The Monongahela runs broad and slow past Morgantown, and the riverfront has been cleaned up enough to make for a pleasant walk. The Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park runs along the bank south of downtown, with a paved trail, benches, and views across to the opposite shore. It's where students come to run and locals walk dogs on evenings.
The historic Morgantown Wharf and Warehouse District preserves a handful of late-nineteenth-century industrial buildings close to the river — reminders that this was once a working river port handling coal and glass. The Morgantown Lock and Dam, a short distance downstream, controls the river level and creates the pool that makes the waterfront useable for small boats.
Deckers Creek enters the Monongahela from the east side of downtown. A multi-use trail runs upstream along the creek for nearly 20 miles into the hills, flat and well-maintained — one of the better cycling routes in the region.