Coal Heritage Trail
Coal Heritage Trail is a State Scenic Byway in West Virginia. Within West Virginia it covers roughly 85 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Coal Heritage Trail with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
This byway winds through the southern West Virginia coalfields, the rugged mountain country where the nation's coal industry boomed and where the Mine Wars of the early 1900s were fought. It links former company towns, the Bramwell mansions built by coal barons, and exhibition mines that tell the story of the miners' lives. Steep hollows and railroad towns define the landscape.
- southern WV coalfields
- company towns
- Bramwell coal-baron mansions
- exhibition coal mines
- Mine Wars history
Plan a drive on Coal Heritage Trail →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.