Bald Knob Trail at Canaan Valley Resort State Park offers breathtaking panoramic views from two spruce-clad summits, Bald Knob and Weiss Knob. Bald Knob overlooks Canaan Valley to the west (top photos), while Weiss Knob overlooks the Red Creek Valley to the south. I take the manual route up the trail (a strenuous vertical climb of 800 to 900 feet in about half a mile) but you can also opt for the ski lift on Weiss Knob, when it's operating. This time of year, a walk through the red spruce forest on Weiss Knob is a real treat for wildflower nerds like me, with various beauties, such as yellow clintonia (Clintonia borealis), the gorgeous and delicate starflower (Lysimachia borealis), painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), and mountain-loving red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa), in bloom.
