History Hike | Hikes and Hops

Fayetteville, WV

Another must-do hike in New River River Gorge is the Long Point Trail. This trail gives you incredible views of the gorge and huge bridge spanning it. For an extra challenge, add on the Kaymoor Miners Trail for some serious elevation gain and a history lesson of the industry in Fayetteville. Afterwards, you’ve definitely earned a pint at Bridge Brew Works where you can enjoy a Belgian-style brew in their rustic, yet rustic outdoor biergarten.

THE HIKE: Long Point to Kaymoor Miners Trail

Length: 5.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 1470ft
Difficulty: Difficult
Time: 3-3.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking Only (Long Point open to bikes)
Parking: Large Lot, pit toilets
H&H: 4/5

Long Point Trail is another of the most popular hikes in New River Gorge. It is located on the Fayetteville side of the park, about 5 miles away from the Canyon Rim Visitor Center. Although it has a larger parking lot than Endless Wall, I can still foresee it filling up on super busy days. There are several different trails that can be accessed from this parking lot, including Timber Ridge Trail.

Since we did a combination of trails to make a larger loop, I’ll talk about the two main trails individually and then recommendations on how to combine them. Truthfully, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing these two trails together as the Kaymoor Miners Trail is fairly difficult on its own. But if you’re up for a challenge and have plenty of water, go for it!

The Long Point Trail is a 3.0 mile out and back trail with little elevation changes and some more technical rocky parts. It is open for hiking, leashed pets and mountain biking but bikers should be aware that the last 0.2 miles of the trail is closed to bikes. Conveniently, there is a bike rack placed so that bikers can still walk out to see the viewpoint. Which you are definitely going to want to see, this is arguably the most incredible view in the entire park. It’s an amazing feeling to walk out of the trees and suddenly be on an outcropping surrounded by so much blue sky and so many trees!

This trail is fairly easy and we encountered many families enjoying the hike. The trail starts out very wide and there are some wildlife viewing platforms that look out over grassy fields. Soon though, the trail dips into the forest. There are plenty of interesting interpretive signs along the route to teach about ecology. Along this trail, you will encounter some offshoots for other trails, but if you are heading to the lookout, you can stay straight. One of the great things about this trail is that you don’t have to hike up a mountainside for the view! In fact, the trail actually slopes downward as it heads towards the view. The most difficult hiking is nearest to the overlook, with some rocky steps that people with ability restrictions might find difficult. However, I still give this trail a moderate difficulty rating.

Make sure to really take your time at the overlook and see it from all angles! Also please be patient as you may have to wait your turn for a quintessential picture with the bridge in the background. After you’re ready to continue, start back along the Long Point Trail. After about 0.7 miles, you’ll come to a branch in the trail. Staying on the Long Point Trail takes you back to the parking for an out and back of 3.2 miles. However, if you want to continue to the Kaymoor Miners Trail, bear to the left to get on the Butcher Branch Trail which heads down into a valley. You’ll find much more solitude on the section of the trail. Eventually, this trail will end at the Kaymoor parking lot where there are pit toilets but no running water. Continue through the parking lot and the Kaymoor Miners Trailhead will be on the left.

Before heading out on this part of the trail, please don’t let the short distance fool you. This is a strenuous hike with nearly 1000ft of elevation gain and trekking up and down 821 steps. I highly encourage you to check it out because the history is fascinating but please only undertake this if your fitness level is up for it, you have proper footwear, and are carrying enough water. From the trailhead, the path immediately starts downhill. The wooded path is narrow and you will encounter a lot of others on the trail. Remember that hikers coming uphill have the right of way! As you climb down the mountainside, there are some beautiful spots of flowing water. About halfway down, you’ll encounter a larger trail called the Kaymoor Trail which is a long point to point trail that intersects with the Kaymoor Miners trail. This is a great spot to catch your breathe and read up on the history of the spot. From here, you’ll descend down the 821 steps, following along the old mining route to abandoned ruins of the mining site. Please be aware that this area is not maintained by the park service and you should exercise caution while exploring. The official trail ends at the end of the stairs but there are clear community foraged paths around the structures. Personally, I found the building to be rather spooky so I didn’t get too adventurous poking about. A warning, this trail does NOT go all the way to the New River and there is an active railroad at the bottom. Please do not ever walk on active rail lines!

So now the fun part: getting back up the stairs. Let me tell you, I don’t care how fit you are, this is going to be a challenge. Take as many breaks as you need, there’s no shame! Thankfully, we had this section of the trail to ourselves so no one had to listen to our ragged breathing. Once you get to the top of the stairs, take a nice break because the elevation just keeps climbing until you get back to Kaymoor parking lot. If you only hiked the Kaymoor Miners trail then congrats, you’re done! If you parked at Long Point, I hate to say it but you’ve still got more to go. Head to opposite end of the parking lot and get on the Fayetteville Trail. Take this for 0.6 miles until it meets back up with the Long Point Trail. From there, it’s only 0.4 miles back to the parking lot. Thankfully the section of trail from Kaymoor to Long Point parking lots is fairly flat and easy!

All in all, this loop combines the best viewpoint in the park with the fascinating history of coal mining in Fayetteville. These are must-do hikes while in New River Gorge, but definitely require sturdy footwear and plenty of water and snacks. This is also a hike that I strongly recommend having a change of socks and shoes in the car!

THE BEER: Bridge Brew Works

Address: 335 Nick Rahall Greenway, Fayetteville, WV 25840
Distance from Trail Head: 4.7 miles, 8 mins
Website: www.bridgebrewworks.com
Food?: BYOF, Food Trucks
Details: Outdoor seating, dog friendly

If you find yourself a little parched after that hike, I’ve got the perfect place for you! Just under 5 miles away, is the small brewery Bridge Brew Works. While they’ve been producing beer since 2010, they were able to open their space to the public in 2018. This is a unique brewery space because it’s entirely outside with a huge covered patio and a large uncovered patio with lawn games and firepits. While we were visiting, they were also working on another covered patio space! Because of the backyard vibe of the brewery, they are only open March thru December. Bridge Brew Works makes a lot of different types of beer, but they specialize in Belgian-style brews while also making seasonal favorites. Their two headliner beers that can be found on tap all season, as well as in local distributors are the Mountain Momma Pale Ale and the Long Point Lager. I love being able to have a beer named after the hike I just did, so the Long Point was a no-brainer choice! We also enjoyed the Mountain Momma and the New River IPA which paired perfected with kicking back in an Adirondack chair next to a firepit.

I really wish we had more time at this brewery because its laid back charm was right up my alley. This will 100% be on my list for our next trip to Fayetteville!

Our Beer:

Mountain Momma – Pale Ale – 5.5%
New River – IPA – 6.6%
Long Point Lager – Lager – 4.6%

Looking for more Hikes & Hops in New River Gorge? Check out Grandview Rim & Weathered Ground Brewing and Endless Wall & FreeFolk Brewing

Lawrenceville, PA

Last weekend, we took our first urban hike of the season…in a cemetery! No this wasn’t a spooky Halloween themed walk. We wanted to explore the beautiful and historic Allegheny Cemetery in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh and learn more about its history. Following a self-guided tour from the cemetery’s website, we were able to find and read about more than 30 notable people buried in the cemetery! Afterward we imbibed at Pittsburgh’s newest brewery, Coven Brewing! If you’re in the mood for an urban history hike and hop, this one’s for you!

THE HIKE: Allegheny Cemetery History Hike

Length: 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 450 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 3 hours
Trail use: Walking, running, biking, NO PETS
Parking: Parking at visitor center (Butler Street)
H&H: 4/5

Okay so you might be thinking that a cemetery is a weird place to take a hike. In a lot of places, it’s not normal to stroll through a cemetery; you might feel that you’re disturbing the peace! But while also a resting place, Allegheny Cemetery is also a beautiful park that is full of nature, art, and history! In fact, the cemetery encourages people to visit by preparing self-guided tours with themes like Pittsburgh Mayors, African American History, Dynamic Women, and more! We opted to do Notable People which included famous industrialists, musicians, politicians, and military heroes. To find this and other self-guided tours, follow this link: https://mobile.webcemeteries.com/allegheny/26/Tours#tourId=701

Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest rural cemeteries in the country, encompassing over 300 acres and memorializing over 124,000 people. The cemetery was established in 1844 and some of the oldest graves are from Revolutionary War veterans. This cemetery is unique because it was built with nature in mind. It was always meant to incorporate the natural landscape so the paths between gravesites meander through trees and past ponds. It’s made to be a peaceful place of contemplation!

A few things before you head out to the cemetery for a stroll. Firstly, leave your furry friends at home! Feel free to pack some snacks or a picnic but, as on any hike, leave no trace! Also please take your time and enjoy nature, but avoid sitting or leaning on graves or other memorial structures. Overall, be respectful of the dead and their families. Especially since this is still an active cemetery and you may encounter a burial service while you are there.

When exploring the Cemetery, make sure to give yourself plenty of time. This isn’t going to be the type of walk that you finish in an hour! In fact, we spent almost 3 hours here and the only thing that stopped us was our empty water bottles! Also make sure to have fully charged phone if you’re following the self-guided tour. I found that the website drained my battery pretty quickly!

The tours are pretty easy to follow. You can see the map with all of the key locations numbered and to navigate, just click on the directions icon and it will bring up google maps to give you walking directions. We found the website to be very easy to use! At each burial site, we took turns reading the short bio about the interned person. A few times, we weren’t able to find the exact headstone, but we made it close to the area and still read the description. I really want to give a shout out to the staff and volunteers who researched and created the self-guided tours! I learned so much and I’m so glad that this resource was created!

*Grave of Joseph Wainwright, early brewer in Pittsburgh*

*Grave of Vietnam War veteran Lester Madden, whose favorite movie was Jaws*

*Grave of Stephen Foster, celebrated composer*

If you’re a history buff, there are a couple of really interesting people to read about. First is Dr. Charles Avery, an abolitionist who ran a stop on the Underground Railroad in Pittsburgh! Then was the huge memorial fortress to John B. Ford, the founder of Pittsburgh Plate Glass (now a little company called PPG Industries). Another fun one was the grave for Joseph Wainwright, an early brewmaster who used wild hops that grew along the river to make his own beer! His company eventually merged with others to become the Pittsburgh Brewing Company (makers of Iron City Beer!) . There’s so many more and if you are familiar at all with Pittsburgh, you’ll definitely see some familiar names popping up again and again. Names like Mellon, Schenley, Neville, McCandless, Scaife and more!

If you’re looking for a different type of hike, I highly encourage you to check out a self-guided tour of Allegheny Cemetery. Even if you’re not a big history person, the peace and beauty of this park is sure to satisfy you! And once you’re tired of walking, there’s no shortage of places to eat and drink outside of the cemetery walls! Let’s head over to Coven Brewing to check it out!

THE BEER: Coven Brewery

Address: 4901 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Distance from Trail Head: 0.2 miles, 5 mins walking
Website: http://covenbrewingpgh.com/
Food?: BYOF or Food Trucks
Details: Outdoor seating & dog friendly
H&H Rating: 4/5

Coven Brewing is Pittsburgh’s newest craft brewery, having only just opened at the beginning of April! Coven is owned and run by two former Dancing Gnome brewers so this brewery really knows its stuff! The new brewery has taken over the former Roundabout Brewing location on Butler Street, which has meant the duo can really hit the ground running! Although this area already has a ton of breweries, I’m particularly excited about Coven because one of the owners/brewers is a woman! Always thrilled to see more diversity in the world of beer making!

If you’re not into beer, Coven also offers a small selection of PA-made wine, cider, and cocktails. They also frequently have food truck offerings, but you could always grab a snack from any of the many food establishments along Butler street.

So like I said, Coven Brewing is very new so it was super popular the day we went! They have some indoor seating but it was such a beautiful day that everyone wanted to be outside. We managed to snag the corner of a picnic table right as a huge crew of cyclists pulled up. I’d say Coven is doing pretty well so far! True to form, I really liked the New England IPA, Swanky. It was refreshing with that classic NEIPA haziness. J preferred the Saison which had a nice wheatiness to it. Unfortunately, we were meeting family afterward so we weren’t able to sample anything else. But I definitely think we’ll be back!

Our Beer:

Swanky – NEIPA – 7.2%
Curses in Cursive – Saison – 7.2%

SUM UP: Allegheny Cemetery isn’t your typical hike but if you’re looking for an urban walk, I highly suggest you check it out! Before heading out, download the cemetery’s app/website for a self-guided tour that takes you to various notable graves with a brief history of the person. We learned so much about local history and got to take in the beauty of the cemetery grounds. Your walk can be as long or as short as you want, but afterwards, be sure to walk across the street to Coven Brewing. Take a seat outside, grab something from a food truck and enjoy a delicious brew. Coven is sure to be a new favorite!