Photo Provided The Pleasants County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s new water trail brochure highlights activities available to water enthusiasts seeking family fun and adventure in Pleasants County. With the St. Marys Marina and the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Pleasants County offers fishing, boating, water sports and bird-watching.

ST. MARYS — Hoping to grow its tourist footprint, the Pleasants County Convention and Visitors Bureau unveiled its West Virginia Water Trails Destination brochure.

The tri-fold brochure highlights the county’s three new water trails: French Creek, Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Middle Island Creek. The newly designated trails were introduced last summer, capping a year’s worth of work.

The trails are another attraction to grow Pleasants County as a destination stop, Jody Murphy, director of the Pleasants CVB, said.

“We expect these trails to be used by visitors as well as locals,” he said. “The trails, combined with our fairs and festivals, shops, restaurants, water park, parks and golf course, make Pleasants County an attractive day-trip and enhance the region as a tourism destination.”

The brochures highlight each water trail, with a map, listing the length of the trail, water depth and suggested difficulty rating. The brochures are adorned with photos of the water ways, depicting a variety of pleasure activities: fishing, kayaking and pleasure boating.

Water trails are river or lake routes for small, non-motorized boat traffic. The trails are not adrenaline-laden, whitewater runs. It’s slow-paced leisure activity, along easy flat water, with plenty of scenery, solitude and natural beauty all around.

“With the St. Marys Marina, and the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Pleasants County is a great place to visit for water enthusiasts. Fishing, boating, water sports, and even bird-watching are all wonderful events waiting to be discovered by visitors to Pleasants County,” Murphy said. “It’s a great family outing.”

Several kayaking and adventure companies are in the area, including Pleasants County, that offer tours of area waterways. He expects the county’s water trails to become part of those tours, Murphy said.

“Today we offer water trails, down the road, I hope to add some bike trails. We have some wonderful back-road country that is ideal for cyclists,” he added.

The CVB is in the processing of constructing signboards at the water trail heads. Those are expected to be installed within the next few weeks, Murphy said.

Jay Powell, Pleasants County commissioner, said the trail system is just one piece of a block on which the county can build and expand its tourism footprint.

“We are blessed to have this,” he said. “It’s another attraction for Pleasants County.”

The water trails project took more than 18 months of work and waiting to become a reality.

The approval of the trails wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of several entities, Murphy said.

The Pleasants County Commission, the city of St. Marys, the town of Belmont and the Pleasants County Development Authority all approved of the project and provided letters of support, along with the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

“We’re also grateful for the folks who allowed permission to use their photos to highlight our county and showcase their work. This was a group effort,” Murphy said.

For more information on Pleasants County or its water trails, contact the Pleasants County Convention and Visitors Bureau at 304-684-9909.