Take nine – great vacation ideas that is!
Potomac Highlands
If you love
outdoor adventure, the Potomac Highlands are sure to provide more than you can
handle in one vacation. From skiing at Canaan
Valley (www.canaanresort.com) (this season
marks 35 years of downhill skiing in West
Virginia) to bird watching atop the state’s highest
peak, the mountains and valleys of this region will not disappoint outdoors
lovers. If you want a taste of rock climbing or enjoy a good view, try the Via
Ferrata experience at Nelson Rocks Preserve. It’s one of only two places in the
country in which you can try fixed-cable climbing trails, plus a spectacular
200-foot-long and 150-foot-high swinging bridge. Snowshoe Mountain
(www.snowshoemtn.com) is a
destination unto itself, offering the Mid-Atlantic’s best skiing, top-notch
golf and a year-round adventure program. This year, Snowshoe adds a new ski
lift, a new lodge and two new restaurants. Even if you’re not into heavy
outdoor recreation, the incredible variety of lodging, dining and shopping
opportunities will leave you wishing you’d planned your vacation sooner. More
for next time! http://www.adventuresinwv.com. When evening comes, you’ll find plenty of
entertainment at the resorts and in the towns of the Potomac Highlands. In Elkins, be sure to put the American
Mountain Theater (www.americanmountaintheater.com)
on your entertainment list. The theater
offers an eclectic mix of music, comedy and variety stage shows sure to
entertain the entire family.
Mountain Lakes
It’s as
central as it comes in our odd-shaped and crooked-bordered state. The Mountain Lakes Region offers a diversity
of activities and is a great meeting spot. It takes its name from the large
lakes along the I-79 region, but great fishing, boating and camping aren’t the
only attractions in this part of the state. History buffs love Carnifex Ferry Battlefield
State Park (www.carnifexferrybattlefieldstatepark.com),
which today provides a calming glimpse of a place that was fiercely contested
during the Civil War. There’s also one of the best views of the raging Gauley River
there. Renowned Stonewall Resort (www.stonewallresort.com)
along Stonewall Jackson Lake offers luxurious accommodations, world-class golf
and fine dining, while guests to quaint Cedar Creek State Park enjoy swimming,
fishing and hiking and a look back in time at its one-room schoolhouse. Visit
Stonewall Jackson’s ancestral home at Jackson’s Mill or watch a re-enacted
1863 robbery at Weston’s Gold Dollar Days. In early spring, try the pungent but
tasty ramps at the Feast of the Ramson. When summer rolls around, the
world-famous Webster County Woodchopping Festival on Memorial Day weekend
brings the best lumberjacks and national television to tiny Webster Springs.
Whether you’re spending a few days in the region or just a few hours, bargains
are sure to be found at the Flatwoods Factory Stores, right off I-79. If the
season is right and weather permitting, you can catch a live show at the
brand-new Mountain Lakes Amphitheater.
Hatfield-McCoy Mountains
Visit the
new Chief Logan Lodge, Hotel and Conference
Center in Logan. Enjoy first-rate accommodations,
delicious dining and easy access to the Hatfield-McCoy ATV trails (www.trailsheaven.com) and nearby
National Coal Heritage Area. In summer, watch an outdoor drama. Try a
challenging mountain golf course built on top of a former coal mine. Visit the
burial place of “Devil Anse” Hatfield. Go boating at R.D. Bailey
Lake. Discover the
fascinating history of the coal mine wars at Matewan and visit the Coal House
in Williamson. Cool down at one of West Virginia’s most
popular water parks. Camp at the Ashland KOA ATV Resort (www.ashlandatvcenter.com), which
offers free wireless Internet access. Photograph or film trains at the
beautifully restored Elkhorn Inn and Theatre (www.elkhorninnwv.com), which features
vintage quilts, antiques and 1930s furnishings. Or get a close-up experience of
an early-20th-century miner’s life at Madison’s
Coal Heritage Museum.
Fly high with a visit to the hometown of America’s Right Stuff hero, Chuck
Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier. It’s easy to reach coal
country today, too, as most of these attractions are within easy access of
four-lane Corridor G.
Eastern Panhandle
Attractions
in West Virginia’s
Eastern Panhandle are as timeless as the state’s rich history and as new as the
latest spa trend. Take a scenic and exciting kayak ride down the Shenandoah and
Potomac rivers with a local Harpers Ferry
outfitter. Learn how firearms were manufactured at Harpers Ferry National
Historical Park
(www.nps.gpv/hafe), or visit the site in
Charles Town where abolitionist John Brown was hanged. In Martinsburg, taste
freshly made DeFluri’s fine chocolates, visit the former home of Confederate
spy Belle Boyd and tour the rare and historic B&O Railroad Roundhouse. The
impressive Charles Town Races and Slots gaming center (www.charlestownraces.com) features
live thoroughbred horse racing and Vegas-style slot machines. Try a sumptuous
German meal and a romantic night overlooking the Potomac
River at the classy and cozy Bavarian Inn (www.bavarianinnwv.com) in
Shepherdstown. Berkeley Springs boasts more massage therapists than lawyers.
This lovely arts town is loaded with quaint, locally owned shops and some great
dining, in addition to the variety of spas and homeopathic treatment options
that abound. Kids and kids-at-heart alike love browsing the candies and
knick-knacks at the old-time O’Hurley’s General Store
near Shepherdstown. Take a leisurely hike or bike ride along the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal towpath, a national park that
runs along West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle
border with Virginia and Maryland. The 3,000-foot Paw Paw Tunnel is an engineering feat and an adventure for
bicyclists. Golfers rave about Cacapon
Resort State
Park’s www.cacaponresort.com)
Robert Trent Jones Sr. course – it’s a favorite among the Washington crowd – and the historic CCC
cabins. Just a short drive away in Hedgesville is the 2,000 acre Woods Resort (www.thewoodsresort.com) that offers
36 holes of golf, outstanding dining and a casual yet pampering spa.
Northern Panhandle
West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle is a slender yet lively section
of the state that splits Pennsylvania from Ohio. And while much of
the region boasts the hardy, steel-like character of the metals industry that
made the area famous, the range of beauty, activities and diversions you can
find there might surprise you. From horse racing to toy museums and haunted
prisons to professional hockey, the Northern Panhandle has a vacation to suit
any taste. The Wheeling Symphony entertains panhandle visitors with 10 concerts
each year. At West Virginia Independence Hall (www.wvculture.com), you can
stand in the courtroom where the state’s founders laid the framework for the
future West Virginia.
Two gaming centers – one in Chester and one on Wheeling Island
– provide entertainment late into the night with slots and dog- and
horse-racing action for adults (http://www.wvNights.com),
while the Challenger
Learning Center
and Oglebay Resort’s Good Zoo are great for the kids. Shoppers love visiting
the country’s largest pottery at Homer Laughlin China Co. (www.homerlaughlin.com) in Newell. Tour
the factory, then shop the on-site outlet center for great bargains on
world-famous Fiestaware china. At Tomlinson
Run State
Park (www.tomlinsonrunsp.com),
guests can rent yurts to see if camping is the way they want to explore the
outdoors. For a quiet overnight, stay at Sistersville’s historic Wells Inn or
the lovely Bonnie Dwaine B&B in Glen Dale. Learn how bees make honey and
rediscover classic folk toys at Thistle Dew Farm in Proctor, or find a huge
selection of antiques and local crafts at Christy’s Antiques in New
Martinsville. If you dare, take the famous (perhaps infamous!) tour of the
former state penitentiary at Moundsville (www.wvpentours.com). It’s become a haven for parapsychologists
from across the globe and even hosts monthly ghost hunts. Just across the street,
find out more about West Virginia’s first
inhabitants, the Adena mound builders, at the Delf Norona
Museum.
Mid-Ohio Valley
The mighty
river that defines West Virginia’s
western border carves an entrancing and beautiful island here. The area’s beauty
so intrigued a wealthy Irish aristocrat and his wife that in 1798 they built
here the most magnificent home west of the Allegheny
Mountains. That beauty remains and the story of Harman and
Margaret Blennerhassett is retold by costumed re-enactors in Parkersburg’s
treasure, Blennerhassett
Island Historical
State Park (www.blennerhassettislandstatepark.com)
and museum. The reconstructed mansion isn’t the only palatial residence in the
region, though. Parkersburg
also boasts an impressive collection of oil-baron-built Victorian homes at the
Julia-Ann Square Historic District. The homes are open to tours at select times
each year, but always worth a walk past any time of year. History lovers take note
– Burning Springs
Park near Elizabeth is the site of the country’s oldest
producing oil and gas well and is an important Civil War site, too. The Oil and
Gas Museum
in downtown Parkersburg
is a good place to start your historical tour of the region. Head
to Cairo for a
step back in time at the R.C. Marshall Hardware store. Get some
hand-dipped ice cream in this picturesque town just before you rent a bike and
take in a few of the tunnels on the 72-mile North Bend Rail Trail. North Bend
State Park (www.northbendrailtrailstatepark.com)
is the perfect place to stay overnight, whether it be
at a campsite, in a cabin or the cozy lodge. For upscale and pampering, yet
still affordable, lodging, don’t miss the historic Blennerhassett Hotel (www.theblennerhassett.com) in
downtown Parkersburg.
The hotel restaurant and Spats lounge feature a great selection of fine and
local wines, in addition to live entertainment and a great songwriter music
series. A trip to the region wouldn’t be complete without a stop by the factory
at Fenton Art Glass (www.fentonartglass.com)
in Williamstown. It’s one of the top factory tours in the country. On the way
back, pick up at least three boxes of the freshly made gourmet chocolates at
Holl’s Swiss Chocolatier (www.holls.com) showroom
in Vienna. Plan
a trip around a show at the historic Smoot Theatre.
Metro Valley
You’ve seen
the movie – now visit the set. A number of scenes from “We Are Marshall,” the
2006 Warner Bros. movie about the rebuilding of Marshall
University’s football team after a
devastating 1970 plane crash, were filmed right in Huntington. The local visitors’ bureau (www.wvvisit.org) has put together a map
highlighting the locations seen in the movie. But even if you’re not a movie
hound, there’s plenty to do in Huntington,
including top-notch museums that showcase everything from fine art and
historical collections to tough Harley road bikes and classic radios. The
historic Old Central City section of town boasts the nickname of “Antique
Capital of West Virginia,” while the new Pullman Square retail development
downtown is the hopping spot to check out for live comedy and a multiplex movie
theater. Experience the past and appreciate the present at the Heritage Farm Museum
and Village (www.heritagefarmmuseum.com
), featuring guided tours that highlight Appalachian innovation of the last few
generations. Don’t miss Camden Park (www.camdenpark.com), West Virginia’s historic family amusement
park with roller coasters, a carousel and a classic midway. Heading
east toward Charleston, stop in Milton, home of the West
Virginia Pumpkin Festival and Blenko Glass (www.blenkoglass.com). Spend a day on a tour the factory, the
on-site shop, and the Milton Flea Market, just down the road – the state’s
largest flea market, open weekends throughout the year. Hurricane is home to an
annual Civil War re-enactment, a huge wave pool and water
park, as well as one of the finest tea rooms in the state. In Cross
Lanes, try your luck at slot machines and dog racing at Tri-State Racetrack and
Gaming Center (www.tristateracetrack.com). Or head north to Point
Pleasant (www.pointpleasantwv.org)
and enjoy lunch along the river. Get your photograph with the Mothman statue or
relive the region’s American Revolution history at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park.
Charleston (www.charlestonwv.com) is not just the
state’s hub of government – it’s also a vibrant cultural and entertainment
hotspot. It has small-town feel with big-city amenities, from live
entertainment to professional baseball. Tour the massive State Capitol and the Cultural Center, home to live recordings of the
nationally syndicated Mountain Stage radio program. The nearby Clay Center
for the Arts and Sciences (www.theclaycenter.org)
hosts the West Virginia Symphony and an impressive performance series. The Avampato Discovery Museum
houses a hands-on science museum, planetarium, large-format film
theater and an art museum. The West Virginia Power minor league baseball
team calls Charleston
home. Its games are great not just for the baseball action, but for the family
atmosphere, fun activities for kids and great food at its locally owned
restaurant. When it comes to fine restaurants, Charleston has a variety of choices from
sushi to Indian, classic American steaks to specialty Italian. Don’t miss a
tour of the historic Craik-Patton House, just east of Charleston,
and the entire historic town of Malden,
which was the boyhood home for Booker T. Washington.
Mountaineer Country
Mountaineer Country at least partially takes
its name because it is the scenic mountain home of West Virginia University
and the beloved Mountaineers. It’s an area of dramatic scenery, rich history
and small towns, yet it offers a progressive and vibrant atmosphere that’s
intertwined with the universities. Visit two national cemeteries in Grafton,
which also is the home of Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day. Explore
pioneer life at Watters
Smith Memorial
State Park (www.watterssmithstatepark.com),
or recall the era of FDR’s social programs at Arthurdale (www.arthurdaleheritage.org ), a
New Deal homestead community. The covered bridge at Philippi is a West Virginia landmark
that’s not to be missed on a visit to the town that is the site of the first
land battle of the Civil War. Visitors to Prickett’s Fort State Park
(www.prickettsfortstatepark.com)
can watch costumed interpreters demonstrate colonial crafts in this 1700s
pioneer village. In addition to football
and other sports in Morgantown (www.tourmorgantown.com ), the
university’s Creative
Arts Center
boasts more than 500 performances a year. The Monongalia Arts Center and
galleries and stores that dot the hilly town provide cultural diversions and
charming shopping, while the Main Street audio walking tour highlights unique
and historic buildings and sights. Conquer world-class whitewater on the uncrowded Cheat
River. Massive Coopers
Rock State
Forest (www.coopersrockstateforest.com)
is a haven for rock climbers and wildlife watchers, while the frothy whitewater
at Valley Falls State Park
(www.valleyfallsstatepark.com)
is perfect for a streamside picnic. Stay at a charming bed and breakfast along
the West Fork River Rail Trail, where the innkeepers will help set up a customized
travel itinerary which might include point-and-shoot stops at seven of the
region’s covered bridges. Or sit in the lap of luxury with a spa package at the
Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown.
Mountaineer Country is ripe with food and festivals throughout the year. If you
like Italian food and culture, Clarksburg’s
annual Italian Heritage Festival is the place to be on Labor Day weekend. Taste
bud-tempting fun continues throughout the year with festivals that celebrate
buckwheat, apple butter, blackberries and wine.
New River-Greenbrier Valley
There’s no easy way to pass through southern West Virginia’s New River and Greenbrier Valley.
That’s not because it’s difficult to reach. It’s because there’s far too much
to see. Perhaps the most dominant feature in the region is “The Grand Canyon of
the East,” the New River Gorge, which comprises 70,000 acres of scenic national
park and countless miles of stunning vistas (www.nps.gov).
Outdoor recreation surrounds the New River and
its major tributaries, the Greenbrier, the Gauley and the Bluestone National
Scenic rivers. This region is a refuge for nature and wildlife lovers, or for
those who simply want a beautiful place to relax. Choose from two scenic aerial tram rides and
great views from your dining table at two remarkable state parks – Pipestem (www.pipestemresort.com) along the
Bluestone Gorge and Hawks Nest (www.hawksnestsp.com)
on the rim of the New River Gorge. Discover West Virginia’s
rich rail heritage in Hinton, Princeton and
Talcott, or experience it firsthand on a scenic excursion through the Gorge.
But perhaps the best way to see the region is on a raft, splashing through the
Gorge with one of nearly 30 outfitters – the New River
is the biggest whitewater river in the East. Despite all its ruggedness, the
New River-Greenbrier Valley also offers the state’s most plush lodging at the
world-famous Greenbrier Resort (www.greenbrier.com)
in White Sulphur Springs. This spring, the resort will unveil its most
extensive renovation ever. But even if you’re not staying there, a tour of the
former top-secret congressional bunker creates a memory of a lifetime, as would
dinner and a round of golf on one of its three championship courses. Speaking
of golf, southern West Virginia boasts a
mind-numbing array of courses designed by the sport’s legendary designers from
Glade Springs Resort (www.gladesprings.com)
to Pipestem and Twin Falls
(www.twinfallsresort.com) state
parks. Treat yourself to a shopping
spree in the fine stores in historic Lewisburg (www.greenbrierwv.com) or at Tamarack, West Virginia’s artisan showplace in Beckley (www.visitwv.com). Follow
the bucolic Farm Heritage Trail through Monroe County
in what might be one of the state’s last hidden treasures. While you’re there,
grab a fresh-baked pie and homemade cheese at the Mennonite bakery and cheese
stores in Gap Mills. Go underground on a guided tour of caverns in Greenbrier County – virtually the entire region
sits atop miles of mapped and wild passages.
Catch a show at the brand-new Chuck
Mathena Center
for the Performing Arts in Princeton – it’s set to
open in March, or enjoy community theater at the Summit Theatre and Gallery in Bluefield (www.wvsoutherngateway.com). Tour the magnificent mansions of the early-20th-century
coal barons in Bramwell. Watch cornmeal ground entirely by water power at Babcock State Park’s Glade Creek Grist Mill (www.babcocksp.com) Camp Washington-Carver
in Clifftop highlights some of the state’s rich African-American culture and is
home to the annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival. If you favor riding horseback, bring your
horses to Camp Creek State Park
(www.campcreekstatepark.com) and
its horse-friendly campground. Pinnacle Rock is an unusual sandstone formation
that towers 3,100 feet above sea in the rugged mountains of southeastern West Virginia.