United StatesWest Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is defined by Appalachian driving: frequent elevation changes, wooded ridgelines, river valleys, and winding two-lane roads connecting small mountain communities. The Allegheny Highlands and Potomac Highlands offer especially concentrated mountain driving, while central and southern routes add gorges, coal-country valleys, and long forested stretches.

Driving Roads in West Virginia

Explore scenic and exciting driving roads across West Virginia.

Back Mountain Backway

United States

43 /100

4 kmUS

Camp Allegheny Backway

United States

87 /100

17 kmUS

Cheat Mountain Backway

Chesapeake And Ohio Canal Byway

Highland Scenic Highway

United States

43 /100

72 kmUS

Historic National Road

United States

25 /100

31 kmUS

Little Kanawha Parkway

Northwestern Turnpike

Rich Mountain Backway

United States

83 /100

20 kmUS

Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike

United States

64 /100

279 kmUS

Washington Heritage Trail

United States

57 /100

213 kmUS

Driving in West Virginia

Interesting driving roads are spread across much of West Virginia, but the strongest concentration is in the mountainous east and southeast. Monongahela National Forest contains the Highland Scenic Highway, including WV 150, a high-elevation parkway across the Allegheny Highlands with broad overlooks and limited roadside development. Routes such as US 250 and sections of US 33 cross successive ridges and valleys in the Potomac Highlands, creating sustained climbs, descents, and closely spaced bends. Farther south, US 60 follows the historic Midland Trail through the New River–Greenbrier region, combining river scenery, wooded slopes, and older communities. The state's road network also includes numerous designated scenic byways and backways. Conditions can vary considerably between major highways and narrower forest or secondary roads, so surface quality, access restrictions, and current road conditions are worth checking when planning more remote driving routes.