Coopers Rock State Forest is a state forest in Monongalia and

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Its southern edge abuts

Cheat Lake Cheat Lake is a reservoir on the Cheat River in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States. It was originally named Lake Lynn, but the Board on Geographic Names officially decided upon Cheat Lake as the reservoir's name in 1976. The surfac ...

and the

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

section of Cheat River, a popular whitewater rafting river in the eastern United States.

History

Coopers Rock State Forest gets its name from a legend about a fugitive who hid from the law near what is now the overlook. A cooper by trade, he resumed making barrels at his new mountain hideout, selling them to people in nearby communities. He lived and worked in the forest for many years. Much of Coopers Rock was originally developed by projects of the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1936-1942. Many of these structures, including durable rustic picnic shelters made of

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...

, exist today and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Forest management

The Coopers Rock forest is roughly bisected by Interstate 68. The northern portion of the forest is managed by the forestry program at West Virginia University and is lesser-developed. The southern part is jointly managed by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and West Virginia Division of Forestry. It is more developed than some of the other state forests as it functions as a major recreation destination for the Morgantown area.

Recreation activities

Coopers Rock provides a diverse array of recreational opportunities. While the forest itself is open year-round, the main entrance to the southern portion of the park is closed each year from December 31 to March 31. During the winter, visitors will need to park at the first lot off I-68 and walk in.

Overlooks

Main overlook

The forest is best known for its scenic overlooks of the Cheat River in Cheat Canyon. The main overlook is accessible by car and was developed as a CCC project. It provides excellent views of the

Cheat Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...

Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area The Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a hill area covering along the Cheat canyon (78.3-mile-long) in Monongalia and Preston Counties, West Virginia. The wildlife management area mostly lies directly south of Coopers Rock State Forest, pro ...

across the river, and Morgantown to the west. The overlook is located on a large rock connected to the main land by a footbridge. It is not handicapped-accessible, but there is a nearby ADA-compliant overlook.

Raven Rock overlook

For a more rustic view, many people take the approximately hike to Raven Rock. This site, which is dominated by a high-voltage power line crossing of the Cheat River, is home to a series of large boulders and features a point that juts into the canyon. Hikers to this site with pets and children should be cautious as there are no railings - missteps could lead to significant and potentially fatal falls.

Hiking

Coopers Rock is home to a well-developed system of nearly of hiking trails. These trails are generally usable for cross-country skiing during the winter. One trail, approximately long, provides access to the former

Mont Chateau State Park Mont Chateau State Park was formerly a state park located beside Cheat Lake in Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA. History Commissioning and operations Some of land for park were originally purchased in June 1955. A new lodge was subseq ...

. The Rock City Trail leads through rock city, a long crevasse between towering outcrops.

Rock Climbing

Coopers Rock is a popular bouldering area with boulder problems ranging from V0-V11 and numerous areas that can be easily set up for

top-roping Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a style in climbing in which the climber is securely attached to a rope which then passes up, through an anchor system at the top of the climb, and down to a belayer at the foot of the climb. The belayer takes ...

. Bolting is currently prohibited.

Campgrounds

The McCollum Camping Area is a 25-site campground at Coopers Rock open April 1- October 31. All sites have electric hookups and there is a showerhouse in the campground. Wi-Fi access is provided for registered campsites. The Rhododendron Camping Area is a 25-site campground at Coopers Rock open April 1 - October 31. All sites are non-electric and there is a central bathhouse. This campground is open only to tent/hammock camping.

Henry Clay Iron Furnace

Aside from the overlooks, the Henry Clay Iron Furnace is perhaps the most well-known portion of the forest. Accessible via the Clay Furnace or Clay Run trails, the furnace was built between 1834 and 1836 and produced

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

. Capable of producing 4 tons of iron each day, the furnace employed about 200 people and operated until 1847.Display located at Henry Clay Iron Furnace. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Protected areas of Monongalia County, West Virginia Protected areas of Preston County, West Virginia West Virginia state forests Civilian Conservation Corps in West Virginia Campgrounds in West Virginia