WVU in the News: WVU professor says trail use up, thanks to pandemic

A West Virginia University researcher says exercising on local rail trails has doubled during the pandemic and is safe as long as people use best practices to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

According to the Mon River Trails Conservancy trail counter data, trail use at the trail's Van Voorhis trailhead is up 101 percent, and trail use on the Mellons Chapel-Deckers Creek Trail is up 124 percent when compared to the same period last year.

“Access to safe places for physical activity is critical now more than ever,” says Christiaan Abildso, associate professor at the university's School of Public Health.