The Marvelous 1-Mile Trail in West Virginia Leads Adventurers to a Little-Known Abandoned Church

Abandoned places in West Virginia have a strange fascination for many people. West Virginia urbex enthusiasts love to explore places that have been left to the elements. Get this: there is an easy hike of less than one mile (a mostly nice and level mile, to boot) in the New River Gorge National Park that almost no one knows about ... and it leads to one of the few historic African American churches still left standing in the region. This West Virginia trail is a hidden treasure!

Continue reading to learn how you can find the old, abandoned First Baptist Church of Thurmond near Oak Hill, West Virginia for yourself. You'll find it's one of the most intriguing abandoned churches in West Virginia.

Hidden in the woods just across the New River from the Thurmond Depot in the nearly abandoned town of Thurmond, West Virginia is an old wooden church.

Abandoned now, this church has a long and storied history. In days gone by, it provided a place of worship for the many African Americans who lived in the coal camps and railroad towns that lined the banks of the New River. In 1920, just before this church was built, there were 9,636 Black residents in Fayette County alone.

Although it's no longer in use, this church is still important; it's one of the few historically Black churches from the era of segregation still standing in the New River Gorge. And you can visit this church for yourself by lacing up your hiking boots and tackling the Rend Trail from the Thurmond Trailhead, located along WV Route 25 most of the way to the New River crossing at Thurmond from Glen Jean.

Once you've reached the Thurmond Trailhead of the Rend Trail, you'll hike along the Rend Trail itself for about 0.7 miles, until you come to the Church Loop Trail. This is a short 0.1-mile loop that leads past the First Baptist Church of Thurmond.

And that's it! That's all it takes to reach this uniquely historic West Virginia church. Once you've completed the short Church Loop Trail, you can continue down the Rend Trail until you reach a bridge outage. Otherwise, turn around and return the way you came.

Have you ever hiked to this wooden church hidden in the forest? Did you even know it was in the New River Gorge National Park? To learn more about hiking the Church Loop Trail to the abandoned First Baptist Church of Thurmond, West Virginia via the Rend Trail, visit the National Park Service website.

Interestingly, this uniquely historic church is just one of many abandoned places in West Virginia found in the New River Gorge area. Road trip, anyone?

And if you are looking for even more hikes in West Virginia, check out a few of our favorites. Just make sure you have proper hiking gear before you head on the trails.