Morgantown is the third largest city in West Virginia, and is the county seat of Monongalia County. It is home to West Virginia University, the state's flagship public university and university with the largest student body in the state. The city has 30,347 residents (2020). As the largest city in the northern half of West Virginia, and sitting at the junction of I-79 and I-68, Morgantown serves as a major regional cultural center and hub for business, medicine, shopping and dining.
Morgantown is located on steeply rolling hills along the Monongahela River in North-Central West Virginia, also known as 'Mountaineer Country' and the 'I-79 High-Tech Corridor'. It is the largest city in a greater urban conglomeration including the smaller cities ofFairmont andClarksburg, the smaller town ofGrafton and their surrounding suburbs and smaller towns. The combined population of the greater Morgantown-anchored 6-county area is approximately 260,000 making this area the state's second largest urban conglomeration after the Charleston-Huntington area. Monongalia County has a population of 105,822 and the immediate Morgantown Metropolitan Area has a population of 138,176.
West Virginia University is at the heart of Morgantown's identity, culture and economy. A classic college town, Morgantown has seen robust growth for decades and has one of the wealthiest, best-educated and most diverse populations in the state. The West Virginia University Mountaineers have a strong following across the state and region, and college sports games well-attended and lively.
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Morgantown is a few miles to the west of the Allegheny Front. This long mountain ridge extending south from Pennsylvania has many protected parklands and its elevation change is often the difference between winter snow and ice in Preston County to the east while Morgantown itself sees rain. Morgantown's proximity to natural attractions including the adjacent Coopers Rock State Forest atop the Allegheny Front, and the various federal and state protected parklands and picturesque rural valleys of the high Alleghenies to the east make it a convenient base or stop for an extended trip through these more remote areas.
Drivers from flatter lands may be surprised at the steepness, narrowness and windy nature of the streets and roads around Morgantown, reminiscent of famously hilly San Francisco and Pittsburgh; and the fearless ease of the locals driving up, down and around this steep topography. The manner in which the hills separate the city into many small neighborhoods has necessitated the establishment of several disjointed campuses as WVU grew over the decades; the necessity of connecting the disparate campuses without overwhelming the street network resulted in the creation of the Morgantown PRT, opened in 1975.
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Major routes in and out of Morgantown include:
Morgantown is:
Downtown Morgantown has a lot of things to do, and it is definitely possible to see it by walking around. Other areas around Morgantown are similarly dense with fun activities and are easy to walk around. Certain places are further away from the center of town and will likely require a bicycle or a car to visit them. Morgantown is very hilly and steep, areas close on a map may be separated by a significant change in elevation, and the winding nature of routings can be disorienting to those unfamiliar with navigating mountainous terrain.
Morgantown's interstate highways skirt the edges of town, forming a sort of partial bypass/beltway;I-79 runs north-south along the western fringe andI-68 begins at an interchange with I-79 southwest of the city center and heads east, skirting the southern and eastern suburbs. The part of Morgantown north of downtown is the most populous, and crossing this area roughly west to east, connecting I-79 to I-68 is a large, busy suburban arterial route consisting of portions of other routes strung together. A small part of Chaplin Hill Rd. (exit 155 to WV-7) connects to US-19/WV-7 crossing the Monongahela River toWV-705 (Patteson Dr., Van Voorhis Rd., Chestnut Ridge Rd., 201st INF/FA Memorial Way), US-119 (Mileground Rd) andWV-857 (Cheat Rd.) connecting with I-68 at exit 7.
US-19 follows an indirect route, entering the Morgantown area from the southwest and traveling east through Westover into downtown Morgantown; then turning north and following the river to cross it again in Star City, from where it parallels I-79 north into Pennsylvania.US-119 enters Morgantown from the south and travels northeast from downtown, entering Pennsylvania near the small town of Point Marion Pa.WV-7 enters Morgantown from the northwest and is twinned with US-19 until downtown where it travels east, crossing I-68 and going up the Allegheny Front and through small rural mountain towns.
There is plenty of parking all around Morgantown. There are four parking garages with a total of 1,600 parking spots in Morgantown. They are at University Avenue and Chestnut Street, Pleasant Street, Spruce Street and Wharf Street. It is possible to rent a car for several days from Hertz in Morgantown Municipal Airport, or to rent a car for several hours from Zipcar. Alternatively, just call a taxi through Motown Taxi, Uber, or Lyft.
(updated Apr 2020) 
(updated Aug 2023)(updated Aug 2023)(updated Feb 2017)(updated Feb 2017)(updated Feb 2017)(updated Feb 2017)(updated Feb 2017) (updated Apr 2017)West Virginia University's sports teams are undoubtedly Morgantown's highest-profile attraction and loved by almost everyone in the state. The Mountaineers have teams in seven men's sports, ten women's sports, and one coeducational sport (rifle shooting), mostly as members of the Big 12 Conference. As at most other big schools, the football and men's basketball teams have the most attendees at games. Notably, when Milan Puskar Stadium is filled for football games, the stadium becomes the largest "city" in the state by a large amount. While a small number of WVU fans aren't totally friendly to opposing fans, violence is essentially nonexistent, and neutral visitors should have no trouble. For fun, try to wear dark blue and golden yellow. Different sports are played at different venues.
The Morgantown area has been home to over 30 glass factories over the past 100 years, including Seneca Glass, Monongahela Valley Cut Glass, Mississippi Glass, Pressed Prism Glass, Beaumont Glass, and others. There are only two glass factories left in the area:
(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Mar 2017)(updated Mar 2017)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)(updated Oct 2025)Because Morgantown is home to a major university, downtown Morgantown nightlife thrives for those in their twenties to early thirties. High Street is the main center for bar activity. Similar student activity can be found adjacent to the main West Virginia University campus in the Sunnyside area. The summer months are much quieter because many of the students leave town. State law does not allow anyone less than 21 years old to purchase alcohol.
(updated Oct 2016)(updated Oct 2016) (updated Oct 2016) (updated Oct 2016) (updated Oct 2016) | Routes through Morgantown |
| END← | W  E | →Grantsville→Cumberland |
| Washington←Waynesburg← | N  S | →Fairmont→Charleston |
| New Stanton←Uniontown← | N  S | →Grafton→Weston |
| DuBois←Uniontown← | N  S | →Fairmont→Clarksburg |
| Thiscity travel guide toMorgantownis ausable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but pleasefeel free to improve itby editing the page. |
