If you’re planning to visit the New River Gorge — America’s newest national park — be sure to bring your mountain bike. While the New River Gorge is already one of the only national parks in the US to offer mountain bike-legal singletrack thanks to pre-existing trails on land incorporated into the new National Park, nearby mountain biking opportunities are expanding thanks to the ongoing massive investment in mountain bike trails in West Virginia.
Thanks to $1.5 million in federal funding, a brand-new 9-mile trail system known as “Needleseye Park” is coming to the city of Oak Hill. Rock Solid Trail Contracting has been contracted to build four miles of beginner-friendly singletrack and four miles of intermediate/advanced singletrack in the city park.
The nearby trail offerings are not very beginner-friendly, so the beginner trails at Needleseye are designed specifically for first-time riders. “When we toured the trail with Rich Edwards, who helped flag the trail, he […] actually test rode it, seat all the way up, one foot all the way down, not really looking where you’re going, just riding it like a beginner to make sure that there weren’t going to be any obstructions, any anchors that would catch your pedal, any steep rollers or anything like that,” said Adam Munich, Digital Marketing Coordinator for Rock Solid.
The advanced trails will be home to “some pretty chunky rock sections,” said Munich. They want to provide opportunities for skills progression for experienced riders. Still, the new trails will be bike-optimized, which further distinguishes them from the current historic trail offerings.
The 283-acre Needleseye Park is being designed as a true multi-sport destination. In addition to mountain bike trails, a disc golf course has already been built, and rock climbing routes are being developed on cliffs in the park. The development at Needleseye is an acknowledgment that most adventurers traveling to the New River Gorge are here for more than just one sport.
“Typically we’ll see people with kayaks on top and bikes in the back,” said Munich. “They’re here for more than one thing. They’re just into the outdoors in general.”
“Giving more opportunity for people to recreate in this area is really the key” behind this project, said Munich.
According to a page on WVLandTrust.org, Needleseye will “add yet another option for tourism in the New River Gorge Region.” It appears that this development is a bid by the City of Oak Hill to capitalize on the influx of tourism to the New River Gorge.
Rock Solid currently has four trail crews working in Needleseye Park, and they anticipate their work wrapping up before the end of 2024. According to Munich, a few additional trails — including some gravity lines — are planned to be built in early 2025, but Rock Solid hasn’t been contracted for that project. We reached out to other local contacts for more information about the gravity lines, but they have not responded to our request for comment as of press time.
An official opening date hasn’t been set at this time; according to WVLandTrust.org, “signage has not yet been installed, as access and trails are being developed, but parking is established and trails are hikeable so feel free to check it out!”
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