Why you should visit West Virginia
Towering mountains. The rushing river is perfect for whitewater rafting (one of National Geographic’s Top 20 World Travel Adventures of 2024). America’s newest national park. Appalachian food and folk music.
Best time to visit West Virginia
Spring: From late April to May, hike trails such as the Blackwater River Trail in Canaan Valley Resort State Park, the Stone Cliff Trail, and the Central Trail in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, where you can see yellowtrout lilies, purple larkspur, and more. Decorated with wild flowers. Loop in Cacapon Resort State Park. It’s also ramp season, with wild foraged onions appearing at the Ramp and Rail Festival in Elkins, headlined on restaurant menus, and even in wines made with alliums. will appear.
Summer: With the highest average elevation east of the Mississippi River, West Virginia often experiences pleasantly cool summer temperatures. Cool off in hot, humid weather by whitewater rafting on the Lower Gauley or Cheat Rivers or tubing on the Shenandoah or Potomac Rivers. The West Virginia Waterfall Trail spotlights waterfalls in places like Babcock State Park and Monongahela National Forest.
Festivals in July include the Sternwheel Regatta, a boat race along the Kanawha River in Charleston, and the Contemporary American Theater Festival, which features new plays in Shepherdstown.
Rafters move down the Gauley River in West Virginia. The whitewater section of the legendary river is open to paddlers only in the fall.
Photo courtesy of Jay Young
Fall: Gorey season opens 40 miles of the legendary river to rafters in September and October. Arrange your trip with ACE Adventure Resort or Adventures on the Gorge. It’s also a thrill to watch BASE jumpers throw themselves off the 3,030-foot-long, 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge during Fayetteville’s Bridge Day Festival.
Take scenic drives, hiking trails, or ride the restored Potomac Eagle and New Tygart Flyer trains to admire the fall foliage in September and October.
Winter: Eastern West Virginia’s mountainous terrain (40 peaks over 4,000 feet above sea level!) and high average snowfall attract skiers, sledders, and tuber enthusiasts. Downhillers and snowboarders head to Timberline Mountain and Canaan Valley Ski Resort. Nearby Blackwater Falls State Park is popular with families, with a quarter mile of sledding trails and cabins with wood-burning fireplaces.
condition of the land
Cities and Towns: West Virginia is within a day’s drive of nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population. Surrounded by mountains in the Eastern Panhandle, Berkeley Springs is a colonial spa town, while Shepherdstown has a Civil War history and restaurants and shops in restored vintage buildings.
Located along the Monongahela River in the northern part of the state, Morgantown is home to scenic covered bridges, museums, and green spaces such as the West Virginia Botanical Garden.
The state capital, Charleston, at the confluence of the Kanawha and Elk Rivers in the southwestern part of the state, is home to waterfront trails, street murals, and Capitol Market, a food and craft bazaar housed in an old train station.
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains southeast of Charleston, Beckley has been a center for coal mining since the late 19th century. Visitors can take mine tours and browse local artifacts at the Tamarack Cultural Center.
In the south-central part of the state, Fayetteville’s breweries, restaurants, and supply stores draw adventurers heading to the neighboring New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
Park: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve opened in 2020 on 72,000 acres of wooded hills, deep canyons, and the Appalachian Plateau. His 63rd national park in the United States is popular with hikers, rafters, and mountain bikers.
Located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in the easternmost tip of West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park recreates and preserves the 19th-century railroad town where John Brown led the 1859 Rebellion that sparked the Civil War. doing. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail cuts through town.
Almost 80% of West Virginia is covered by 27 tree species. Located in the state’s north-central highlands, the Monongahela National Forest (including the pristine Dolly Sods Nature Preserve) occupies nearly 1 million acres, perfect for horseback riding, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, and cross-country skiing. Masu.
There are 35 state parks and nine state forests, including Cooper’s Rock State Forest with its sandstone cliffs and Blackwater Falls State Park with its 57-foot waterfall and hiking trails.
moving west virginia
By car: West Virginia is easily accessible by six interstates. You’ll need a car to explore the beautiful highways and back roads. EV charging stations are available in most cities, many towns, and some state parks. In mountainous areas, AWD, 4WD, or chains may be required during snowy conditions.
By bus: The Megabus station is located in Morgantown. Greyhound stations are located in Charleston, Huntington, Beckley, Bluefield, Morgantown, Fairmont, and Bridgeport.
By train: Amtrak’s Capitol Limited trains run daily to Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg. Amtrak Cardinal offers weekly service to White Sulfur Springs, Alderson, Hinton, Prince, Thurmond, Montgomery, Charleston, and Huntington.
Locally: Larger cities and towns have bus service and bike share or rental programs, including Kanawha Valley Regional Transit Authority in Charleston, Tri-State Transit Authority in Huntington, and Mountain Line Transit Authority in Morgantown.
Know before you go
Cultural History: West Virginia’s human history begins with the nomadic Paleoindians who lived in the area around 11,000 B.C. The historical peoples most associated with this region include the Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee, and Iroquois-speaking peoples. Enslaved Africans were forced into forced labor in areas such as the Greenbrier, Monongahela, and Kanawha during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Lower Gauley River winds its way through central West Virginia. The river is famous for its “Big 5” or five sets of Class V whitewater rafters.
Photo courtesy of Jay Young
West Virginia, the only state created as a result of the Civil War, was separated from Western Virginia and added to the Union by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery here on February 3, 1865.
LGBTQ+: Same-sex marriage was not recognized in West Virginia until 2014. The state ranks 31st on Out Leadership’s annual 2023 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index. Pride festivals are held in cities such as Charleston, Morgantown, Huntington, and Harpers Ferry.
How to visit West Virginia sustainably
Please help protect habitat by sticking to designated trails and roads and leaving no trace. Properly extinguish campfires when visiting public lands. Dine at a locavore restaurant and sample groceries such as ginseng and ramps.
What to read and watch
Another Appalachia by Neema Abasia. A queer Asian American teacher and writer hysterically and poignantly details her triumphs and her struggles living in West Virginia.
“Born in a Ballroom” directed by Clara Lehmann. This documentary introduces viewers to Hütte, a Swiss restaurant and cultural icon located in the remote mountain town of Helvetia, and its Spitfire founder, the late Eleanor Mailloux.
A Feast of the Seven Fishes, directed by Robert Tinnell. His 2018 holiday film, set in a 1980s mining town, depicts Italian-American family life.
Grand Design: A Dorothy Draper Novel by Joy Calloway. This historical novel, set at the lavishly decorated Greenbrier in White Sulfur Springs, tells the life of Draper, the mid-20th century interior designer who decorated the resort, and her love story. I am.
Homer Hickam’s “Rocket Boys”. This memoir, set in 1950s Coalwood, traces Hickam’s early obsession with Sputnik, which led him to a career at NASA. (This also inspired the movie October Sky.)
