Cathedral State Park WV: Family‑Friendly Hiking with Kids & Dogs (Old Growth Forest Trails)

Cathedral State Park is a 133 Cathedral State Park WV — A Peaceful Family Forest Escape

What Makes Cathedral State Park Special?

Hike and discover the majestic Forrest of Giant Virgin Hemlock trees, moss, ferns, and rhododendrons.

A great hike for kids and dogs!

Immerse yourself and your family into the Appalachian Jungle.

Full information guide:Download

Planning the Adventure…

Y’all!

Spring is finally here! The flowers, leaves, and the shrubs are coming back to life.

The cherry blossoms are out, some weeds and brush have some green tinge.

Day by day, little by little, something new pops up.

Changes to dead of Winter. Spring is colorful, warm; an exciting and refreshing new start!

Yet, it’s nothing new.

Winter happens each year, and the Spring time always comes back.

Quoting “Mike the Situation”
In my opinion; Spring>Fall

Spring is practically here! That budding excitement of getting back outside and spending an entire day. Like, we can do it again!

Make plans. Nature is so inviting!

Yes!

It’s time for day hikes again!

Where should we go?

“I wanna go somewhere new”.

Somewhere we’d never been. Yet, not too crazy far away.

I did a Google search. Scrolling through results within two hours of Morgantown; most we‘ve been there, done that.

A few we’ve never been to.

One park stands out; and it is in West Virginia!

Where Is Cathedral State Park Located?

And we’ve never been there before!

100% honest; I always thought it was “just a picnic area”.

Headed to Cool Springs, I’ve passed Cathedral State Park; maybe 5 or 10 times in my life. And every time; I’ve always assumed it was a picnic area/rest stop.

4.8 stars 300+ Google reviews? Maybe it’s more than a picnic area.. Let’s go find out!

While planning the trip; I looked into nearby attractions. The infamous Cool Springs is 20 minutes West. Melanie’s Restaurant is directly across the park. The food and reviews looked great.

Surrounded by mountains, vast farm lands, and the Cheat river; the drive was BEAUTIFUL! Southern Preston county is a paradise within our state.

Arriving the Destination:

Mid-March, Mid-day; 70° and partly cloudy. With our picnic lunch packed, little boy ready to play, dogs ready to run;

We have arrived to Cathedral State Park!

What You’ll See in the Forest

Picnic Spots at Cathedral State Park for Families and Dogs

Plenty of ample parking. There are several picnic tables in the parking lot for a “quick-nic”.

The playground below the hill caught our eye. There’s even more picnic tables around the playground.

We ate.

Swang.

Slid down some slides.

“I’m ready to go on a hike!”, our little Mountaineer shouted out.

Best Trails for Families & Dogs

Old Growth Forest Trails

We began on the Wood Thrush Trail. This portion of the hike was noisy. Hearing cars while hiking is a little “loopy” for me. We crossed the highway to the other side of the Forrest.

As we got deeper into the woods; the sounds faded. The sights got better and better.

A ravine of Hemlocks, sun rays glistening through. It was like, a magical fairy tale scene. A sight to see!

Extraordinary.

Some of the trail seemed unmarked. There were a few times I was wondering if we were “on the path”.

This was one of the instances.

Why did the hiker cross the road?
To connect to the other side!

Crossed over the highway again. Down the hill.

We’ve found a creek!

Bring your boots! There are some muddy spots along the trail.

Partridge Trail

Walking step by step; amazed by this Appalachian Jungle.

It is SO GREEN right now.

It’s Mid-March and the flora and fauna are bright green and sprawling! In the Summer; I’d imagine there’s even more species of plants and fungi.

I’m gonna need mushroom
to talk about Fungi!

Berry Trail

We spotted a tiny Christmas tree growing on a log!

The Giant Hemlock Trail had an eerie feel to it. Like, dark and stormy. Almost haunted. Yet very majestic and whimsical. It was like, a real life “Alice in Wonderland”.