Description:
This area includes a local swimming hole and access for whitewater on the Cheat. This area has its good and bad points. The actual Blue Hole (upstream on the Big Sandy Creek) is a beautiful swimming hole. The area around the Jenkinsburg Bridge has been rehabilitated from a trashy muddy mess to a gravel parking lot with boulders and a gate to keep vehicles from driving down to the river. However, many trashed campsites continue to dot the woods around the area. Mountain Streams and Trails (a local whitewater company) owns this area and allows private use of the site, but make sure your use is proper so the relationship continues to be good (park in the parking lot, do not camp in the lot, carry out your trash, be courteous to other users). Be aware that there are times (usually on weekends and nighttime) that this area is inundated by large groups of locals and college students.
Directions:
Blue Hole/Jenkinsburg is located at the intersection of the Cheat River and the Big Sandy Creek (Google directions below). To access this site you have to driver down into the Cheat Canyon either from Masontown or Rt. 26 south of Bruceton Mills. Either direction includes a steep section of gravel road that has seen varying degrees of disrepair over the years. Although people do end up taking cars down, it is smart to have a 4 wheel drive or high clearance vehicle.
Activities:
Swimming Hole, Camping, Whitewater, Fishing
Resources:
Book – “Day Trips with a Splash, Northeastern Swimming Holes”