Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge (CVNWR) in Tucker County, West Virginia, was the 500th National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to be established in the United States. The refuge preserves a moist valley with unique wetlands and uplands at a relatively high elevation in the Allegheny Mountains. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Designation | National Wildlife Refuge |
| Managed by | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| State | West Virginia |
| Size | 19,024 acres |
| FWS region | Region 5 |
| Center point | 39.10° N, 79.39° W |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 13) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
None of the 1 federal campground within ten miles sits inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Most refuges do not allow overnight camping. The campgrounds listed are outside the refuge.
Trails
2 named Forest Service trails start or end within 3.1 miles of the center point, 6 miles in all.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Rocky Ridge Trail | 3 | |
| Raven Ridge Trail | 2.8 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet. The radius is the one a circle of this unit’s acreage would have, measured from the center point, so a trail listed here can fall outside the boundary.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- 2.4 miMeyer, Herman August, House ↗Davis, WV
- 4.7 miCottrill Opera House ↗Thomas, WV
- 5.2 miBuxton and Landstreet Company Store ↗Thomas, WV
- 5.3 mi
- 5.8 miFairfax Stone Site ↗William, WV
- 7.5 miDay--Vandevander Mill ↗Harmon, WV
- 8 miGormania Presbyterian Church ↗Gormania, WV
- 9.4 miRohrbaugh Cabin ↗Petersburg, WV
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Guidebooks for West Virginia
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge?
19,024 acres.
Source: How acreage is computed
Who manages Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
What state is Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in?
West Virginia.
Source: How states are assigned
Can I camp at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge?
The refuge page says whether camping is allowed here. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge?
A point inside the boundary is at 39.103° N, 79.386° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Are there historic places near Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge?
The National Register has 22 listings within 15 miles, including Meyer, Herman August, House and Cottrill Opera House.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
- States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
- Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
- Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q5029194), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
- Description: Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by trail endpoints falling inside a circle of this unit’s acreage around the center point.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.