Twin Falls Resort State Park sits on the wooded ridge of southern West Virginia mountains. The two waterfalls the park is named for are part of the West Virginia Waterfall Trail.
Twin Falls offers 15 scenic hiking trails and on our first visit we tackled the Falls and Nature Trails.
Falls Trail
The Falls Trail is a 1.25-mile loop with yellow blazes. While the path to Marsh Fork Falls is paved and universally accessible, the rest of the trail is a moderate difficulty dirt path.
Marsh Fork Falls and Black Fork Falls are not actually twins; Marsh Fork is the larger of the two by volume. Both waterfalls are on Cabin Creek, a “rain dependent” creek whose volume and swiftness vary depending on rainfall and snowmelt. In drier summer months, these waterfalls can be just a trickle. We visited in mid-July and thankfully had enough water flow to enjoy the falls.
Marsh Fork Falls
From the trailhead, the trail to Marsh Fork Falls is universally accessible. There are two overlooks, one near the brink and one facing the 10-foot waterfall.
The second overlook is universally accessible with a ramp down to the platform.
Multiple benches provide an opportunity to view the creek.
After Marsh Fork Falls, the trail turns to dirt and is on the easy side of moderate with rocky terrain. It was a beautiful day, and we were surrounded by rhododendron blooms! Totally gorgeous – I took dozens of bloom photos.
In addition to rhododendrons, we found eastern towhees, gray catbirds, hooded warblers, butterflies, and six-spotted tiger beetles.
Black Fork Falls
Black Fork Falls is also around 10 feet tall. It was much more of a trickle than the first.
There is a steep spur trail down to the base of the waterfall.
In the rock ledge behind the waterfall, I spotted a small eastern phoebe nest with at least 3 chicks. Mom would fly around and perch in trees opposite the ledge. Then she would catch a snack and dart back to the nest to feed her babies before flying away again. We watched this happen at least half a dozen times. Very cute!
From Black Fork Falls, the trail loops back to follow an old park road to the trailhead.
Nature Trail
Nature Trail intersects with the Falls Trail and the Hemlock Trail. I turned onto it shortly after Black Fork Falls. The trail loops back to the Falls Trail near the first waterfall.
White diamonds mark the 1.25-mile trail. It was more difficult, and I consider it a truly moderate trail with climbs and valleys. It was well-blazed and easy to follow.
Rhododendrons were abundant here as well. I saw eastern phoebes, hooded warblers, and ovenbirds.
After crossing the creek, the landscape changed to hardwood forest and ferns. The path was narrow at times and overgrown.
The best part of this trail came midway through my hike. I spooked one white-tailed deer and only heard it bound away. Sad that I had missed seeing it, I almost missed the second one nearby. I caught a flash of a tail and looked uphill to find her watching me! I talked to her as I tried to get in the best position to photograph her through the trees. She was sweet enough to give me a couple of good looks before calmly walking away.
Twin Falls Resort State Park also offers bike-friendly trails, camping, golfing, indoor climbing, and geocaching. For more adventures nearby, you can also fish the upper Guyandotte River or ride ATV on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails.