Nelson Rocks Preserve is located in North Fork Valley, Circleville, Pendleton County, West Virginia. The preserve is an outdoor recreation area that is privately owned and funded organisation that is dedicated to preserve Nelson Rocks as a natural, scenic and recreational resource. Visitors to the preserve have the opportunity go Trail Hiking and Climbing Via Ferrata.
Via Ferrata is Italian for Iron Way and is a type of mountain climbing via a route that has a safety system permanently installed. This makes climbing suitable for people wishing to climb who have no training and only using minimal equipment. Climbers are attached to a steel cable that runs the entire route and climbing rope is not generally required. Ladders, steel rungs and bridges are used when climbing this way. The Via Ferrata was built at Nelson Rocks in 2002 and is the second of this type of climb in America. The climb is half a mile in length and elevates hundreds of vertical feet. At the top of the climb is an exposed summit with views of the Allegheny mountains. Climbing Via Ferrata is by appointment only
Hiking at the preserve runs year round and are able to be purchased by self service at the preserve entrance station. Trails at the preserve are The Corridor Trail that is a steep and rugged climb from Nelson Gap though the `fins' of the Rocks that rise up to 300 feet above the trail. Pierson's Trail is an easier climb then the Corridor Trail that winds up wooded slopes and joins the corridor trail higher up the mountain.
