Welcome to Travel Tuesday! I’m back with another hike in New River Gorge National Park — the Kaymoor Miners Trail!
Kaymoor Miners Trail in New River Gorge National Park
Distance: 1.5 miles (out + back)
Elevation: 951 ft
Difficulty: Difficult
Duration: 1.5 hours
Trailhead Address: 38.04596, -81.0683
Parking: Free!
The Kaymoor Miners Trail descends in the form of rocky stairs and switchbacks from the top of the gorge to the abandoned Kaymoor coal mine site, where it connects to the Kaymoor Trail.
Although this is a short hike, it’s a pretty steep ascent from the bottom back to the top. There are 821 wooden steps that’ll take you down to the remains of the coal processing plant, coke ovens, and town site. (Please keep in mind you’re gonna have to climb back up em’ all!)
We went down on a May afternoon so it was on the hotter side when we climbed back up, but it was definitely doable!
Kaymoor was one of the largest coal mine complex in the New River Gorge. Workers here mined 16 million tons of coal and processed 1 million tons of coke between 1899 and 1962. There were two towns — Kaymoor Top + Kaymoor Bottom, that housed ~560 people back in 1923. The mine was closed in 1962 and the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
- Please don’t sit/climb on or play in the structures as that will weaken/damage them!
- Pets are allowed on this trail but will need to be on a <6 foot leash!
- Looking for more hikes in New River Gorge National Park or in West Virginia? The listed hikes are in the Fayetteville area:
- Endless Wall Trail is one of my favorite trails of all time. <3
- Long Point Trail is a gorgeous trail for panoramic views of the New River Gorge Bridge.
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Thank you for sharing! I’ve been to the mine, many years ago when the trail wasn’t built. Very interesting!
That’s so cool! + thank you for letting me know about Endless Wall Trail before it became part of the national park. :D… Made me feel extra cool, hehehe.
A walking trail that has a history to discover as well as the trail – I like it!
It was a fun hike (+ good workout, haha)! :]
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2023
I love visiting these kids of abandoned places in the middle of the forest! (I’m just waiting for one where they’ll pull you back up to the top in one of the mining carts!)
Ahh, I’d absolutely want to visit one of those too, haha. (As long as they check it for safety first..)
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2023
After seeing all your photos, I’m interested in knowing how many stairs you climbed! Although you said it was a difficult trail, it looks like it was mostly shaded which makes for a more comfortable hike! Thanks for sharing the history too.
I thinkkk it’s 821 steps total but I could definitely be wrong! The shade definitely made it a lot more doable! :]
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2023
What a beautiful place. Even though I love hiking, 821 wooden steps are a lot of stairs!
haha, they definitely were! It’d probably be best to hike it in early morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the heat if hiking during the summer!
This looks like a cool walking trail! I love that it has some history and abandoned things, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by! :D It’s nice getting to see a slice of history while hiking!
This park is absolutely on my bucket list for a trip out East! Also, why is it always that you have to hike DOWN when you’re fresh so the return trip UP is always the hardest? :)
A hike and a history lesson! Cool trail, but dang those steps ha ha