Guthrie Loop 

This trail loops through a three-acre lawn area with specimen trees and shrubs.  Many birds can be seen and heard here during spring and summer.  It is named for the late Dr. Roland L. Guthrie, longtime WVU Core Arboretum Curator and WVU Professor of Biology. 

Amphitheater 

Located in the woods near the Guthrie Loop, this sixty-seat facility is used as an open-air meeting place.  The Amphitheater may be reserved by contacting the WVU Department of Biology at 304-293-0387. 

Strausbaugh Trail 

Leading from the Guthrie Loop, the Strausbaugh Trail passes through a well-drained woodland area where oaks, hickories, and maples grow abundantly.  Spring wildflowers conspicuous along this trail include twinleaf and celandine poppy.  This trail also passes a small lawn area planted with trees and shrubs native to Eastern North America.  It is named for Dr. P. D. Strausbaugh, former head of the WVU Biology Department. 

Sheldon Trail 

This trail is one of the favorites during the spring wildflower season.  Virginia bluebells, dwarf larkspur, bloodroot, twinleaf, sessile trillium, and wild ginger carpet the hillside in April.  It is named in honor of Dr. John Lewis Sheldon, WVU Professor of Botany in the early 20th century. 

Cliff Trail 

This narrow and eventually steep trail passes cliffs of Morgantown Sandstone high on the hillside.  Sharp-eyed visitors to this area may see signs of the small coal mine that operated here long ago, and wild ginger is abundant. 

Granville Island and Silver Maple Trails 

These trails curve through a floodplain forest and across Granville "Island," now attached to the Morgantown shore but a prominent landmark in the Monongahela River during the 19th century.  Many kinds of birds may be seen near the shore where massive silver maples, graceful black willows, and delicate jewelweeds grow in moist, silty soil. 

Nuttall Trail 

Skirting the edge of the floodplain, this trail leads past the "lagoon," where arrowhead, cattail, and other aquatic plants grow in a wet area that was formerly a river channel.  The trail's name honors the memory of Lawrence William Nuttall, a botanist from Fayette County, West Virginia. 

Taylor Trail 

This steep trail winds through the WVU Core Arboretum's best example of a beech-maple forest.  Towering oaks and hickories also grow on this steep site, providing excellent habitat for fox squirrels.  It is named for Dr. Leland H. Taylor, former Professor of Zoology at WVU. 

Melvin Brown Trail 

Large oaks dominate this trail that bends around the hillside.  Spring wildflowers found here include twinleaf, wild geranium, and dwarf larkspur.  The trail's name honors Dr. Melvin L. Brown, distinguished botanist from Mineral County and donor of many of the WVU Core Arboretum's planted trees and shrubs. 

Rumsey Trail 

This trail leads through a surprisingly deep and secluded hollow where trilliums and other wildflowers grow in profusion under stately walnuts and oaks.  This trail is named in memory of William Earl Rumsey, WVU and state of West Virginia entomologist and an avid botanist. 

Service Road 

The Service Road is the WVU Core Arboretum's widest "trail" and provides the easiest route up or down the hillside.  Bicycles are permitted to use the Service Road to get between the Evansdale campus and the Caperton Rail-Trail.  The Service Road also connects with many Arboretum foot trails. 

Caperton Rail-Trail 

This trail travels from the WV/PA state line to Prickett’s Fort, near Fairmont, WV, passing through the WVU Core Arboretum.  This trail links users to a large and growing network of rail-trails.  For more information, go to www.montrails.org .  This trail is an excellent spot to see summer wildflowers that grow in open areas, and to observe birds in spring and summer.