikers as well as those who just want to walk and enjoy the woods.A note for the unwary: You will have NO PHONE SERVICE here. It doesn't matter what your carrier is. Take a map to get you out of the area and be prepared for a few hours without phone calls, texts, or internet service.

It is so close to Charleston, and it is surprising how unblemished it is. The walking trails were nice, and we got to see a lot of unusual plants including a Ghost Plant and a Coral Fungus. I would have liked to have had either a trail map or better signs for their trails, but I had printed out the hiking trail descriptions so we knew difficulty and location before we started out.

I walk and ride my bike around Kanawha State Forest often. The wildflowers in the spring are wonderful and I love the streams, picnic areas. The camping area is very nice as well.

Beautiful State park, however, there wasn't a map to be found and there were poorly marked trails as to what you would see once yo ustarted down the path and/or the length. These items would help. Also, my hotel didn't have any info so brochures provided to area hoteliers would be helpful.

Kanawha State forest has a wealth of things to do and see. There is a small, wheelchair accessible nature trail (the trail is flat). There's a swimming pool, several playgrounds, picnic shelters, a kids' and handicap-accessible fishing pond, a gun range, a campground, and a really huge netowrk of trails. The trails are where it's at in Kanawha State Forest. The map offered by the Forest Office is OK- but not anything to write home about. If you're good at finding your way around, it will do. More than that- you may want to stop at Charleston Blueprint and pick up the topo maps of the area. The trail network is somewhat difficult, because it consists of a mix of old and current logging roads (and gas well access roads) that you access via genuine old-fashioned trails. The trails are all pretty steep (but relatively short) to get you to the "roads." The network creates a really large variety of trail combinations you can do - pace yourself. In the past, there have been some security issues in the parking areas - particularly the ones further back in the park - don't leave your stuff sitting out in your car. They are occasionally broken into. Because of the steepness of the mountains, you'll find cell service and GPS reception can be difficult. You can always get cell service by tromping to the top of a trail. You'll find some amazing attractions back in the forest - beautiful waterfalls, rocky ridges, Alligator Rock - that really looks like an alligator, an old coal mine entrance, loads of amazing wildlife. It is an overall great place!