Mon River / Caperton / Deckers Creek Rail-Trails form a tri-county, 46-mile linear park that links urban and rural communities in north central West Virginia. The primary trail manager, the Monongahela River Trails Conservancy, is one of the few volunteer non-profits nationwide to maintain such an extensive trail system, with the help of an innovative partnership between state, county, and city agencies and community volunteers.
The trail is a low-impact recreation corridor, alternative transportation route, community green space, outdoor classroom, and natural and cultural heritage park. The trail showcases past and present land use and management as it borders Prickett's Fort State Park, a historic frontier settlement, Arthurdale Heritage, the nation's first New Deal community, the Bretz Coke Ovens, a national coal heritage landmark, and Greer limestone, an active limestone quarry.
The trail passes through forests, meadows, rhododendron and hemlock thickets, farmland, and downtown shopping districts, as it parallels Deckers Creek and the Monongahela River, allowing people of all ages and abilities the pleasure of outdoor recreation including walking, cycling, in-line skating, and cross-country skiing. The popular rail-trail is used by residents of Morgantown and surrounding communities, West Virginia University staff and students, a wide mix of tourists, the health networks of Mon General and WVU Hospitals, as well as many rural communities with otherwise little access to public parks and health facilities.
