Hiking At Seneca Rocks In West Virginia

When asking for recommendations of things to do in West Virginia, one of the most commonly mentioned places was Seneca Rocks.

Seneca Rocks is part of the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area. Shae and I visited Spruce Knob a couple of days beforehand and had originally planned on going hiking at Seneca Rocks the same day. We’d gotten a late start that day though and so didn’t think we’d have enough daylight left for the hike, so we decided to go hiking later in the week.

There’s a Discover Center at the base of Seneca Rocks. This seems to only be open seasonally though as it was closed when we visited the first week of November.

If you want to have a picnic before or after a hike, there are several picnic tables and a larger picnic shelter available, along with restrooms.

The picnic area provides the best unobstructed view of Seneca Rocks, so it’s worth walking to that area even if you’re not planning on stopping for something to eat.

After having some lunch, it was time to hike up to the observation deck. The start of the path takes you over a bridge across the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River, although it was more of a small stream when we visited.

There’s a picture of the trail map at the trailhead, so we took a photo of it for reference. It wasn’t really needed though as there’s basically only one way to get up the mountain once you’re on the trail, so you can’t really get lost.

Seneca Rocks is a popular location for rock climbers, so there was a warning that it should only be attempted by experienced and well-equipped climbers.

Back by the Discovery Center, we’d seen a board with a photo showing different routes climbers can take.

If you’re just going for a hike though, there are only a couple of routes up. We decided to take the main hiking trail, although you can apparently also get up there via Roy Cap Road. Based on reviews online, it sounds like Roy Gap Road is a harder route as it involves traversing over rocks.

We enjoyed taking the main trail as it provided a lot of learning opportunities along the way. There were information boards for the duration of the hike providing information about the flora and fauna, geology, etc. We’d noticed similar boards at Spruce Knob and Blackwater Falls State Park, so we loved that West Virginia provides these at some of their natural outdoor attractions.

The Seneca Rocks trail is pretty much all uphill on the way to the observation deck. It’s not as strenuous as many other hikes we’ve done though as the incline isn’t too steep thanks to several sharp switchbacks. If you need a breather though, there are several benches along the way.

The trail is pet-friendly, so we brought Truffles along with us as she enjoys hiking too.

Although some of the falls colors were disappearing, it was still a pretty hike. As we neared the end of the hike, there were some nice views of the surrounding mountains.

A short distance after that we arrived at the end of the trail where there’s an observation deck. It seemed like this was newly built (or newly rebuilt) as all the graffiti drawn and scratched into it was dated 2019.

The observation deck provides some lovely views of the area.

The slightly disappointing part of the hike is that you don’t really get to see Seneca Rocks themselves as they’re hidden away behind trees.

At the end of the trail there’s a warning that you shouldn’t proceed any further up the rocks due to the danger. Shae and I decided not to risk it, but reading some other reviews online it sounds like you can get some stunning 360° views if you do want to go further.

There was some other kind of trail behind the observation deck that I thought might provide better views of Seneca Rocks, so I headed up there.

This was a much steeper trail and it unfortunately didn’t provide the better views I’d been hoping for. Having said that, it did mean I got to see the mountains on the other side.

After taking a few more photos from the observation deck, we made our way back down the mountain.

That wasn’t the end of our visit though. Once we reached the base of the mountain, we made our way down to the stream and had a quick wander around down there.

We then walked over to the Sites Homestead. This is a home that was built in 1839 by Jacob Sites, with family members living in the home until 1947.

Once the home stopped being used as a residence in the 1940s, it was used as a hay barn for a couple of decades. The Forest Service purchased the home in 1969 and 20 years later they reconstructed the dwelling. I think it might be opened during the summer, but we were able to peek through the windows to take a look at what was inside seeing as it was closed during our visit.

It’s not hard to see why Jacob Sites picked this location to build a home considering it was next to a water source and had amazing views of Seneca Rocks.

Final Thoughts

I can see why so many people suggested we visit Seneca Rocks while in West Virginia. The hike isn’t too difficult seeing as the incline isn’t too steep and there are lovely views of the local area from the top.

It was a little disappointing that you can’t really see the rock formations from the observation deck, but there’s a great view of them from the picnic area, so it’s not like you miss out.