CHARLESTON — Opening up more access to one of West Virginia’s top streams and protecting 1,000 acres from development, the Greenbrier River Trail is getting national recognition and juicing up the economy to boot.

“It’s a destination vacation for families, particularly with gas prices so high,” Superintendent Jody Spencer told a legislative panel Sunday at the start of August interims.

“It also serves as an exercise for mothers who want to push their babies in strollers without fear of running into anything.”

Motorized traffic is forbidden along the trail, which runs 78 miles from Caldwell to Cass, he told the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Committee.

That means if one hiked or biked the entire expanse of the trail, it would be the equivalent of traveling from Charleston to Parkersburg.

Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine recently considered it the No. 1 trail in the southeastern United States, and Backpacker Magazine rated it in its Top Ten, the committee was told.

The trail opened on land once used by the C&O; Railroad, but given its mountainous location, the facility demands constant watch for rock slides and culvert damage, Spencer said.

“They cut this through some of the roughest terrain in the country,” he said.

A Marshall University study, based on interviews with 268 users over a 17-day stretch in October 2000, showed that 64 percent of the visitors had college degrees, and 26 percent had some college instruction.

In that period, Spencer pointed out, the trail pumped some $82,000 into the local economy.

Charities benefit from a number of activities, and events such as the Great Greenbrier River Race remain popular.

While some advantages of the trail are apparent and easily documented, Spencer said the facility offers the intangibles as well, such as blocking development and “unfavorable activities” that range from building unsightly shanties or using it as a trash dump.

“This is one thing we don’t appreciate but may in the future,” the superintendent said.

The park operates on a $90,000 budget that includes pay for the superintendent and four seasonal employees.

Fifteen rustic campsites are available, and some recent improvements have included 14 new parking spaces accommodating 120 visitors, the addition of eight kiosk signs, and the repairs of 30 miles of surface.

Projected improvements envisioned include reflective devices in tunnels and two destination-style campsites in Renick for equestrians, Spencer told the panel.

Another plus has been the increase in access to the Greenbrier River, where many old entrances have been shut off to swimmers and anglers as landowners became increasingly wary of allowing visitors on their property because of the liability issue.

“One of the problems is people in the county are being denied access to the Greenbrier River,” he said.