Cheat River Trailhead

 We decided recently to do errands in the town where our county seat is located.  There was a long list of errands...landfill, wash the truck at the carwash, Walgreens, and gas station.  

I requested a bit of fun along the way, which Strongheart was happy to oblige me.  On the outskirts of this little town is a walking trail, known as the Cheat River Trailhead so I asked if we could stop there and do a little walking.  The drive along the Cheat River is beautiful, especially this time of the year, but this particular day I was wanting to do some walking of the rail trail.

I was somewhat disappointed once we got there because there were barricades and "Trail Closed" signs up in every direction, but we did walk around the areas where it was permissible.  It was too gorgeous of a day to not do some walking. 

We started here at this pond.

There's a picnic table right in front of these huge rocks.

I loved seeing the reflection of the beautiful tree colors in the water.

What would a post be without some random colored leaves?

Strongheart had wanted us to be able to walk across this bridge that spans the width of Cheat River.

Fortunately for me, this is one of the areas where there was the "Trail Closed" sign.

You see that there's no railing on either side of that bridge, right?  

Yes, I know it's nice and wide, but, well, just not my cup of tea.

I was trying to get a good shot of the river without disobeying the signs.

If you can enlarge the picture on your screen, perhaps you may be able to see the slightest bit of the water through those trees.

This is a pavilion furnished with picnic tables and also restrooms to the right of the pavilion.  

We eventually came to this area that is clearly marked as the place to put the kayaks into the water...or take them out.

 A bit of information about the area.

In case you aren't familiar, the Cheat River is famous for its white-water rafting.

People come from as far away as California and Washington State to enjoy the rapids.

However, this year, anyone wanting to do so would have had to bring their own water because of how dry our summer was.  

The next few pictures will give you a better idea of how low the river was.

The path down to the river was a bit too steep for me,

but Strongheart was happy to go down and snap a few pictures for me.

Isn't this a lovely spot for that picnic table?  

Next time, I want to take my walking stick so I can navigate the steep incline.

I have a picnic lunch in mind already. :)

To the right of the picture where the water looks white is a little bit of a rapids,

but look to the left and middle of the picture and you will see all of those rocks.

The majority of the river this summer had many more rocks visible than it had water

.

We are so thankful for the several rains we've had in the last month that has given us this much water.

I hope you enjoyed your time at Cheat River Trailhead.