⏵ Course guide · Dolly Sods point-to-point
Highlands Sky runs point-to-point from Laneville into Canaan Valley State Park, 5,474 feet of climb through Roaring Plains and Dolly Sods, the highest plateau in the eastern United States, on a 12 hour clock. It is widely considered West Virginia's premier single-day mountain ultra. I will walk you through the technical terrain and named cutoffs first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for exposed high-elevation running, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official WVMTR Highlands Sky details and course description pages. Field caps, aid station offerings, and cutoffs can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics on wvmtr.org before you commit.
Highlands Sky begins near a bridge crossing Red Creek at the Laneville DNR Cabin, at the entrance to Dolly Sods Wilderness. After a 2 mile paved section, the trail climbs into Roaring Plains, Flatrock Plains, and Red Creek Plains, proceeds north along the Allegheny Front to Bear Rocks, then turns west crossing Dolly Sods to the rim of Canaan Valley, descending through Timberline Ski Resort to the finish at Canaan Valley State Park.
The course front-loads real difficulty: a 2,500-foot ascent followed by a 1,700-foot descent, then another 1,200-foot climb, all within the first 15 miles. Highly technical, rocky singletrack sections occur from mile 7-11 and mile 16-18, and the Dolly Sods section adds an exciting boulder-hopping stretch from mile 30-31. This is not a course that eases you in.
Dolly Sods is the highest plateau in the eastern United States, with a landscape of rocky terrain, stunted trees, and mountaintop meadows known as "the sods." The course crosses genuinely exposed ground with little tree cover, so weather, wind, sun, or an unexpected storm, matters as much as the technical footing.
The course breaks down as 75% trail, 15% Forest Service road, and 10% paved road. That mix means real variety in footing and effort across the 40 miles, from technical singletrack to more runnable forest road stretches where you can recover before the next technical section.
With a 6:00 am start and a 12 hour overall cutoff, four aid stations carry their own named cutoff times that the aid station captains enforce strictly.
Because two of the course's biggest climbs land in the first 15 miles, a grade-adjusted pace target matters immediately, not just later in the race. Going out too hard on the early 2,500-foot climb costs you dearly on the technical mile 16-18 section and the Dolly Sods boulder field that follows.
The named cutoffs at Gas Line (9:15 am), Forest Rd. 70 (11:05 am), Dolly Sods (12:05 pm), and Bear Rocks (1:40 pm) are strictly enforced by the aid station captains. A vert-aware finish prediction checked against each of those specific times, not just the 6:00 pm overall cutoff, tells you honestly whether you have real margin at each stage of the race.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 12 hour window keeps most finishers within a single day, but the exposed Dolly Sods and Roaring Plains sections mean weather and sun exposure deserve real planning alongside carbohydrate.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. No gels are stocked at any aid station, so if you rely on them, carry your own supply for the full 40 miles. Because the race is cupless, you also need your own bottle or hydration system, and Station 1 only carries water and Endure Fuel, so plan your early-race intake around that limited offering.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range is a reasonable starting point, but the largely treeless Roaring Plains and Dolly Sods sections mean real sun and wind exposure regardless of the ambient temperature. Adjust upward through those stretches, and carry enough fluid capacity given the limited crew access at just two points on course.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and an exposed high-elevation June day with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact front-loaded Dolly Sods climbing profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for technical, exposed terrain, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
Highlands Sky is widely regarded as the premier single-day mountain ultra in West Virginia, and the terrain backs that up. The point-to-point course climbs 5,474 feet and descends 4,856 feet through Roaring Plains, Flatrock Plains, Red Creek Plains, and Dolly Sods, the highest plateau in the eastern United States, on a mix of highly technical, rocky singletrack, exposed high-elevation terrain, and an exciting boulder-hopping stretch around mile 30-31. Two significant climbs occur in the first 15 miles alone, a 2,500-foot ascent followed by a 1,700-foot descent, then another 1,200-foot climb, front-loading real difficulty before you have found your rhythm.
The official course description lists a total climb of 5,474 feet and a descent of 4,856 feet over the 40 mile course. Two of the biggest efforts come early: a 2,500-foot climb followed by a 1,700-foot descent, then another 1,200-foot climb, all within the first 15 miles, so the course front-loads a significant share of its total vertical before the halfway point.
With a 6:00 am start and a 12 hour cutoff, most finishers are done well within a single day, though the exposed, high-elevation Dolly Sods terrain and technical footing slow nearly everyone compared to a flat-course pace. This is a cupless race, so bring your own liquid receptacle. Station 1 carries only water and Endure Fuel sport drink, while stations 2 through 8 offer a fuller spread, PB&J, fruit, cookies, pretzels, chips, potatoes, candy, soup if cold, salt, Tailwind, Coke, and Mt. Dew, though no gels. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour and bring your own gels if you rely on them, since the aid stations do not stock them. Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range is a reasonable starting point, adjusting for exposure on the Plains sections. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The overall time limit is 12 hours, a 6:00 pm finish from the 6:00 am start. Four of the eight aid stations carry named intermediate cutoffs: Aid #2 Gas Line (mile 10.5) by 9:15 am, Aid #3 Forest Rd. 70 (mile 16) by 11:05 am, Aid #4 Dolly Sods (mile 19.7) by 12:05 pm, and Aid #6 Bear Rocks (mile 27) by 1:40 pm. These cutoffs are administered and executed by the aid station captains, and defying a captain's pull decision results in disqualification, so treat every posted cutoff as final.
Pacers are not permitted for most of the course, with one exception: friends may join a runner from Aid #8 Freeland Road (mile 36.9) to the finish, except for the top five men and women, who race without that exception. Crew access is similarly restricted, limited strictly to Aid #4 Dolly Sods (mile 19.7) and Aid #8 Freeland Road (mile 36.9); crews are not permitted to drive past Aid #4 toward Aid #5 or #6 along the Road Across the Sky, and doing so results in disqualification.
Not typically as a first ultra. The combination of highly technical, rocky terrain in the first half, real exposure on the Dolly Sods plains with minimal cover from weather, and a field capped at 200 runners on genuinely remote Appalachian singletrack make this better suited to a runner with real trail ultra experience. A 12 hour cutoff is workable for a well-trained runner, but the technical demands, not the distance itself, are what catch first-timers off guard here.
Link this guide
Race directors and clubs: link or embed this guide anywhere. It stays current.
<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/highlands-sky-40">The Highlands Sky 40 Mile Trail Run course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/highlands-sky-40" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Highlands Sky 40 Mile Trail Run course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.