I know of tons of good roadside primitive camping areas.
Along the Williams River in the Cranberry Back Country Near Slatyfork
Red Creek Campground in the Dolly Sods Wilderness.
On top of North Fork Mountain Near Petersburg
Bear Heaven Campground near Elkins WV
Gandy Creek Dispersed Camping area near Harman
Those are the ones I can think of offhand.
Plan is to meet up Thursday the 23'rd of August some folks are flying into Pitts airport and driving down. Should be hiking 13 to 15 miles in 3 days maybe more.
Probably visit these areas.
The forks of Red Creek
Cabin Mountain
The Lions Head Cliffs
Dolly Sods is the highest plateau of its type east of the Mississippi River with altitude ranging from around 4,000 feet (1,200 m) at the top of a mountain ridge on the Allegheny Front to about 2,700 feet (820 m) at the outlet of Red Creek. The highest point in this immediate area is Mount Porte Crayon, at 4,770 feet (1,454 m), in Flatrock-Roaring Plains.
Dolly Sods is on a ridge crest that forms part of the Eastern Continental Divide. Most of its area is drained by Red Creek, which is a tributary of the Dry Fork River; via the Dry Fork, Black Fork, Cheat, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. Drainage on the east side of the ridge crest flows into the headwaters of the South Branch of the Potomac River, which is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The 10,215-acre Dolly Sods Wilderness is only part of the 32,000-acre area known as Dolly Sods. The northern part of the area is a backcountry access area, though not designated wilderness. The West Virginia Wilderness Coalition proposes Congressional Wilderness designation for both the Dolly Sods North area and the Roaring Plains area (see below).
Dolly Sods is bordered by a Forest Service road on the east and south side. South of this road is the adjoining Flatrock-Roaring Plains area (which is drained by the South Fork of Red Creek). The northeast end of the Federal land at Dolly Sods is bordered by the Bear Rocks Nature Preserve, owned by The Nature Conservancy.
Most of Dolly Sods is in Tucker County. Small parts of Dolly Sods are also in Randolph and Grant Counties.
The Dolly Sods area was first explored by Thomas Lewis during a survey in 1746 to find the limits of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Camerons land grant from the British Crown. The area was generally avoided as too impenetrable until the late 1800s. David Hunter Strother wrote an early description of the area, published in Harper's Monthly magazine in 1852:
"In Randolph County, Virginia, is a tract of country containing from seven to nine hundred square miles, entirely uninhabited, and so savage and inaccessible that it has rarely been penetrated even by the most adventurous. The settlers on its borders speak of it with a sort of dread, and regard it as an ill-omened region, filled with bears, panthers, impassable laurel-brakes, and dangerous precipices. Stories are told of hunters having ventured too far, becoming entangled, and perishing in its intricate labyrinths. The desire of daring the unknown dangers of this mysterious region, stimulated a party of gentlemen . . . to undertake it in June, 1851. They did actually penetrate the country as far as the Falls of the Blackwater, and returned with marvelous accounts of its savage grandeur, and the quantities of game and fish to be found there."
Because of the high altitude the climate is cool, and plants and animals are more similar to ones found about 1,600 miles farther north in Canada. Many species found here are near their southernmost range. For example, the snowshoe hare found in Dolly Sods is usually found in Canada and Alaska and is adapted to snow conditions, with its large, hairy feet which allow it to run on the snow surface. Other animals include red and gray foxes, bobcats, black bears, wild turkey, grouse, and white-tailed deer.
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Still, some beautiful country there hollowdweller. I love the falls the most!