West Virginia trails · Pocahontas Trail
Pocahontas Trail
A 17.8-mile out-and-back in West Virginia, with 730 ft of climbing. Reaches Hanging Rock. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,801 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Hanging Rock (summit)
Getting there
Pocahontas Trail access. 38.27232, -80.44012 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:23 a.m., the sun rises at 6:50 a.m. and sets at 7:53 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:20 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 03 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 35.7-mile round trip works out to roughly 13 h 56 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- BLUE KNOB TRAIL + KENNISON MOUNTAIN TRAIL + Pocahontas Trail — 6.3 mi loop, 323 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Fork Mountain Trail — 4.0 mi
- Middle Fork Trail — 5.7 mi
- Big Beechy — 10.5 mi
- Kennison Mountain Trail — 10.5 mi