# The Midland Trail

*US 60 over the New River country*

The Midland Trail is a ~120-mile back-roads route from White Sulphur Springs to Charleston on US 60, driven in 1–2 days, that stays off I-64 through the Upper South.

- **Drive:** White Sulphur Springs → Charleston
- **Distance:** ~120 mi
- **Days:** 1–2
- **Highways:** US 60
- **Avoids:** I-64
- **Region:** Upper South
- **Themes:** History & Markers, Oddities & Roadside Wonders, Natural Beauty, Iconic Stays

US 60 follows the old James River & Kanawha Turnpike over the mountains the interstate tunnels under: the Greenbrier with a declassified congressional bunker beneath its wallpaper, Hawks Nest's gorge overlook above the tunnel disaster that killed hundreds of Depression-era drillers, the gloriously shameless Mystery Hole, a waterfall at the roadside, and Booker T. Washington's boyhood salt town at the end. Resort splendor and buried history on one two-lane.

Markers: Midland Trail byway signs; the Hawks Nest workers' memorial deserves the stop the overlook gets.

## The drive, segment by segment

### Greenbrier Country

*White Sulphur Springs → Rainelle · ~35 mi*

The grand resort and Lewisburg's Carnegie Hall, then the long timber grades west.

Stops:

- **The Greenbrier** (White Sulphur Springs) · Iconic Stays — The 1913 grande dame hiding a declassified Cold War bunker built to house Congress; the bunker tour is the resort's best-kept open secret.
- **Lewisburg** (Lewisburg) · Small Towns — A 1782 town with one of the few Carnegie Halls still in continuous use, plus a downtown that keeps winning 'coolest small town' honors and shrugging.

### The Gorge Rim

*Rainelle → Gauley Bridge · ~45 mi*

Hawks Nest's overlook and memorial, the Mystery Hole, and Cathedral Falls at the roadside.

Stops:

- **Hawks Nest** (Ansted) · State Parks — A stunning gorge overlook above a grim ledger: the 1930s Hawks Nest Tunnel killed hundreds of silicosis-stricken drillers, most of them Black migrant workers. See both.
- **The Mystery Hole** (Ansted) · Oddities & Roadside Wonders — Gravity misbehaves indoors for a modest fee, as it has since 1973; the Volkswagen in the roof sets expectations correctly.
- **Cathedral Falls** (Gauley Bridge) · Natural Beauty — A 60-foot veil falls steps from the highway shoulder, one of West Virginia's most photographed and least effortful.

### Kanawha Salines

*Gauley Bridge → Charleston · ~40 mi*

Down the river past Malden's salt history to the gold-domed capital.

Stops:

- **Malden & African Zion** (Malden) · Civil Rights — Booker T. Washington worked these salt furnaces as a boy and worshipped at African Zion Baptist; the little church still stands as his true starting line.

## Tips and best time to go

- Bunker tours require booking and surrender of your phone; the Cold War insists.
- Bridge Day (third Saturday of October) closes the New River bridge to cars and opens it to parachutes.

## Worth a detour

- **New River Gorge Bridge** — The newest national park's icon, ten minutes south at Fayetteville; on Bridge Day each October they jump off it on purpose.
- **J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works** — A seventh-generation family revival of Kanawha brine salt in Malden; the tour ends at the tasting table.

## Frequently asked questions
### How long is The Midland Trail and how many days does it take?

The Midland Trail is about 120 miles and takes 1–2 days at a back-roads pace.

### Where does The Midland Trail start and end?

It runs from White Sulphur Springs to Charleston.

### Which highways does The Midland Trail follow?

It follows US 60.

### Which interstate does The Midland Trail replace?

It avoids I-64, using US 60 instead.

### How many stops are on The Midland Trail, and what are the highlights?

6 stops are mapped, including The Greenbrier, Lewisburg, Hawks Nest, The Mystery Hole and Cathedral Falls.

### When is the best time to drive The Midland Trail?

The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “Bridge Day (third Saturday of October) closes the New River bridge to cars and opens it to parachutes.”

## Connects with

- [The Quiet Zone](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/the-quiet-zone) — Lewisburg → Petersburg, WV
- [Blue Ridge Parkway & the Smokies](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/blue-ridge) — Roanoke → Cherokee (+ Smokies spurs)
- [Skyline Drive & the Parkway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/skyline-brp-va) — Front Royal → Roanoke

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Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/midland-trail  
Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/)  
Last updated: 2026-10-05