Beckley, WV – (WWNR) – Members of the WV Land Trust joined local, state and federal officials in a ribbon cutting Thursday for the Wildwood Trailhead in the Piney Creek Preserve.
The Waterfall Hollow Trail, located at the end of Stanaford Mine Road, runs for a quarter mile before splitting off in two directions leading to the Little Whitestick Falls and the Cranberry Creek Cascades.
The new trail is the start of the planned development of the 613 acres of the Piney Creek Preserve, according to James Cecil, Operations Manager of the WV Land Trust.
“The Wildwood Trailhead will be the start of a four and a half mile trail that runs the length of the preserve heading downstream or north on Pine Creek towards the New River Gorge National Park.”
“Today what people can find is a map that describes the Waterfall Hollow Trail, and they’ll find two beautiful waterfalls that are on the West Virginia Waterfall Trail. They will also find a recreation vision plan that describes all of the different recreation elements that we plan to develop over the next two to ten years, depending on funding.”
Both of the waterfalls have been added to the West Virginia Waterfall Trail, which includes 40 waterfalls from across the state.
“I’ve spoken to so many people that didn’t even realize, people that went to Woodrow, that these two beautiful waterfalls were right here.” said Leslie Baker, Beckley Parks and Recreation Director.
“We’ve made them accessible so that people can enjoy them. It’s just a, you know, just a quarter of a mile walk to see two waterfalls. It’s very flat, so even people with some mobility issues can come down here. So we encourage people to come out and visit what’s been in our backyard and we didn’t even know about it.”
The Piney Creek Preserve is the cornerstone of the larger Beckley Outdoors Economic Action Plan, which is still in the works. Plans for the more than 600 acres of the Piney Creek Preserve, include additional trails and trailheads, scenic overlooks, biking trails, rock climbing locations, fishing access locations and more.
