Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / West Virginia / Monongahela National Forest

Spruce Knob and Seneca Creek Loop

Spruce Knob-Seneca Creek Backcountry, Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, Monongahela National Forest (Cheat-Potomac Ranger District; Spruce Knob summit area)

Spruce Knob, at 4,863 feet, is the highest point in West Virginia, according to Great American Hikes, and Virginia Trail Guide says its fire tower is a quarter-mile walk from the parking area. The Spruce Knob-Seneca Creek Backcountry below it has about 60 miles of blue-blazed trail through red spruce, meadows, and streams, by the Forest Service’s count.

This loop drops from the summit area along the Huckleberry Trail and down to the cascades of upper Seneca Creek, then climbs back through Judy Springs.

The hike

Great American Hikes and Virginia Trail Guide both put the loop at 16.5 miles, with about 2,100 to 2,300 feet of climbing. Great American Hikes says the summit parking area holds about 80 vehicles.

The Huckleberry Trail runs about 4.7 miles, passing many campsites under spruce in the first couple of miles. Reviewers say it’s rocky and mostly dry, and Great American Hikes warns of ankle-deep mud between miles 4.1 and 4.5. Turn right on the Lumberjack Trail, an old forestry road known for mud. Around mile 5.7 to 6, a short, steep spur leads to the wreck of a Piper PA-23 that crashed in 1973; MyHikes reports two people died, and Virginia Trail Guide asks visitors to be respectful.

At about 6.7 miles, take the High Meadows Trail, which Virginia Trail Guide says is overgrown with stinging nettles and knee-high grass. It descends through meadows, and at about 8.6 miles the Horton Trail drops half a mile to Seneca Creek. Upper Seneca Creek Falls, about 30 feet tall per Great American Hikes, is a short detour downstream from the junction.

Head upstream on the Seneca Creek Trail, crossing the creek a few times past cascades and campsites, to the Judy Springs meadow and a footbridge. Then climb the Judy Springs Trail, the steepest section, to the Horton and Huckleberry trails and retrace the Huckleberry Trail to the summit.

Virginia Trail Guide warns that signs on the Huckleberry and High Meadows trails are limited and some printed maps are out of date, and MyHikes reviewers report an unmarked Judy Springs-Horton junction. There’s no cell coverage, Great American Hikes says.

For a dry-ridge trip nearby, see the North Fork Mountain Trail.

Tips

Camping

There’s no permit. The Forest Service bans camping and open fires within 300 feet of forest roads and asks you not to camp within 200 feet of trails or streams. The area isn’t a designated wilderness, and no group-size limit was found. Forest-wide, you can stay 14 days in a 28-day period. There’s no potable water; treat stream water. Great American Hikes says the Forest Service doesn’t require bear canisters but recommends one.

Inside Intel: Great American Hikes maps 34 sites and names its favorites along Seneca Creek and the Horton Trail, including site 19 by a waterfall on the Horton Trail, site 23 by a swimming hole, and site 30 by a natural waterslide. MyHikes reviewer Brandon B (2017) wrote, “The camp spot at the intersection of Seneca Creek and Judy Spring was just great,” and said a large spring sits about 50 yards up the hill past the footbridge.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Seneca Creek crossings below Spruce Knob:

The Seneca Creek Trail crosses the creek a few times on the way up to the Judy Springs meadow, and the page advises water shoes and skipping it in high water. Read five tips for safer crossings.

Read the crossing tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.