Cabwaylingo State Forest is located on 8,123 heavily forested acres in the heart of Southern West Virginia in Wayne County. Built in the 1930's, the forest gets its unique name from the four surrounding counties from which it serves: CABell, WAYne, LINcoln, MinGO.

History of the Forest

Cabwaylingo State Forest is steeped in the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930's and 1940's. The CCC camps including the one at Cabwaylingo were established to rebuild forested acres which in turn marks the beginnings of the West Virginia State Park System. During the 1930's, the hard working members of the CCC built log cabins with stone fireplaces, the superintendents's residence, picnic areas, hiking trails and a fire tower. Many of these structures still exist, and are in use today. Examples of their labor can be found at the old CCC barracks which now serves as a 100 person group camp. Located near the campgrounds, the historical Tick Ridge Fire Tower, built in 1935, stands today as only one of less than a dozen fire towers still remaining but not operational in the State.