Old Sewell Trail

Old Sewell is a 9-mile out-and-back on a former narrow-gauge rail grade, from the gate below Cabin 13 to the trail’s signed end near the New River Gorge boundary. It runs through wooded, rugged Babcock country toward the river, then you return on the same route. Allow about five hours for the hike; the half-mile paved approach from the Grist Mill lot is extra.

The park’s current trail page lists 9 miles, which fits a 4.46-mile mapped corridor walked out and back. Its 2024 trail map instead gives 5.5 miles one way. That difference is unresolved. I’d use 11 miles as the conservative trail-distance plan until you confirm the current signed mileage at the gate; the 9-mile field value reflects the measured corridor and current listing.

The trail is a crushed-rock surface on the old railroad grade. The way out is a gradual descent; the return is a long, gradual climb. The route is rated moderate, and a published trail account counts 12 benches along it. No water refill point is documented on the route, so plan to carry what you need for the full walk.

A century-old boiler sits beside the trail near a bridge over Flanagan’s Branch and a small waterfall. The bridge reuses stone supports from an earlier railroad trestle. This is the best place to stop for a closer look; frame the boiler with the water and stonework if you want a photo that tells the story of the route. Accounts disagree about the boiler’s first job: a site sign says it powered a locomotive, while a railroad history describes it first serving a sawmill and later becoming a water tank for Shay locomotives.

The three-foot-gauge Manns Creek Railroad opened in 1886 to move coal from the Clifftop area to Sewell, where the coal was turned into coke. Sewell had more than 300 residents in the early 1900s, and coke production continued there until 1956. The signed Old Sewell route ends before the townsite; the old grade continues beyond it, but that continuation is rough and brushy and is not included in this mapped hike. Do not enter active CSX railroad property or remove artifacts.

Use the Glade Creek Grist Mill or Administration Building parking lot. From the mill lot, follow the paved cabin-access road about half a mile to the official trail gate below Cabin 13. The gristmill is a separate stop by the access road. Dogs are allowed; keep them leashed, with a physical leash no longer than six feet in the National Park portion.