West Virginia nature places, things to see and local music
June 23, 2019 8:34 AM Subscribe
We have a summer wedding in Maryland. We are thinking of vacationing in West Virginia state for a few days. Can you suggest best nature places to visit, places to hike, best things to see, and maybe local music we can take in. Thanks as always.
West Virginia is a great place. I know because I live there. I would recommend staying in Davis and Thomas, or Elkins. Both are great places that give you a lot of outdoor options fairly close by.
Davis and Thomas are tiny mountain towns that are right by each other. They have galleries, good restaurants (Hellbenders, Sirianni's), live music at the Purple Fiddle. Seneca Rocks, Dolly Sods, and Blackwater Falls are pretty close to there.
Elkins is a little less classy, but a lot more sassy. It's about an hour away from Davis and Thomas, so those places are still accessible. Snowshoe is also about an hour away. There are lots of great river spots around Elkins, and also one of the most beautiful swimming holes ever a short hike from Bemis. El Gran, a Venezuelan restaurant in town has live local music twice a week (and does a 3 day El Gran Fest in July). The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is about 30 minutes away in Weston. It's now a museum/tour, and one of the most interesting places in the state. If you go to Elkins, dine at The Forks for some of the best food in the state. Audra State park is also very close and very cool. Helvetia is also worth a drive to if you are in the area.
Snowshoe is nice, but sometimes there are events going on there in the summer that make it not so nice. GNCC was this weekend, so it was all dirtbikes, four wheelers, and a rough crowd. I was up there last year while that was going on and it left a lot to be desired. So check their schedule if you want to go there.
If you have questions or want more specific information about these areas, hit me up and I will gladly help you out.
posted by August Fury at 9:41 AM on June 23, 2019 [6 favorites]
Davis and Thomas are tiny mountain towns that are right by each other. They have galleries, good restaurants (Hellbenders, Sirianni's), live music at the Purple Fiddle. Seneca Rocks, Dolly Sods, and Blackwater Falls are pretty close to there.
Elkins is a little less classy, but a lot more sassy. It's about an hour away from Davis and Thomas, so those places are still accessible. Snowshoe is also about an hour away. There are lots of great river spots around Elkins, and also one of the most beautiful swimming holes ever a short hike from Bemis. El Gran, a Venezuelan restaurant in town has live local music twice a week (and does a 3 day El Gran Fest in July). The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is about 30 minutes away in Weston. It's now a museum/tour, and one of the most interesting places in the state. If you go to Elkins, dine at The Forks for some of the best food in the state. Audra State park is also very close and very cool. Helvetia is also worth a drive to if you are in the area.
Snowshoe is nice, but sometimes there are events going on there in the summer that make it not so nice. GNCC was this weekend, so it was all dirtbikes, four wheelers, and a rough crowd. I was up there last year while that was going on and it left a lot to be desired. So check their schedule if you want to go there.
If you have questions or want more specific information about these areas, hit me up and I will gladly help you out.
posted by August Fury at 9:41 AM on June 23, 2019 [6 favorites]
Seneca rocks: an easy hike up to an amazing ridge where you can look down on bald eagles soaring below you.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:05 AM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:05 AM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
New River Gorge is very scenic and has an impressive bridge.
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:56 PM on June 23, 2019
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:56 PM on June 23, 2019
+1000 to August Fury's amazing recs—I went to college near Elkins, and that whole area is super gorgeous and there's a lot of fun stuff to check out. The Purple Fiddle is pretty legendary for live music, and if you're checking out Helvetia, make sure to go hungry so you can check out The Hutte restaurant. If you like wine and you find yourself up in Weston, Lambert's Winery is delightful.
I would also add that if you're staying around the Davis/Elkins/Thomas area and Snowshoe is just a little bit farther than you want to drive, Canaan Valley is a bit closer and it's another lovely off-season ski resort area. It also has an absolutely fascinating ecosystem—I guess because they're a high-elevation valley, the area is supposed to be more similar ecologically to parts of Canada than to other parts of the state? This is my half-remembered recollection of what a Canaan Valley parks employee told me like ten years ago, so take this with a grain of salt, but it was still quite pretty and a nice place to stay.
If you're down by the New River Gorge area anyway, Babcock State Park is so pretty that the Glade Creek Grist Mill there is allegedly the most photographed place in all of West Virginia.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:10 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
I would also add that if you're staying around the Davis/Elkins/Thomas area and Snowshoe is just a little bit farther than you want to drive, Canaan Valley is a bit closer and it's another lovely off-season ski resort area. It also has an absolutely fascinating ecosystem—I guess because they're a high-elevation valley, the area is supposed to be more similar ecologically to parts of Canada than to other parts of the state? This is my half-remembered recollection of what a Canaan Valley parks employee told me like ten years ago, so take this with a grain of salt, but it was still quite pretty and a nice place to stay.
If you're down by the New River Gorge area anyway, Babcock State Park is so pretty that the Glade Creek Grist Mill there is allegedly the most photographed place in all of West Virginia.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:10 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also: if your West Virginia travel plans happen to take you up closer to the northern panhandle, Moundsville is a really neat town, and the West Virginia Penitentiary tour is well worth the time. Moundsville is also close to New Vrindaban, which is home to the Palace of Gold, an absolutely stunning building built by Hare Krishna devotees in the 1970s.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:16 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:16 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
+1000 to helloimjennsco's recs as well! The northern panhandle is kind of a dismal place (the chemical plants along the rivers south of Moundsville can be creepy to the uninitiated) but the Palace of Gold and the penitentiary are very cool. If you check out the Palace of Gold schedule, you can enjoy a free delicious meal while you are there. Wear shoes you can take off easily. The Mound Museum is also interesting, although clearly underfunded. I haven't spent much time in Wheeling in the past 5 years, but I have been hearing good things about growth and change in the area.
If you are doing the northern panhandle, get some ohio valley style pizza at Patsy's pizza in elm grove, right outside of wheeling. It used to be called dicarlo's, and while i haven't been there since the name change, i have heard nothing has changed about it. If you go there, let them know it is your first time there and they will walk you through their unconventional system. It's the pizza i grew up on and is still my favorite to this day.
If you do the Elkins/Davis/Thomas and decide to stop at Lambert's, they do pizza night on Wednesdays, usually with a band of some sort there. It is interesting. I've gone and had a lot of fun doing it, but go with the wine expectations being on par with the homemade wine someone's zany aunt makes in her basement.
I forgot to mention Berkley Springs too! It's a great little town. You can rent a bath at Berkley springs state park and soak in the healing waters. Reservations are strongly recommended because they fill up quickly.
West Virginia is a great place, and no matter where you go, there is going to be something beautiful and unique, and probably strange as well. There are a lot of people in this state invested in making it a better place, so if you can, support local as much as possible, tip generously, don't use the word hillbilly, watch out for the potholes in the roads, eat at Tudors Biscuit World, and get some WV stickers or tshirts. Seriously, it's great how many people in WV wear or display WV emblems on everything they can.
There are also tons of talented artists all over the state, so no matter where you go, you will be able to find gorgeous pottery, glass, textiles, jewelry, or art to hang on your walls. Don't be afraid to ask for recommendations wherever you are. Cell phone service can be spotty depending on your carrier, so be prepared for that too.
posted by August Fury at 10:10 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you are doing the northern panhandle, get some ohio valley style pizza at Patsy's pizza in elm grove, right outside of wheeling. It used to be called dicarlo's, and while i haven't been there since the name change, i have heard nothing has changed about it. If you go there, let them know it is your first time there and they will walk you through their unconventional system. It's the pizza i grew up on and is still my favorite to this day.
If you do the Elkins/Davis/Thomas and decide to stop at Lambert's, they do pizza night on Wednesdays, usually with a band of some sort there. It is interesting. I've gone and had a lot of fun doing it, but go with the wine expectations being on par with the homemade wine someone's zany aunt makes in her basement.
I forgot to mention Berkley Springs too! It's a great little town. You can rent a bath at Berkley springs state park and soak in the healing waters. Reservations are strongly recommended because they fill up quickly.
West Virginia is a great place, and no matter where you go, there is going to be something beautiful and unique, and probably strange as well. There are a lot of people in this state invested in making it a better place, so if you can, support local as much as possible, tip generously, don't use the word hillbilly, watch out for the potholes in the roads, eat at Tudors Biscuit World, and get some WV stickers or tshirts. Seriously, it's great how many people in WV wear or display WV emblems on everything they can.
There are also tons of talented artists all over the state, so no matter where you go, you will be able to find gorgeous pottery, glass, textiles, jewelry, or art to hang on your walls. Don't be afraid to ask for recommendations wherever you are. Cell phone service can be spotty depending on your carrier, so be prepared for that too.
posted by August Fury at 10:10 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
In addition to what August Fury says about the Northern Panhandle is the Oglebay Resort which as the name implies is a large resort that has hiking, horseback riding, accommodations, 3 golf courses, museums, etc.
posted by mmascolino at 8:34 PM on June 24, 2019
posted by mmascolino at 8:34 PM on June 24, 2019
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Depending on what they have going on with their summer programs, you can rent some swank places at Snowshoe cheap during the summer.
Various spots along the New River have nice canoeing or tubing, depending on how far south you want to go.
The Mountain Music Trail will show you a bunch of options for old time and bluegrass music. The Crooked Trail across the border in Virginia has more.
posted by Candleman at 9:16 AM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]