Join us for a Fox Forest foray starting at 1 p.m. this Sunday afternoon near the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) boat dock landing on Scotts Ford Road. This hike was organized by the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area (AFNHA) as part of a “Community Trail Talks” series.

Hikers will walk through several sections of Fox Forest Wildlife Management Area on the improved trails. We will see the Tygart Valley River from the Overlook Trail and view Scott Hill homeplace from the High Overlook. Most of the land on the Overlook Trail was once owned by Cyrus H. Scott.

We will avoid the steepest parts on the eastern side of the Overlook Trail and connect with the lower part of the High Knob Trail. The elevation will increase slowly as we ascend to the High Knob near the Bat Tower used for Motus Wildlife Tracking now.

Then we will go down to the Grassy Meadows Trail where we will stop to enjoy the pond and see the holly trees planted by Dr. Don Roberts and his partners Dr. Bob Rector and Atty. Milfred Gibson. They admired the native plants of West Virginia and made a hobby of propagating American Holly and Appalachian Azaleas on this land they bought near the DNR in the 1960s.

In the 1990s the land for Fox Forest was transferred to Roberts heirs, and members of the family finally decided to collaborate with the DNR to create a Wildlife Management Area as a place for environmental education and outdoor exercise.

Planning for the larger multicounty Appalachian Forest Heritage Area started before the end of the last century, but this region did not gain a national heritage designation for about twenty years. After the pandemic, the beauty and serenity of our mountain forest region became better known. AFNHA now brings many excellent opportunities to visit these diverse woodlands.

We look forward to sharing the flora and fauna of Fox Forest with our hiking visitors in the afternoon this Sunday. The hardwood trees provide a variety of shaded areas where ferns and wildflowers grow. There are vernal pools, rocky streams, and a fishpond to enjoy on a warm Sunday. Deer roam this land where cows and pigs once grazed 80 years ago. The DNR has done wonderful work to help heal Fox Forest.