Seneca Creek backcountry is not far off the summit of Spruce Knob, the WV high point. It is not a wilderness, so a person doing a trip there might encounter bicyclists as well as hikers, horse folks and fishermen.
Our trip started Saturday morning with a moderate drive from Preston Co, WV. We drove south on rt 92 and then headed east on RT 33; then the very long drive up Witmer Road (Co29). This road becomes FR1, which joins FS112 a bit past Spruce knob lake. There are several other ways in to this area from the east and the south. The trail head of Seneca Creek Trail will hold about a dozen cars with room alongside the road for a few more. The Lumberjack trail head is about 1/2 mile further up the road towards spruce knob.
Our group consisted of Me, country roads; my friend Rumble Seat, a brand new backpacker Madison (and future hanger, she thought my hammock was cool) and Delta and Echo our canine companions.
We arrived at the trailhead around 10:00. The parking lot was nearly full, but we found a spot. Most of the hikers were day hiking.
Beta: Seneca Creek trail start at just under 4000 ft or so and goes down hill to around 2900 feet over 5 miles. The treadway is very nice and the trail is easy to follow all the way to it official end at Horton Trail. The trail goes pretty much alongside Seneca Creek for its entire distance. It is a nice streamside hike. At about 3 miles, you will come to the Judy Springs area. There is a bridge that crosses Seneca Creek here. There are streamside campsites all along the trail/creek. Many of them with nice views of the creek and waterfalls. We camped about 1/4 mile downstream of Judy Springs at a site with a waterfall created by a side stream. There is an old grist mill stone at the site. I hung my hammock between two birch trees and had an awesome view downstream. We then dayhiked down to the last and most spectacular falls; the water was WAY COLD. There are campsites all along this section with quite a few nice places to hang. I did see another hammock just below the last falls, before the junction with the Horton Trail. We saw several day hikers and several folks were camped, but there were many sites still open. We dined on brats for dinner and then had smores for our bed time snack. Sunday was a mostly uneventful hike back to the trail head. We then drove on up to Spruce Knob, since Madison had not been there before. We drove home by way of Seneca Rocks, which are always very nice to see.
I have hiked this trail over Labor Day weekend and it can be crowded, But I expect most weekends it is pretty decent and most likely deserted during the week days. There is no short and easy route from any direction to get there, so I expect that keeps a lot of people away. I have also hiked High Meadows Trail, part of Lumberjack Trail and Judy Springs Trail. Circuit hikes in Seneca Creek are pretty easy and one could hike in from the Gandy Creek side of this area also.
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