Morgantown is an Appalachian college town
Morgantown has a lot of unhoused folks and some clear drug issues. Be aware of your surroundings.
The city has an open alcohol mile—PODA.
Morgantown is located just 1.5 hours south of Pittsburgh—check out my Pittsburgh recommendations here.
Morgantown Recommendations:
Apothecary Ale House: A solid beer bar with mostly local beers on tap. They also have a food menu and a lovely patio space.
Mon River Rail Trail: A nice trail along the water but there were also several signs about sewage so perhaps it is smelly at times.
Table 9: A nice restaurant with an upper deck over the river.
Check out Coopers Rock State Forest: Either hike the Raven Rock Trail at 2.6 miles long/442ft of elevation gain or head to the overlook at the end of the park.
Black Bear: Located in Evansdale, a tasty spot for Mexican eats and a solid craft beer bar.
Other Morgantown Ideas:
Mountain State Brewing: Located on the river, but their upper deck with more views is not generally open. When I visited they only had 4 of their own beers on tap and they weren’t styles I wanted, so I opted for a margarita flight which turned out to be delicious. They also have a full food menu.
Stay at Scholar Morgantown: A decent spot from Hilton. A little run down, but in a great location and very affordable.
Forks of Cheat Winery: Solid wine with a free tasting, but it’s pretty inconvenient to get to. They have a nice patio outside as well.
Skip Blue Moose Coffeehouse.
Skip Cheat Lake.
New River Gorge National Park:
This National Park is located 2.5 hours south of Morgantown. It’s known for whitewater rafting and rock climbing, so there are not too many hiking trails and those that exist can be a bit boring.
Long Point Trail: This trail is 3 miles long with 344ft of elevation gain and takes just over 1 hour to complete. It is a popular trail since it’s not too difficult and you can reach a nice viewpoint of the bridge, river and gorge.
