The high meadows of Dolly Sods North have some of the most spectacular scenery on the east coast. With beautiful valley views, and seemingly endless rolling
fern pastures, this is an area you'll want to come back to again and again. Part of the Monongahela National Forest, Dolly Sods is a taste of the Canadian high country right in our own back yard.
Trail Notes: The trails in Dolly Sods ARE NOT color blazed. We have them marked on the maps here in different colors for ease of identification only. Non solid dotted trails indicate secondary non-official hiking trails.
From the parking area head down the washed out Bear Rocks Trail TR-522 through a meadow, then climb over a small ridge before descending again to meet the Dobbin Grade Trail TR-526 in 1.1 miles. Continue straight across the Dobbin Grade Trail remaining on the Bear Rocks Trail. The trail is considerably narrower at this point. After passing through a meadow cross Red Creek and head uphill to the left, emerging from the trees and reaching a trail junction marked by a thin trail post.
Turn right at the trail post, pass through a small clearing, and enter a wooded area climbing the ridge. Emerge from the trees at one of the larger high mountain meadows. The trail heads down through a small valley before climbing another meadow and reaching the intersection of the Raven Ridge Trail TR-521.
Stay right uphill on the Raven Ridge Trail for 0.2 miles to the intersection of the Beaver View Trail TR-523. Stay right on the Raven Ridge Trail as it passes through an area of red spruce before arriving at a connecter trail on the left in another 0.4 miles. Continue straight on the Raven Ridge Trail, then turn left onto the Rocky Ridge Trail TR-524 in 0.8 miles. If you miss this trail junction in another 120 yards you will arrive at a three way intersection marked by a small rock cairn. Instead of backtracking you can turn left here for 200 yards through the brush, and pickup the Rocky Ridge Trail.
The Rocky Ridge Trail is intermittently marked with rock cairns. In 0.3 miles enter a wooded area where the trail becomes very rocky. It can be hard to follow in places and is only marked by the rock cairns. Reach the summit side trail with views to the southwest of Canaan Valley 1.0 miles from the last trail junction. Continue south, now descending, along the ridge and arrive at a jeep road in 0.5 miles just past a small red spruce stand. There is only a thin trail post marking the jeep road junction. Continue straight on the Rocky Ridge Trail and pass a small campsite before reaching the junction of the Dobbin Grade Trail in another 0.2 miles.
Turn left downhill on the Dobbin Grade Trail as it descends the valley, then crosses the left fork of Red Creak in 1.0 miles. The trail will veer more to the right before arriving at the junction of the Beaver View Trail in 0.6 miles. Continue straight on the Dobbin Grade Trail passing a spring (hose attached) in 0.3 miles, then descend to the valley floor and pass through a boggy area before arriving at the intersection of the Upper Red Creek Trail TR-509 0.6 miles from the spring. Continue straight on the Dobbin Grade Trail shortly passing the unmarked Raven Ridge Trail, then crossing Red Creek in 0.2 miles.
Immediately after crossing Red Creek turn left on the Dobbin Grade Trail. There isn't a marker at this intersection, and the trail that continues straight climbs a small rise to a vista point. After crossing Red Creek and turning left, pass through a wet boggy section for 0.8 miles, then in 0.2 miles arrive at the junction off the Beaver Dam Trail TR-520. Continue straight on the Dobbin Grade Trail for 0.7 miles to the intersection of the Bear Rocks Trail you descended earlier. Turn right uphill on the Bear Rocks Trail for the 1.1 miles back to FR75 and parking area.
Interactive Hike Map BelowPrintable
Topo Hike Map (PDF) Hike route in Drag the map with your mouse using the icon Zoom with the controls on the left Click the icons in the map below for location shots
Calculate roughly how many calories you could burn on the Dolly Sods North hike:
=
Hiker
Reviews For The Dolly Sods North Hike (5 Most Recent)
In the wee hours of the morning, with rain hanging in the hills and AC/DC blaring from the speakers, I roared into West Virginia high country, here I come!
Sep 7th, 2009: Dolly Sods Wilderness
Mountains have been hard to come by, here in the Pittsburgh area. Loads of hills and other goodies, but the high country had remained elusive. A few people recommended West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest so, after some homework, I settled on the Dolly Sods Wilderness region. This high plateau (~2700ft-4000ft) promised nice hiking and especially open views, which had been relatively hard to come by in Pennsylvania's green hills.
I had an ambitious day planned so was out of the house by 2:30am. My first planned objective had been to catch the sunrise at Bear Rocks and its awesome views (not part of the hike). Rain and dark clouds meant that this was a bust, so I saved that for a non-rainy day. (Snafu #1.)
I only had a map with me (in Pittsburgh, West Virginia guide-books are hard to come by on short notice) so promptly drove to the wrong trailhead. (Snafu #2.) There was a trailhead sign and a fair number of cars parked, the location seemed to tally (somewhat) with what I could see on my map, and there was a wide trail heading off into the hills. Moron that I am, I took this one...a half-hour later I knew that I had made a mistake so back I went. Oh, did I mention that I first explored the correct route but abandoned it too soon.
Finally, after chatting with some back-packers who were finishing off their hike, I found out that the road ended little more than a mile shy of the trailheads. 15min later I was at the start of the Big Stonecoal Trail and on my hike. Right from the beginning the scenery was spectacular. With the light rain the colors of the ferns (both green and gold), mountain laurel, and even the ground, were turbo-charged. Almost unreal
The trail was easily graded by the surface, at times, was a rocky, rooty mess. A couple of miles into the hike I entered a creepy grove of previously burnt, dark trees. The branches were completely bare and stuck out like porcupine quills. Gawking at the weird sight I took a wrong turn and was soon happily squishing my way through a boggy area, where I encountered bear paw-prints, gravel bars and meandering Big Stonecoal Run. (Snafu #3, but not really, since the entire area was extremely scenic.)
My original plan was a longish loop, but with the various time-consuming snafus along the way this had to be cut in favor of a much shorter loop. So, once back on the Big Stonecoal trail, I turned left onto the Rocky Point trail. Think of the worst creek-bed style trail you can and that was the Rocky Point trail...ugh. A short way into the trail I took a side trip up to Rocky Point. This was the best part of the hike. Meadows, ferns, flowers, autumnal colors, cool rocky outcrops with views of the surrounding mountains, and best of all, a trail that vended its way through an honor-guard of young pines.
After the side trip to Rocky Point, followed by another side trip down to a cascading waterfall, I put on the after-burners. The remaining ankle-twisting mess of the Rocky Point trail was dispatched quickly. After intersecting with the Red Creek trail, I motored along until I hit the Breathed Mountain trail, which would complete my loop. Quick progress slowed down here as I encountered gorgeous meadows and fern/boulder gardens. I was still able to maintain a 3mi/hour clip though and reached my car 9.5hr/14mi after starting.
Did this hike on a Thursday and saw very few people... not a sole once we got onto Raven Ridge Trail. Mid August is a great time to do this hike - there were billions (not kidding!!) of berries - blueberries and huckleberries. We picked and ate so many berries that it took almost 2 hrs to reach Rocky Ridge Trail, and realized if we wanted to finish before night fall we would have to stop eating berries - still couldn't resist a big fat one occaisionally. If you actually look up instead of down in amazement of all the berries, you are greeted with a variety of landscapes. All awesome. Grassland/Meadows, hardwood forest, dark spruce forest (near intersection of Raven Ridge and Rocky Ridge), rocky outcrops and of course the infamous bog on Dobbin Grade Trail. In retrospect, I laugh at the difficulty we had through the bog (the section between intersections of Raven Ridge and Beaver Dam) but would probably avoid if I did this hike again. At first we had some success at hopping from rock to rock, then tried to go around some areas (I know this is not accepted hiking ettiquette however, some areas looked capable of sucking you under - probably an exaggeration - but I was not willing to find out) - this tactic proved mostly unsuccessful as it felt as though you were walking on a giant floating sponge and you had to move fast to avoid sinking to unknown depths. Had one moment of fear when I jumped from a rock onto what I thought was "solid" ground and my foot punctured the sphagnum moss mat and plunged calf deep into I'm not sure what. I quickly pulled my foot out and moved on. All in all, a great hike and would like to explore more in the Dolly Sods area in the future. Thought we might see some evidence of bear because of all the berries, but did not. In fact, no wildlife other than birds. One other note - I actually drove a small motorhome (21 ft) up FR 75 - would not recommend doing this in anything larger or coming back down this way (no guard rails) - we took the other road down (near Bear Rocks) and it was not as bad.
By:
J.R. Sacha
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, June 28, 2009
We followed the path laid out on this web site, and the first 8 miles of the hike were great. However, the last 2.8 miles were no fun. Other reviewers mentioned the "bog" near the end of the hike - which starts on Dobbins Grade Trail (#526), just after you pass the Beaver View Trail (#523) - but which gets truly horrible just after you pass the Raven Ridge Trail (#521). This bog consists of soft mud and ooze, and it completely covers the trail and all possible ways around it. There is no way to follow the trail (or try to forge a new trail nearby) without having your feet sink into the mud - all the way up to your ankles. So, if you don't have truly waterproof shoes/boots that protect your feet all the way up past your ankles, then your feet will get totally soaked and full of mud, and the final hike out and back to Hwy 75 will be no fun. My wife & I are laughing about this now, but we would have enjoyed the experience more if we had avoided the bog.
By:
WyEast
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Gorgeous hike! One of the most breathtaking places I've been out east. The Mountain Laurel were in bloom, spotting the landscape in pink and, in some places, taking over the landscape entirely. The views are terrific and the high meadows spectacular. I'd go again in a heart beat - only I would avoid most of the Dobbin Grade trail. Most of the trail (not just the part near the trail head) was a boggy mess. Especially the last leg before the Beaver Dam trail. I might make a larger loop next time in order to avoid most of the lower points on the hike. I also might pack more than one set of spare socks if I were to do the same loop.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 24, 2009
This hike will grow on you, and become a favorite. At first get out of your car and try to shake your ass awake after the three mile drive up a dirt road. Then you look out at the vast wilderness and think "boy, I hope something big doesn't eat me."
But soon you get acquainted with the idea of being dinner and life falls into place.
After a short while you come out of the trees and get your first unobstructed view of the landscape. It is truly amazing. There is nothing like in the Mid Atlantic. You cry a little... then you laugh a little... then you have a cookie. After that you climb back up into the wilderness and it occurs to you... "God, I hope I brought toilet paper..." But that fear passes as you come out of the trees and see the rocks line the mountain top. For a moment you find the answer to life and everything makes sense. You settle onto one of the large rocks for a quick lunch, admiring the complete solitude overlooking your domain and all is well. Off in the distance there is a lake and you wonder "what lucky SOB has a home there?"
Then you see them. These 'other' hikers wandering around your new kingdom. You pull out your knife and consider going to war... but then you decide to eat a Cliff Bar and wave hello...
You continue on. Downward now off the mountain. The view is wonderful. Suddenly a word starts to float in your thoughts "Water." You cannot quite place why, just a feeling you have. A trickle here... a small stream there... nothing to worry about though... after all you have water shoes and the best boots money can buy...
The first water crossing is easy. You laugh at mother nature, not even bothering to take out your water shoes. With the deft use of hiking poles and balance, you traverse the water without incident. Then your thoughts float back to the couple you saw earlier... no hiking poles... they'll never make it out alive... Poor bastards should have shopped at REI more often. Oh well.
Water. Again this word starts to play in your mind. You look out on the path before you see puddles here and there... still nothing to fret. But you wonder.... in this beautiful place.... miles from civilization.... how much water can there possibly be? Bah, you have it covered. After all... you have lots of cool gear.
Then you see the dead people floating by... or wait... was that Lord of the Rings? Either way... there's definitely more water now. You come to a crossing where you are damn glad you brought water shoes. A quick check of the map. Only a couple more miles. No sweat. Cross this stream, then it's a straight shot back. After successfully negotiating the stream you put your boots back on and think to yourself "Ha! No problem at all. The bog wasn't so bad. Just a few hundred yards before the stream. No worries. Those people on Hiking Upwards are obviously much shorter than me."
A few hundred feet later you discover the word "bog" has a very specific meaning. Especially in the spring time. It is roughly translated as "Oh my God, there cannot be that much mud, that deep, for that long of a time." You start looking for a large animal to antagonize in hopes of being eaten. In front of you is over a mile of mud. There's a boy with a horse... the horse is sinking... the boy call out "Artex! I won't give up, don't quit!" ... to the left is a sign "The Swap of Sadness" ... off in the distance you see a giant turtle.
After exhausting the expletives in the English language you turn to Spanish.. then French. Then you think..."So this is what gaiters are for."
Still, soon enough you are free of the bog. Another water crossing and you are back at the beginning. At the end you are happy and content. It's a great way to spend a day and you start thinking of people to take with you next time you visit.
icon 
