Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheat Ranger Station Parsons | Agency / conservation office | 39.09013, -79.66293 | Monongahela National Forest district office. |
| 2 | St. George Park St. George | Park / conservation area | 39.16564, -79.70510 | Riverside village park. |
| 3 | Rowlesburg Park Rowlesburg | Park / conservation area | 39.34892, -79.67250 | Riverside town park. |
| 4 | Camp Dawson Public Hunting Area Preston County | Park / conservation area | 39.40343, -79.67061 | Public hunting ground along the river. |
| 5 | Albright Bridge Dam Albright | Point of interest | 39.49036, -79.63896 | Low-head dam just above the canyon put-in; portage. |
| 6 | Albright Municipal Park Albright | Park / conservation area | 39.49359, -79.64320 | Town park beside the canyon put-in. |
| 7 | Cheat View Coopers Rock State Forest | Point of interest | 39.62034, -79.81615 | Rim viewpoint over the canyon. |
| 8 | Coopers Rock Overlook Coopers Rock State Forest | Point of interest | 39.63644, -79.81581 | Best-known overlook above Cheat Canyon. |
| 9 | Mont Chateau Marina Cheat Lake | Access / boat ramp | 39.66055, -79.85184 | Marina on the east shore. |
| 10 | Edgewater Marina Cheat Lake | Access / boat ramp | 39.66505, -79.85500 | Marina on the east shore. |
| 11 | Sunset Beach Marina Cheat Lake | Access / boat ramp | 39.67855, -79.85830 | Marina and ramp. |
| 12 | Cheat Lake Park Cheat Lake | Park / conservation area | 39.70605, -79.84249 | Shoreline park and trail near the dam. |
| 13 | Tower Run Fishing Access Cheat Lake | Access / boat ramp | 39.71350, -79.85537 | Shore fishing and viewing site. |
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Lake Lynn Dam Cheat Lake | Point of interest | 39.71948, -79.85699 | Dam at the foot of Cheat Lake. |
| 15 | Holly Meadows Road bridge Parsons | Bridge crossing | 39.12138, -79.67546 | |
| 16 | Location Road bridge St. George | Bridge crossing | 39.16514, -79.70727 | |
| 17 | US 50 bridge Macomber | Bridge crossing | 39.31987, -79.65674 | |
| 18 | Mountain Subdivision rail bridge Rowlesburg | Bridge crossing | 39.34820, -79.66642 | Railroad crossing. |
| 19 | WV 7 bridge Kingwood | Bridge crossing | 39.46254, -79.65044 | |
| 20 | Powerplant Road bridge Albright | Bridge crossing | 39.49036, -79.63902 | At the Albright dam. |
| 21 | Albright Road bridge Albright | Bridge crossing | 39.49470, -79.64513 | Standard Cheat Canyon put-in (Rt 26 at Albright). |
| 22 | Jenkinsburg Bridge Big Sandy confluence | Bridge crossing | 39.59478, -79.74833 | Canyon take-out, river right; OSM spells it 'Jenkinsville'. |
| 23 | Cheat Road bridge Cheat Lake | Bridge crossing | 39.66718, -79.86071 | |
| 24 | I-68 bridge Cheat Lake | Bridge crossing | 39.66942, -79.86329 | |
| 25 | US 119 bridge Cheat Haven | Bridge crossing | 39.74231, -79.90024 | Last crossing above the Monongahela. |
| 26 | USGS 03069500 Cheat River near Parsons USGS streamgauge | USGS gauge | 39.12160, -79.67550 | Live stage and discharge. |
Gauge: USGS 03069500 — CHEAT RIVER NEAR PARSONS, WV. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Bluegill, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Muskellunge, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye
Regulations: wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing-regulations/
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Parsons town access at the USGS gauge - the standard upper put-in and the reference point for flow.
Hendricks put-in above Parsons - short float on the Blackwater arm when the main stem is high.
St. George bridge - midpoint take-out for the Parsons day float.
Rowlesburg river access - trailer and hand launch for the middle river.
Albright put-in - the whitewater canyon launch, not a fishing float.
Holly Meadows and Shavers Fork roadside pullouts - wade access to colder tributary water.
Monongahela National Forest access points upstream - walk-in wading on the forks in low summer flow.
Spring: high, cold water; trout fish best from mid-April as flows drop, and the first smallmouth move up in May.
Summer: warm readings push trout to seeps and the smallmouth float becomes the trip, best early and late in the day.
Fall: cooling water spreads fish back through the pools and October gives the most reliable float conditions of the year.
Winter: high and unfishable more often than not,