Reviews
Kanawha State Forest
User Reviews
Samuel Guidetti
Awesome for hiking! Had some family in from out of town and we decided a local hike was the move. We had an excellent time and the temperature was about 10° cooler than the greater charleston area, which make the hike so enjoyable. The trails are a little confusing as they tend to overlap, causing multiple trail markers to be on the trees. We also saw an abandoned mine that was flooded and covered over.
Rosemarie Hunter
Stopped in today and saw Clark at the Nature Center, he's so nice & always a wealth of information. Recently the bathrooms have been remodeled and are so clean! The hiking and biking are only outdone by the new swimming holes put in. So much family fun. Fall in the forest was spectacular. So gorgeous and peaceful the new work looks spectacular.
Rj P
Great place to camp and other outdoor activities. Very clean and quiet. Very beautiful scenery.
Joe Pinkerton
The park is really nice to be located so near Charleston West Virginia. Plenty of bike trails for the adventurists and hikers. Gun range and camping. Creeks for playing in. Best thing is there is absolutely no cell service!
Ashley Jeffers
So much to explore and see. We did around trip of about an hour and half with 30ish mins at the overlook. Easy place to explore some of West Virginia's beauty
Alex Bansleben
Kanawha campground was absolutely amazing! Tucked away in the mountains, super peaceful park and campground. The campsites were very well maintained. Would 100% go back!
Gary Bradford
This looks like a great destination. did not stay as there appeared not to have any provisions for late arrivals. We have traveled across the US staying at state parks and found most have a standardized system for late arrivals.
Phillip and Jaimee McOmie (OurPathtoAdventure)
Great place tucked in West Virginia. Drive in was horrible, don’t recommend coming in from I-64, but instead from Charleston on 119. That way is paved but go slow, few boulders stick out and narrow. Coming in from I-64 your going few miles uphill on gravel road. Many blind corners, no pull offs, steep and not recommended when pulling a 34ft camper. Four wheel drive strongly recommended! No cell service, so you’ll have to drive to town to get services.
Nicki Cheney
We absolutely loved camping here! The forest is very well marked so it wasn’t a big deal when we lost all cell reception. The campground is about a 10 minute drive past the entrance and about 20 minutes from the town. There is a small but beautiful sounding creek that runs along the side of the entire campground. We were at Site 1 and set up our tent right at the edge so we could hear the water all night! The kids loved walking around in it, finding little minnows and splashing a bit. Perfect way to pass the time while I set up camp. There is a small playground as well as decent bathrooms/showers just up the path. It was less than a 5 minute walk, and it’s all level ground. There are parks hidden all over the forest! We had an awesome experience of deer coming right up to the edge of the park while we were swinging in a small grove across from the campground! It’s quiet and definitely gives the feeling of being away from the hustle of life! The Ranger patrolled periodically, and there was an open dumpster at the entrance to the campground that made it very easy to dispose of trash. There are also small trash cans all over the walking paths, next to bathrooms, and next to parks. We would definitely stop here again!
Kristene Arbaugh
This place is wonderful for hiking & picnicking. We camped 5-21 to 5-23. We were NOT told that the bathhouse/restrooms were closed nearest us. There was only one place to use the bathroom for the whole campground & it was busy. There are no trash cans for sites so you will have to clean up trash from critters. When you try to leave, you have to sit & wait for other campers to to unload at the dumping station since it is located right beside the road which is only one lane!! We waited over 20 minutes to get out since it's the only way!! There are other ways of positioning this so others could get by. This could all be better planned. We have been going to this park for over 26 years, I want it to be better for out of state visitors. After all, our outdoors are our biggest attraction for tourism. It was not convenient to say the least and don't think it was worth the money we paid.