West Virginia has so many wild and wonderful places to visit! There are fantastic trails to hike with epic overlooks. Historical hidden gems, perfect for the family! Wonderful winder activities plus outdoor adventures for the summer! Not to mention many wonderful places to eat! Here is the ultimate list you need when you start exploring West Virginia.
Lost River State Park
Lost River is the ultimate hidden gem. this lovely little park has everything you need for an outdoor adventure! Picnic areas with tables, grills, and a park to play at. Cabins, if you plan on staying for more than a day. Plus the hiking trails double as a horse trail. Take the Miller’s Rock trail and hike to an elevation of 3,200 feet. At Cranny Crow Overlook you will enjoy a scenic panorama of five counties!
It’s also home to the Lee Cabin, the summer retreat of Henry Lee, a Revolutionary War general, and father of Civil War General Robert E. Lee. The restored cabin is across the creek from Lee Sulphur Spring, known for its sulfuric smell and rumored healing properties.
Canaan Valley State Park
Canaan Valley Resort is the perfect getaway destination! Located in the Allegheny Mountains, Canaan Valley Resort State Park is a beautiful state park and one of West Virginia’s largest. This mountain retreat is home to natural beauty and recreational activities. Canaan Valley is a major golf and ski resort. If you don’t wish to ski, check out their option for snow tubing! It has a full-service lodge, cabins, and campgrounds. It has been named one of America’s Best Parks by Arthur Frommer’s magazine. Canaan Valley has also been listed among the 50 Great Places to Stay by Washingtonian Magazine. Visit Canaan Valley any time of the year! (Check out the nearby Blackwater Falls for more epic trails).
The Greenbrier Luxury Resort & Hidden Bunker Tour
The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV is the complete luxury getaway of your dreams! This elegant resort is full-service with lodging, event spaces, indoor and outdoor activities, sporting facilities, gardens, dining options, a shopping arcade, a spa, and a casino all within the resort compound.
Marvel at jaw-dropping interiors as you wander the property. Enormous chandeliers, bright colors, and tasteful furnishings fill the main building. Enjoy a relaxing day at the spa while the kids are occupied with guided activities, take in a round of golf, schedule a falconry lesson, or attempt an escape room!
Just looking at this beautiful resort you’d never know that it also conceals a 113,000 SFT Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelter for Congress! The Bunker was built underneath the resort in 1961 and remained a classified secret, even to the resort staff, for the next 30 years.
The shelter had decontamination facilities, a 25-ton blast door, dorm rooms, auditoriums, and all the facilities needed to generate power, clean water, and cook food for over 500 members of Congress. It’s a complete underground town!
The Bunker was exposed to the public by a journalist in 1992, and so the government decommissioned and declassified it. Soon after, The Greenbrier opened the bunker for public tours. You don’t have to stay at the resort to take The Bunker Tour! It’s a perfect stop on any Eastern US Road Trip to break up the drive through West Virginia. Call ahead to reserve your spot on the tour!
Recommended By: From Rachel Means at Means to Explore
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
Take a trip back in time through the gorgeous West Virginia countryside on a historic steam train. The Cass Scenic Railroad offers visitors the chance to ride on trains pushed by authentic steam-driven locomotives in Pocahontas County. While not technically part of the Monongahela National Forest, the railroad is located in the middle of the forest and is a great jumping-off point to discover other places in the area.
Passengers board the train in the historic town of Cass which used to be a company town for the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. Founded in 1901, the town of Cass was originally constructed for the loggers who worked in the nearby mountains cutting Spruce and Hemlock. Now the town of Cass has been converted to a state park. The Cass Scenic Railroad State Park features an 11 mile-long heritage railroad and authentic company town complete with a company store and gift shop.
Cass Scenic Railroad offers several trip options which vary from year to year and are only available in the summer months. The most popular scenic train ride is the trip to the top of Bald Knob. This 4.5-hour trip takes passengers to the top of West Virginia’s 3rd highest peak and provides spectacular panoramas of the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad web site.
Recommended by: Katy Shaw at A Rambling Unicorn
Harper’s Ferry Historical Park
One of our favorite hobbies is hiking. We live near the Shenandoah Mountains, so hiking trails are in abundance! Harper’s Ferry is only about an hour’s drive from us. It is such a fun place to visit! They have a historical town you can explore; filled with fun shops and live historical demonstrations.
Fun Fact: The historical town of Harper’s Ferry is in West Virginia, once you cross that bridge, you are in Virginia! Also, it’s where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet! We arrived around noon, on Saturday; it was crowded in the main part of the town and at the overlook; but we still got some great photos! We recommend going early morning, or later in the evening.
The start of the hiking trail is across the bridge. The hike is a steep one, so bring lots of water! It is well worth the climb though. Such gorgeous views! We packed our lunch and were about to eat while enjoying the beautiful weather!
Thank you for reading!
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