West Virginia trails · Sugar Run

Sugar Run

A 4.5-mile out-and-back in West Virginia, with 2,276 ft of climbing. Reaches Lick Run Knob. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length

4.5 mi

Elevation gain

2,276 ft

Difficulty

Hard

Max grade

40%

Steepest mile

+775 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

1.8 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Bikes

yes

Horses

yes

Managed by

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the final third: 45% of the ascent falls between mile 3.0 and mile 4.5. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Lick Run Knob (summit)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Sugar Run access. About 2 h 03 min drive (80 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Elkins. 38.53804, -79.26803 · 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 7:24 a.m. and sets at 6:40 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:07 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 16 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 9.0-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 36 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:01 p.m. — 5 h 40 min before sunset.