West Virginia trails · Blackbird Knob Trail
Blackbird Knob Trail
A 9.4-mile loop in West Virginia, with 429 ft of climbing. Reaches Blackbird Knob. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 3.1. It gives back about 1,101 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Blackbird Knob (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
BLACKBIRD KNOB TRAILHEAD — parking nearby. About 1 h 34 min drive (45 mi, 9 of them unpaved) from Elkins. 39.03322, -79.31434 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:58 a.m., the sun rises at 7:25 a.m. and sets at 6:40 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:07 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 15 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 9.4-mile route takes roughly 3 h 42 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:07 a.m. — 7 h 33 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Dobbin Grade Trail + UPPER RED CREEK TRAIL + Blackbird Knob Trail — 14.6 mi loop, 1,143 ft gain
Nearby trails
- American Discovery Trail — 2.4 mi
- North Fork Mtn (N.F Gap-Red) — 5.7 mi
- North Fork Mountain Trail — 13.0 mi
- Shavers Mountain Trail — 20.5 mi