Barboursville City Park was a selling point for me. The park not only has excellent facilities, a large group and team sports complex, and plenty of picnic amenities, but it has TONS of trails, suitable for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The park encompasses over 900 acres of developed and undeveloped green space. There are wide open soccer fields, and heavily wooded hill sides. The family has hiked and mountain biked on a number of different trails in the month and a half we have lived nearby. This post will focus on the set of nicely kept and well-established walking trails. The more rugged trails I will save for a later post.
We walked all of the walking trails in about an hour and a half. They range from about .2 mile to .6 mile loop or up-and-back. To get to them from the main entrance of the park in Barboursville, follow the park road to the top of the hill, and make a right. Pass by the parking lot and picnic shelter on the right, and follow the road as it veers off to the left (Overlook Road). Park near the vehicle barrier. A short walk on the road will take you to this sign. The trails are flat and well-kept. The Radio Tower Road trail has some inclines. Each trail has tons of single tracks leading off from them along the way. I plan to go back and scout some of them on a bike, and then bring the family up for more mountain biking. The trails have some great lookout points, as well. The picture is from Farm View Trail, as one might guess.
We seem to find something new every time we visit this park, and this little trip was no exception. We are getting to know the area better now, which will help us plan for longer and more challenging hikes and bike outings in the future. I just might return tomorrow after work to bike the trails, and try out some of the singletracks. Later!
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