Highland Scenic Highway is a national scenic byway that runs 43 miles from Richwood, West Virginia to U.S. Route 219 through Monongahela National Forest. The byway follows two connected highways – WV Route 39 from Richwood to the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center and WV Route 150 for the parkway section through the Allegheny Highlands and Plateau.
Elevation rises to over 4,500 feet along the parkway portion. There are four scenic overlooks in this section which offer breathtaking views of the Allegheny Highlands. Over 150 miles of trails are also accessible from the highway.
My Memorial Day visit started at Cranberry Glades Botanical Area and then took the beautiful drive on the parkway section.
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
Cranberry Glades is a group of bogs in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. “The Glades” are protected by Cranberry Glades Botanical Area. A universally accessible half-mile boardwalk loops between two of the bogs.
Learn more about my experience in Cranberry Glades Botanical Area.
Cranberry Mountain Nature Center
Next, I stopped at the Nature Center before heading onto the parkway. Sitting at the junction of WV 39 and WV 150, the Nature Center offers information about the national forest and other nearby attractions.
Cranberry Glades Overlook
My first overlook was Cranberry Glades Overlook.
A quarter-mile trail climbs uphill to get a bird’s-eye-view of the Glades and the Cranberry Wilderness. Blue Knob, Spruce Mountain, Briery Knob, and Kennison Mountain can be seen from the overlook. The path was narrow and had a tight switchback.
On my hike I heard blackburnian warblers, magnolia warblers, red-breasted nuthatches, and yellow-rumped warblers.
Williams River Valley Overlook
Williams River Valley has panoramas from the parking area. From the overlook’s elevation of 4,400 feet, Red Spruce Knob and Big Spruce Knob tower over the valley below.
Big Spruce Overlook
Big Spruce has the highest elevation on the parkway at 4,520 feet. The landscape contains Spruce Flats, Bridger Mountain, and Barlow Top.
According to Hamill Kenny, “Black Mountain was black with dense growths of spruce and hemlock forests.” Today, the forest covers only 5% of its original range due to the logging boom, but it is making a comeback.
In addition to the views from the parking area, there is a 600-foot universally accessible boardwalk to an overlook.
Signs describe the history of logging, wildfire, and forest renewal of the Black Mountain area. Black-throated blue warblers and magnolia warblers sang in the sun.
Beautiful Big Spruce Knob is the prize at the end of the boardwalk.
Looking for a longer hike? The Black Mountain trail begins halfway down the boardwalk – it follows an old railroad grade to the Williams River Valley Overlook and returns through the Cranberry Wilderness.
Little Laurel Overlook
My last overlook, Little Laurel Overlook, had panoramas from the parking area. Here I glimpsed Greenbrier River Valley, Big Spruce Knob, Williams River Valley, and Black Mountain.
A sign at the overlook talks though how plant and bird species change as a field matures to a forest, also known as vegetative succession. It was interesting to see which bird species prefer mature stands versus thick shrubs and small trees.
Tea Creek Meadow Trail
Across the highway from Little Laurel, I strolled the 0.6-mile Tea Creek Meadow Interpretive Trail. It started as an easy grass-and-gravel path through the meadow. In the meadow were bees, eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies, green-legged spur-throat grasshoppers, and pearl crescent butterflies.
Then switchbacks brought me down to the forest where gravel transitions into a wooden boardwalk. Starting at the edge of the forest were little pops of color in bloom – common blue violets, creeping buttercups, foamflowers, and meadow buttercups.
Between the meadow and the forest, I heard so many birds! Blackburnian warblers, black-throated green warblers, blue-eyed vireos, common yellowthroats, golden-crowned kinglets, red-breasted nuthatches, and red-eyed vireos just to name a few.
The trail ends with two wildlife viewing areas facing the Right Fork of Tea Creek and surroundings wetlands.
Highland Scenic Highway is a fantastic drive through the mountains of West Virginia. It is an easy way to absorb the mountain air and hillsides. Next time I am in the area, I will explore the remaining attractions on the WV 39 portion including the Falls of Hills Creek and Summit Lake.