Sunday, September 12, 2021
Decker's Creek Rail-Trail, Caperton Rail-Trail
This was our third day of biking on (or extremely near) the Mon River Rail-Trail System. The hub of the trail system is Morgantown, home to West Virginia University and population 31,000 - the third largest city in the state. Finally today, we made it to that hub.
En route to our ride, we passed through the historic New Deal community of Arthurdale, where in 1933-1934, as a pet project of Eleanor Roosevelt, the federal government constructed 165 homes and multiple public buildings to help struggling families during the Great Depression. It of course turned into a money pit for taxpayer dollars. In 1941 the government privatized the town. Around 100 buildings still remain and are part of the New Deal Homestead Museum.
New Deal boondoggle
FDR's Arthurdale
Vintage gas station
Today we were riding the Decker's Creek Rail-Trail from Reedsville to Morgantown. With an elevation change of 1,000 feet along its 19 miles, we only wanted to ride the trail downhill, so we had to catch a ride. The Suburban Extended Stay Hotel in Morgantown is right across the street from the trail, so we booked a room there. Then we locked up our bikes at the trailhead in Reedsville, drove to the hotel and parked, and then caught an Uber back up the mountain to the bikes. Easy-peasy. The Uber was $40 with tip – Deal!
Decker's Creek trailhead in Reedsville
Old railroad telephone booth
The Decker's Creek Trail is fairly flat from Reedsville to Masonville, but after that, hold on for the ride! The creek falls faster than the trail, and for a while we lost sight of it far below, but pretty soon we caught up with the water once again. There are a lot of small, pretty waterfalls and cascades along the way. One of our favorite trails of the trip!
Decker's Creek
Little Jana, big rock
Tom relaxes mid-ride
The trail never strays far from Route 7, but with all the trees and cliffs, it seemed like we were riding through wilderness. We passed our hotel in Morgantown and decided to ride another two miles to the end of the trail at Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park downtown, where Decker's Creek enters the Monongahela River.
Cliffside ride
Decker's Creek before entering the Monongahela
Still on a roll, we then connected with the Caperton Rail-Trail and kept on going! The Caperton is a six-mile urban trail running past the WVU campus along the Monongahela River. We rode about three miles on the Capterton, through the university's Core Arboretum, before finally turning around.
On our way back through downtown, we made on a short detour to visit the statue of Morgantown native son Mr. Don Knotts. By the time we finally stopped at our hotel, we'd ridden 27.7 miles.
Jana and Barney Fife
Lodging: Suburban Extended Stay, Morgantown, WV, across the street from mile 2 of the Decker's Creek Rail-Trail. We opted to make dinner tonight in the room's small kitchenette, only venturing back out long enough to pick up some local brews.
Patty's Artspot Tattoo Studio - Colorful!
Tom
Goetz's Homepage
|