Dolly Sods and Seneca Rocks

Sitting within West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest and Allegheny Plateau is a very unique national wilderness area, reminiscent of regions in northern Canada. Dolly Sods Wilderness sits atop the plateau at elevations ranging from 2,500 to over 4,700 feet. Just a short distance to the south is Seneca Rocks, famous for its dramatic quartzite rock fins rising nearly 900 feet, making it one of the top rock-climbing destinations in the eastern United States. Besides their proximity to each other, there is some interesting history that ties these two locations together.

The secluded wilderness area of Dolly Sods isn’t suited for RV camping so we stayed at the nearby Canaan Valley Resort State Park. We had a great campsite in the woods with a huge yard area that the dogs loved. We weren’t roughing it though, the resort is full of amenities such as an indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub, fitness center, golf course, restaurants and seasonally a ski hill and tubing center. There is even outdoor concerts on Friday night. Not bad for a state park!

As a wilderness area, Dolly Sods isn’t as accessible as places such as national parks or state parks. There are only a couple of roads that lead into the area and they are gravel and often pretty rough. But the roads aren’t the only potentially hazardous concern. The area is famous for its northern Canadian-style bogs, or freshwater wetlands. These bogs create a highly specialized ecosystems that support rare flora like carnivorous plants and sphagnum moss. However, with it comes the mud that can turn a pleasant walk through the forest into an ankle or knee deep adventure.

The unique environment in Dolly Sods made for a perfect area for military training, which brings up the other hazard. During World War II, the military used the plateau for artillery and mortar training. Unexploded ordnance (artillery or mortar shells) may still be found, and signage warns you of what to do (or not to do) if you find one. Yes, this place can be a blast in more than one way!

With all risks accounted for, we set out to explore the wilderness of Dolly Sods. Our goal was to properly experience the area and some of the best sites while avoiding the worst of the mud (and explosive devices). We were also dealing with some unseasonably hot and humid weather which adjusted our plans somewhat. Our adventures included the following:

Bear Rocks

On the northern edge of Dolly Sods is one of the most sought after areas, Bear Rocks. Not only does this area offer some great views, it also provides some fun scrambling on the unique rock formations. The loop trail is less than a mile but you can extend it by taking a short spur to the Stacked Rock viewpoint. On much of the trail you are traversing across the rocks and at times need to step over deep crevasses. This is truly a special experienced that should be top on your list at Dolly Sods.

Adjacent to the Bear Rocks Loop trailhead is another trail that combines Bear Rocks (not the aforementioned trail), Raven Ridge and Dobbins Grade trails. Many people just take this to the creek crossing and if the creek isn’t too high, extend it to the meadow. Taking it further into the Dobbins trail will most certainly get you to experience the muddy side of Dolly Sods. Our trek stopped at the creek which was a nice spot to stop for a snack, but honestly after the Bear Rocks Loop it was a little underwhelming.

Rohrbaugh Cliffs

After an hour drive to the Rohrbaugh Trail, we found that the road was closed a half mile from the trailhead. Rather than risking a walk down the road to a trail that may or may not be open (we later determined it was open) we drove up the road a bit to Wildlife Trail which cuts over to near the end of Rohrbaugh Trail. This trail had a lot of muddy areas, probably not horrible by Dolly Sods standards, but our boots needed a good cleaning at the end of the day. It did allow us to experience the wetlands ecosystem with all of the ferns and moss along the way.

Our main objective for this trail was to reach the overlook, which we were able to get to by backtracking about 3/4 of a mile once we reached the trail from Wildlife. This “top of the world” view was worth every muddy step along the way – simply magnificent! The viewpoint is out on a rock outcropping looking out over the gorge and across the way to Lion’s Head Rocks. We clocked in 4.7 miles total which is just under what it would be to get to the overlook from the Rohrbaugh trailhead.

Lion’s Head Rocks

After seeing the Lion’s Head rock formations from the other side, I was even more motivated to do this more difficult and top rated trail from the Red Creek trailhead. However, the relentless heat and incoming rain put this trail on hold until next time. Drop us a comment if you’ve been to Lion’s Head Rocks.

As mentioned, Seneca Rocks sits just beyond the southern border of Dolly Sods, towering up nearly 900 feet from the North Fork River with its quartzite fins. Originally a place where Native American people inhabited for hunting, travel, and trade, this area too was used for military training during WWII. The U.S. Army used Seneca Rocks to train soldiers rock climbing and alpine warfare techniques. In 1965, the area became part of the Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area and quickly developed into one of the top rock climbing destinations in the eastern United States and one of the most well known landmarks in West Virginia.

Since we survived Dolly Sods, we weren’t going to press our luck any further with scaling the walls of Seneca Rocks, but lucky for us, there is a trail that takes you to an observation platform. The trail is 3-4 miles round trip depending where you start and how far you go, but you will be climbing 800 feet or more to reach it. The observation platform provides amazing views of the valley below, but the money shot is a rock scramble just a bit further to the North Summit. It’s a short scramble but tricky reaching the summit – slow and steady is the strategy. Talk about being on top of the world! Wow!!!

For those not wanting to do the climb, there are still amazing views from the Discovery Center. If you’re lucky you might even get to spot some climbers on the rock face.

Whereas Dolly Sods may not be for everyone, as it’s strictly a hiking and backpacking destination, Seneca Rocks is well worth a visit for anyone traveling through the area. Many people simply marvel at it from the ground level. We thoroughly enjoyed our entire experience in the area, including our stay at Canaan Valley.

Check out the rest of our pictures.