The Mason-Dixon Historical Park is a 295-acre park that encompasses parts of both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Visit the website to learn more about the history of the Mason-Dixon line and the historical park.

We visited this park for the first time in April 2024 to check out the Fairy Door Trail. We loved the hike and the wildflowers so much that we decided to return in April 2025 to repeat the same hike.

I wanted to create this post to share more details about the hike and the park, which makes for a fun family day out.

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Summary

  • park location – 79 Buckeye Rd, Core WV
  • hiking route – green trail to bluebell trail (fairy door trail), circling back on green trail (view trail map)
  • distance – about a 2-mile loop hike
  • difficulty – easy mostly flat with some small ups and downs on the fairy door trail
  • taking the kids – we used a child carrier intermittently for our two-year-old, but our other children hiked this on their own at ages 4 and up

Parking and Restrooms

The park is located at 79 Buckeye Rd Core, WV.

To head toward the Fair Door Trail, I suggest keeping to the right and following the road down to a lower parking entrance after entering the park. Here is a Facility Map.

The lower parking area has a basketball court, a sand volleyball court, a playground and pavilion, restrooms, and a baseball field.

Check in with the map in the parking lot and pick up a Trail Map.

The Hike

I was a little confused when planning this hike. But basically, the fairy doors are located on the yellow trail, which is also called the Bluebell Trail (lots of bluebells in spring).

The trail is described as .35 miles, but you have to hike. to the Fairy Door Trail. We completed a loop hike with the green trail for a total of about 2 miles (sometimes I take extra steps chasing my kids around).

The green trail begins past the baseball field (out towards right field). There’s a painted rock that says “fairy trail ahead” with a green arrow and another opportunity to pick up a map.

Follow the green trail along the river for about .5 miles.

You’ll come to a recently added Almost Heaven Swing we noticed between our visits from 2024 to 2025. Learn more about this fun photo op here.

Keep following signs for the Fairy Door Trail/Bluebell Trail. You might also notice a story walk.

Here are some pictures of fairy doors from our visit in April 2024. Our kid’s imaginations ran wild.

While there were bluebells and other wildflowers during our visit in 2024, the bluebells were even more beautiful during our visit in April 2025.

After the fairy doors, the trail winds downhill toward a beautiful and interesting mosaic solar system display, which loops back toward the Almost Heaven swing leading toward the green trailhead.

Our kids aren’t always excited about hiking. So with the multiple features like the Almost Heaven swing, the fairy doors, and the solar system display, this is easily one of our favorite family hikes.

The Park

The park also has other hiking trails, including mountain bike trails (view map). You can also look into staying in a cabin. We also enjoyed a post-hike visit to the larger playground near the entrance.

During our most recent visit, we noticed a large community Easter egg hunt, plus a foraging group meetup. Someone mentioned we should return to check out a ramp dinner event. Check the website for a list of events at the park. There is also a Facebook page.

I hope you found this post helpful for exploring the Fairy Door Trail at Mason-Dixon Historical Park. If you decide to check it out, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@adventureswkelly) so I can see your adventures.

Other Family-Friendly Hikes