Weather Considerations: Freezing temperatures can occur anytime of the year. Snow can be expected from October through April. Dress for the weather. Be prepared Monongahela National Forest for sudden changes. Forest Roads are not 200 Sycamore Street maintained during the winter. Elkins, West Virginia 26241 (304) 636-1800 Telephone/TTY Area Rules: Camping and open campfires are prohibited Seneca Creek within 300 feet of Forest Road 112 and Forest Road 104. Backcountry Pets must be under your control at all times. Motor vehicles are restricted to roads and parking areas. Practice Leave No Trace outdoor ethics: do not build a camp within 200 feet of roads, streams and trails. For additional information, contact: Trails can be muddy and wet so be prepared to get your feet wet. Wear proper footwear. Bring drinking water; otherwise, treat water from streams and springs before drinking to kill harmful Cheat-Potomac Ranger District pathogens. HC59, Box 240 During hunting seasons, hikers are encouraged Petersburg, WV 26847 to wear high visibility clothing. (304) 257-4488, Extension 0 http://fs.usda.gov/mnf/
Trail Information: Trails are marked with blue blazes. Nondiscrimination Statement Description: The Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks Portions of some trails are occasionally used The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and National Recreation Area offers hikers a vast by authorized vehicles to access wildlife activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, backcountry to explore. Nearly 60 miles of management areas, maintain gas pipelines sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual trails wind through stands of red spruce, open and maintain trails. orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all meadows and along fast-flowing mountain prohibited bases apply to all programs). Persons streams. Beautiful northern hardwood forests with disabilities who require alternative means for of maple, beech, birch, cherry and other trees communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's cover most of the area creating a brilliant TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and display of fall color. Elevation ranges from TTY). 3,000 feet to over 4,800 feet above sea level. LARGE PRINT AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Seneca Creek Trail (TR 515) Bear Hunter Trail (TR 531) Spring Ridge Trail (TR 561) Seneca Creek Trail is the most heavily used trail in the The Bear Hunter trail departs from Seneca Creek just Spring Ridge Trail is an old road that provides hikers a area. From Forest Road 112 it follows the creek downstream from the Judy Springs bridge. This narrow route from County Road 29 to Allegheny Mountain. before reaching its terminus with Horton Trail. Seneca footpath climbs to the top of Allegheny Mountain passing The trail winds up the mountain through a hardwood Creek has many waterfalls cascading into clear pools. through a forest of cherry, maple and beech trees. forest where wildflowers are abundant in late spring Hikers must ford the creek as there are no footbridges. Length: 1 mile Fords: 0 Difficulty: Moderately and summer. Length: 5 miles Fords: several Difficulty: Strenuous. Length: 3.2 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Moderate Moderate Huckleberry Trail (TR 533) Allegheny Mountain Trail (TR 532) The Huckleberry Trail connects Seneca Creek to the Horton Trail (TR 530) summit of Spruce Knob. The trail climbs 1,000 feet passing Allegheny Mountain Trail follows the ridge of Allegheny through hardwood forests and small clearings. Once on Horton Trail is named after a settlement along Gandy Mountain through hardwood forests and several small the ridge, the trail heads south for three miles before Creek north of Whitmer. Trails such as this one were clearings. Beautiful views of the Seneca Creek reaching the Spruce Knob Tower parking lot. Hiking along the routes loggers followed over the mountains to get drainage can be seen when the leaves are off the the ridge offers breathtaking vistas to the east and west. to work. The trail crosses over Allegheny Mountain trees. Blueberries, huckleberries and azaleas are abundant here. and descends steeply into Seneca Creek. Length: 3.5 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Length: 5.2 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Length: 12.8 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Strenuous Moderately Strenuous Moderately Strenuous Tom Lick Trail (TR 559) Bee Trail (TR 555) Tom Lick Trail connects Allegheny Mountain Trail with Lumberjack Trail (TR 534) Bee Trail climbs 1,000 feet to the top of Leading Seneca Creek. The Lumberjack Trail utilizes an old railroad grade left by Ridge. Length: 1.1 mile Fords: 0 Difficulty: Easy turn of the century loggers. The trail has many seeps along Length: 1.4 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: the trail creating a marshy tread. Be prepared to get your Moderately Strenuous North Prong Trail (TR 528) feet muddy! This trail provides access to the remote High Meadow Trail. North Prong Trail follows the North Prong of Big Run Elza Trail (TR 556) connecting Allegheny Mountain Trail to Elza and Big Length: 5.3 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Moderate Run Trail. Open meadows and beaver ponds are Elza Trail begins at County Road 29 along Gandy found along the way. Creek upstream from Bee Trail. Elza Trail also climbs High Meadows Trail (TR 564) to the top of Leading Ridge and continues down the Length: 2.8 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Moderate High Meadows Trail connects Lumberjack and Huckleberry other side of the ridge to the North Prong of Big Run. Trails. This is a beautiful trail that passes through several Length: 2 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Swallow Rock Trail (TR 529) high meadows offering views of Allegheny Mountain to the Moderately Strenuous Swallow Rock Trail follows Swallow Rock Run up the west and Mt. Porte Crayon to the north. west side of Allegheny Mountain and drops down the Length: 1.9 mile Fords: 0 Difficulty: Moderate east side following an unnamed stream on its way to Leading Ridge Trail (TR 557) Seneca Creek. Leading Ridge Trail is a wide, grassy trail that goes Big Run Trail (TR 527) Length: 3.3 miles Fords: 1 Difficulty: from Gandy Creek to Allegheny Mountain Trail. Big Run Trail follows Big Run on what’s left of a turn-of-the- Moderately Strenuous Length: 5.3 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: century logging railroad grade. The trail climbs gradually Moderately Strenuous up Allegheny Mountain and ends at the parking lot for the Allegheny Mountain Trailhead on Forest Road 112. Judy Springs Trail (TR 512) Spruce Knob Lake Trail (TR 575) Length: 3.2 miles Fords: 0 Difficulty: Moderate Spruce Knob Lake Trail begins at the Spruce Knob The Judy Springs Trail connects Huckleberry Trail to Lake parking lot. It follows the dam, and encircles the Seneca Creek providing another route from the top of lake and includes wooden steps and boardwalks. Spruce Knob to the creek. The trail gets its name from Whispering Spruce Nature Trail (TR 567) a spring located at the western end that feeds Seneca The Whispering Spruce Nature Trail located at Spruce Length: 1.0 miles Creek. For most of the way, the trail passes through Knob, winds through windblown trees, giant boulders and Difficulty: Easy an open meadow. Length: 0.7 mile Fords: 1 has exceptional views to the east and west. Visitors can Difficulty: Moderate. feel what life is like for the plants and animals living above 4,000 feet in the Allegheny Mountains. The wide hard graveled path has gentle slopes.
Length: 1/2 mile Fords: 0 Difficulty: Easy T o
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Monongahela NF 31
7/1 7 %2 Allegheny Trailhead
29 0 33/3 8 5 1 R F
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2 3 5 R T
Horton %2Trailhead
Spring Ridge T R 40 Trailhead 530 %2 T R 5 61 6
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Johnny Meadows Shallow Rock Trailhead Campground 64 Bee Run !j 5 R Trailhead !< T %2 Legend T Elza Run T R Trailhead R 2
Trailhead 5 5 T 2 3 R 1 Parking at Trailhead 5 9 !j 55 !j 12 5 Campground Fee Area TR R !; 55 2 T 6 3 5 57 Leading Ridge 5 R 6 Tent Camping Area R T T !< Trailhead T R 5 Picnic Area Big Run %2 28 !5 of Gandy !j Trailhead ![ Overlook Area 4 T 3 R 5 5 2 R Spruce Knob Lookout Tower 7 T !A
5 29 1 33/4 Spuce Knob Lake 5 !m T R
R T Roads
5 5 Spruce Knob National 9 Recreation Area Boundary 3 3 Gatewood Seneca Creek 5 R Trails Map ID Length Name Campground Trailhead T 33/4 F TR512 0.7 Miles Judy Springs Trail R 1 !; 31 TR515 5.2 Miles Seneca Creek Trail F R TR527 3.2 Miles Big Run Trail 1 Spruce Knob %2%2 Allegheny Mtn %2 2 TR528 2.9 Miles North Prong Trail Campground 1 and Big Run %2 1 FR Huckleberry TR529 3.3 Miles Swallow Rock Trail 112 Trailhead R !; F Trailhead TR530 5.1 Miles Horton Trail Lumberjack !m 112 Trailhead !A%2 !5 FR TR531 1.0 Miles Bear Hunter Trail TR 7 575 6 TR532 13.1 Miles Allegheny Mountain Trail 5 R TR533 4.6 Miles Huckleberry Trail T ![ TR534 5.7 Miles Lumberjack Trail
4 TR555 1.5 Miles Bee Run Trail 0
1 TR556 2.2 Miles Elza Trail 2 R TR557 5.3 Miles Leading Ridge Trail 11 F FR TR559 1.2 Miles Tom Lick Run Trail !5 TR561 3.3 Miles Spring Ridge Trail 28/10 TR564 2.1 Miles High Meadows Trail TR567 0.6 Miles Whispering Spruce Trail TR575 1.0 Miles Spruce Knob Lake Trail
Miles 0 0.25 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 N Seneca Creek Backcountry W E MNF GIS Staff Monongahela National Forest UTM, Zone 17, NAD 83 Original data were compiled from multiple source data and may not meet ÅS June 11, 2007 the U.S.National Map Accuracy Standard of the Office of Management and Budget. This map has no warranties as to its contents or accuracy. c:/gis_data/projects/brochures/seneca_ck_backcounty.mxd