Building a boardwalk might seem a bit strange for a nature trail, but in Beartown State Park, it is necessary to properly navigate the terrain. But every effort put into building the boardwalk through this park was worth it to experience this beautiful forest and the rock formations from which it is formed.
Beartown State Park is located in the Greenbrier Valley, which many of you will recognize as the large gap on the southern end of Monongahela National Forest. The land, which was purchased in 1970 with the intent of turning it into a park, is a 110-acre area that sits on the eastern summit of Droop Mountain.
There is something ancient about the growth in this forest - something that makes it look particularly unlike the forest and woodlands of modern-day West Virginia.
It is perhaps for this reason that alterations to this forest have been minimal. Aside from the boardwalk, which was necessary to make the forest navigable, no other developments have been made so that the forest's natural beauty may be preserved.
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The park's boardwalk runs through the dense forest and large stone outcroppings, which rise like stone temples above the forest floor. The walkway weaves in between these formations throughout the entire park. Although each rock formation looks like its own singular outcropping, the truth is just the opposite.
Although the towering stones are separate now, they actually were once a single rock formation that covered the entire area. Over time, the formation began to crack and break apart. So when you travel along the boardwalk, you are actually walking between the cracks of a large stone formation weathered by time.
The formations are comprised of Pottsville Sandstone that was formed sometime during the Pennsylvanian age, a period of time between 323 and 299 million years ago.
The boardwalk weaves and winds along the formations, rising and dropping through a series of stairs along the way. Since the terrain of the forest is uneven, the boardwalk allows easier navigation through the area.
Along the way, you will pass through deep parts of the forest that seem almost like a jungle under the thick canopy of trees. You will also encounter markers along the walk that describe a number of different geological processes that occurred in the area.
You also might notice many small caves as you pass between the deep crevices of the forest. It is these caves from which the park derives its name. Many locals claimed that black bears had taken to living in those caves. If you were to imagine the boardwalk as streets, then the stone formations would be the houses for the park's wild residents.
Through eons of geological processes, this deep, cool forest has endured. Its ancient formations and diverse foliage reflect an age long past, and remind us that the natural beauty of the Earth is the life of an ecosystem that continues to thrive and grow century after century.
