Coopers Rock

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Coopers Rock (State Forest)

Seemingly out of left field, I present to you Coopers Rock State Forest, outside of Morgantown, West Virginia. Located (sort of) on the way to Columbus, this proved to be a neat stop on the way in late summer of 2024.

As I sit here and write this I cannot say that you should immediately put this on your biking bucket list. This park is old-school Appalachian mountain, raw mountain biking. In the pantheon of travel-to-bike, it's hard to say you should plan a trip out here for this, as it's in-line with a park like Allamuchy. However, if you're going to be out here, it's well worth the stop.

The area is old, and beautiful - as you can see from the picture below. The trees are dense and tall, and the whole vibe of the place is pretty magnificent.

Morgantown also isn't for everyone. I'm not sure how to say this kindly, so let's go with this. There will be no gender neutral bathrooms here.

view1.jpg

Getting There/Parking/Camping

This park is a solid 5+ hours from NJ, out 78, through Harrisburg to 81, then off through the panhandle of Maryland and into WV. The last 1/3 of the drive is pretty scenic & beautiful.

There are many parking areas but you should park near the overlook.

I also rode through several campsites while here. So if you're into camping that's also an option.

General Ride/Trail Notes

Many of the trails here are quite similar, but I will give you what I learned.
  1. Ridge Trail - you'll want to go down this to start. Fast, loose, fun downhill to kick off your ride.
  2. Advanced Ski Trail - this is also fun coming down, but there were 2 trees down when I was here
  3. Scott Run Trail - while not a destination per se, this was nice ST that was pretty peaceful and relaxing in the second half
Most of everything else I do not specifically remember enough to say much about.

furnace.jpg

Routes
  • August 2024 here - recommend this as a base, which is a 2+ hour set of loops (5 and 10 miles, roughly)
Trip Planner

At this time, I do not know enough about this area to suggest any sort of trip.

Food & Drink

I only stopped for coffee before I kept driving to Columbus. But it was a good shop
Links
 
Probably weren't expecting this one as your next entry. But here we are. Thanks to @krink for the tip on this, who will serve as my guide as I trek back & forth to Columbus now & again.

This was my first-ever ride in WV. I know a lot of people see WV as...well let's say different place than NJ. It's pretty damn beautiful out here.
 
Probably weren't expecting this one as your next entry. But here we are. Thanks to @krink for the tip on this, who will serve as my guide as I trek back & forth to Columbus now & again.

This was my first-ever ride in WV. I know a lot of people see WV as...well let's say different place than NJ. It's pretty damn beautiful out here.
Agree that the culture there is subtly but definitely different than NJ as a whole. And chicken fried steak and biscuits and sausage gravy are strong alternatives to pork roll. Jus sayin.
 
Appreciate the intel on a riding spot in WV. Haven't ridden in that state yet, but definitely on the bucket list for a camping/biking weekend.

Will mention that I have visited Morgantown back during my college days. As it is a college town, and I had visited 1 of the many campus watering holes. While there, that was the closest I've ever come to getting my ass kicked by a bouncer. For doing something that apparently wasn't allowed anymore, but the evidence was everywhere that it had occurred a lot prior to me getting there.
 
Used to go to WV annually with my bros in the 90s for manly men bike trips. Good memories. Cumberland is supposed to also have a good network as well. Once you hit that panhandle it becomes God's country.
 
This was my first-ever ride in WV. I know a lot of people see WV as...well let's say different place than NJ. It's pretty damn beautiful out here.

I know they're heavy into ATV/Off road tourism now but I always felt like they had much better terrain if they got the influx of money Bentonville or Brevard got to build up some MTB infrastructure. Snowshoe isn't too far away either.
 
I know they're heavy into ATV/Off road tourism now but I always felt like they had much better terrain if they got the influx of money Bentonville or Brevard got to build up some MTB infrastructure. Snowshoe isn't too far away either.

From one of my past Highlights posts:

"According to Munich, the trails will open either later this fall or in spring 2025… it all depends on the weather and how the build wraps up."

This and Snowshoe are really closed to that Stokesville/Harrisonburg area - at least as the crow flies. I know the terrain here dictates that roads do not necessarily run directly from point A to B. But the whole area creates an interesting circle to explore.

Probably a bit too far south for a detour when going to Columbus though.
 
LOL I can only imagine.
@krink, if I'm remembering correctly, "The Bullpen Cantina"? This would be in 1989.

The bartender would clear the bar of bottles by clothesline sweeping them all onto the floor. Any that didn't shatter were handled by bar patrons stomping on them. As I was ready to exit, gave a bottle a good stomp, but failed. The heckling from the dudes I was with encouraged another go, which was successful. Walked out the front door and was chased by the bouncer, who grabbed me and proceeded to scream in my face. My response was "what's wrong, what did I do." He then changes tune and says "nothing, the owner is sitting there and I got to make it look like I'm doing something to make the bottle breaking stop. Have a good night."
 
@krink, if I'm remembering correctly, "The Bullpen Cantina"? This would be in 1989.

The bartender would clear the bar of bottles by clothesline sweeping them all onto the floor. Any that didn't shatter were handled by bar patrons stomping on them. As I was ready to exit, gave a bottle a good stomp, but failed. The heckling from the dudes I was with encouraged another go, which was successful. Walked out the front door and was chased by the bouncer, who grabbed me and proceeded to scream in my face. My response was "what's wrong, what did I do." He then changes tune and says "nothing, the owner is sitting there and I got to make it look like I'm doing something to make the bottle breaking stop. Have a good night."
I knew that place well. Plenty of nights in Sunnyside. Its a truly awesome place to live for a few years as soon as you realize you're not in Kansas anymore. Some things you just need to go with. I was there undegrad 87-91.
 
Only ever hiked Coopers rock incredible views
And big bear was the hardest place I ever rode my SS
big bear is definitely a unique place. One May trip with the guys, it rained, hailed and snowed all in the same ride. Made those little wood features and boulder lines much more interesting.
 
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