The Remote Hike To Red Ash Island In West Virginia Winds Through An Old Growth Forest And An Abandoned Graveyard
West Virginia is known for a lot of things, but islands aren’t typically one of them. You may know of one or two West Virginia islands (river ones, of course). But did you know about the small coal-mining island in the New River Gorge? Red Ash Island lies abandoned in an old-growth forest near Red Ash Mine along the Southside Trail between Thurmond and Cunard — most recommend starting the Southside Trail at the Brooklyn Boat Launch near Cunard — near Fayetteville. The story of this forgotten community is a classic West Virginia tale of beauty and tragedy that all began exactly 120 years ago this week.
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Red Ash was a fairly typical small mining community nestled in the beautiful New River Gorge at the turn of the 20th century.
A community of mining families and a string of mines — including the more popular Kaymoor Mine — populated the area.
Then disaster struck. On March 6, 1900, an explosion in the Red Ash Mine killed 46. Five years later, a second explosion in the joined Red Ash and Rush Run mines killed 24.
...but you can still hike along the Southside Rail-Trail to the old coke ovens and other mining ruins and cross a channel to Red Ash Island where you'll find a cemetery of more than 200 mostly anonymous graves — marked with concrete bricks — from miners who perished in the mine disasters as well as community members who died of smallpox.
Pictured is an abandoned graveyard similar to what you'll find on Red Ash Island.
The island can only be reached during dry times of the year and the views along the hike are best in the late fall to early spring (but not when there's snow or snowmelt raising the river level!); otherwise, the leaves block the views.
Although the Red Ash Mine ruins are right along the Southside Trail, the hike to the island is unmarked, so make sure you know what to look for in order to reach this remote destination.
About two miles from the Brooklyn end of the Southside trail, after you've passed the Red Ash mine, watch for a small stream on the left. You need to cross this stream to reach the island, which will be swampy at first so head for the high ground, where you'll start to find stone markers indicating the graves.
One other note: although the cemetery is not accessible by bike, the Southside rail-trail is suitable for bikers or hikers.
Have you visited the Red Ash Mine ruins and Red Ash Island? Did you even know about this mining community and its story? For more information, visit the National Park website here or the AllTrails summary of the hike here (note that the hike to the mine and cemetery is only about 2 miles, not the full 7 for the whole Southside Trail). Also, if you’d like to visit another mine and ghost town while you’re in the area, consider hiking to Kaymoor.
Cristy lives, writes, tutors, gardens, hikes, and relaxes with her family in the heart of Appalachia. She loves exploring new places, and she loves heading back home again when she's done.
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