Pinnacle Rock State Park (Bramwell, WV)

Looking for hiking trails in West Virginia? Check out Pinnacle Rock State Park near Princeton, WV for trails with gorgeous views!

By Elizabeth + Garrett Johnson

Recently my husband and I took an unexpected small adventure!

Those are always our favorites.

We had two appointments several hours apart in Bluefield and Princeton. I knew we would have some time to spare, so I packed our picnic backpack and we planned to get take-out from somewhere and find a nice place to be outside.

Since we're in in West Virginia, we knew we could find somewhere not far away to enjoy!

When we looked at what was close by after our first appointment, we of course checked food first and found a well-rated Thai place, Shogun. It was delicious!

Then, we looked at Google Maps and found Pinnacle Rock State Park wasn’t far. Neither of us had been there before, so off we went!

Looking for more West Virginia trails? Check out the Endless Wall and Long Point trails in New River Gorge, Beech Fork State Park, Pipestem Resort State Park, or the Gray Flats South Trail.

Pinnacle Rock State Park

Pinnacle Rock State Park is known for the 3,100-foot sandstone formation that gives the park its name.

The park is located on U.S. Route 52 near Bramwell in Mercer County. If you need an address for your GPS, head to 6470 Coal Heritage Rd., Bramwell, WV 24715.

When we arrived I wasn’t surprised it seemed like a small park. But they had picnic tables with great views.

We found one and settled in to enjoy it.

After eating, we noticed there were several trail signs and we still had plenty of time, so we went adventuring.

I was not as prepared as I thought, because I usually do not hike in Converse sneakers. They actually didn’t do too bad, though I would not recommend them!

Overlook Trail at Pinnacle Rock State Park

We didn’t have enough cell service to download a trail map, so we just explored the trails as we saw signs.

First, we hiked Overlook Trail.

This trail has a lot of stairs to reach the top, but isn’t very steep.

Once you reach the top there is a beautiful overlook.

You have a lovely view of the rocks themselves, but also a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains.

It's definitely worth the huffing and puffing to get up there.

Falling Rock Trail

Falling Rock Trail was next.

It was a lovely walk with slight elevation change and some stairs, but nothing too dramatic.

When you reach the end of that trail it just brings you out to the road, but if you turn around and head back there is a nice view of the rocks there as well.

This trail is one where you just enjoy the hike, not so much the view at the end.

There is a lovely shelter with a large fireplace and thankfully the restrooms were open.

Homestead Trail at Pinnacle Rock State Park

We still had time to kill, so we headed off on the Homestead Trail.

This one was lovely. It takes you down into the valley and the fall foliage was spectacular.

I was told it was past the peak but it still made me stand in awe and keep saying over and over, “Look how pretty the colors are!”

As this trail continues, there are several other trails that branch off of it. View the full trail list.

The Homestead Trail was easy to navigate and the footing wasn’t bad, even in my poor choice of footwear! It does have a few switchbacks.

We had no clue how long any of these were, but we just kept an eye on the time.

We hiked until we had to turn around in order not to miss our last appointment and of course to make a much needed coffee stop!

Coming back up wasn’t as challenging as I had thought it would be. The switchbacks made the elevation gain seem not so bad.

Sadly, we had to be on our way. We were so happy that we had discovered this beautiful gem!

Garrett said he had driven by here many times growing up but never stopped. We both agreed this was a place we want to return to and finish our hikes!