West Virginia was one of the states neither of us had been to until this trip. We have gained a reputation of packing a spectacular amount of exploring into one weekend and this trip definitely lives up to that! West Virginia’s beauty helped us break up our 16 hours of driving throughout the weekend though! We were able to cover about half of this state!
Harpers Ferry
Our first West Virginia stop was Harpers Ferry. We drove up on a Friday evening after work and enjoyed a flight of beers at Harpers Ferry Brewing with a great view of the river! Grab one of their Juicy Mountain series IPAs to enjoy. We had heard about Harpers Ferry quite a bit, so we were expecting a bit larger of a town but were surprised to be welcomed by a population of 281. After our liquid appetizer, we headed over to the Canal House Cafe just outside of the downtown district. We ate dinner in the living room of a historic 1790s stone house, and it was awesome! The food was local and tasty, and the staff was even better. At the end of the night, we asked the staff for nearby camping suggestions when the owner chimed in and said we could camp for free on the lawn outside of the Canal House. We snagged this opportunity right away! We found the perfect spot to pitch our tent in their backyard patio area and drifted into our dreams. As soon as the sun rose, we packed up our things and headed for our first hike to kick off our busy Saturday!
Harpers Ferry Brewing
Providing great views of the river!
What an awesome deck!
Canal House Cafe
The living room of this 1790s house – where we got to eat a delicious local dinner!
Their homemade pizza roll!
Our free camping spot in the backyard of the Canal House Cafe!
Harpers Ferry Brewing
Providing great views of the river!
What an awesome deck!
Canal House Cafe
The living room of this 1790s house – where we got to eat a delicious local dinner!
Their homemade pizza roll!
Our free camping spot in the backyard of the Canal House Cafe!
Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
We arrived at the Maryland Heights Loop Trailhead parking area at 7:30 am and we snagged one of the last parking spots! If you aren’t lucky enough to get a parking spot here, you can park in the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park parking lot (check the times though because I don’t think it technically opens until 9 am). We did the 6.2-mile 1,522 ft loop trail to find the overlook of the town which provided a great view of the intersection of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers surrounding Harpers Ferry. The trail is educational because it takes you through a former Civil War Fort and Campgrounds site where Abraham Lincoln once visited. At the end we were a bit disappointed we couldn’t get all the way to the edge of the overlook due to ropes protecting falcons during nesting.
Parking for Maryland Heights Loop off Harpers Ferry Rd.
Several signs to learn from on the hike up!
The overlook of downtown Harpers Ferry from the Maryland Heights Loop Trail.
This is as close as we could get due to falcons nesting.
Parking for Maryland Heights Loop off Harpers Ferry Rd.
Several signs to learn from on the hike up!
The overlook of downtown Harpers Ferry from the Maryland Heights Loop Trail.
This is as close as we could get due to falcons nesting.
Seneca Rocks
After our early morning hike, we drove about 2.5 hours west to Seneca Rocks. These are basically giant tombstones that have formed at the top of an eroding mountain range. They are beautiful from afar, but they are even cooler when you are sitting on top of them! There’s a nice Seneca Rocks Discovery Center you can park at and right behind the building you’ll find the Seneca Rocks Trail trailhead leading you over a small bridge. We enjoyed this 3.2-mile 800 ft out and back trail mostly because you can actually get up to the top of Seneca Rocks. When you get to the end of the maintained trail, a small lookout deck is waiting for you to observe the valley to the west. There’s a sign a little further up saying if you hike further it’s at your own risk. If you go less than a few hundred feet past this sign, you will get to the top of Seneca Rocks! Just do it. If you are any sort of somewhat physically active and have half-decent balance and body awareness, you’ll be fine. This peak has by far the best views and was Adam’s favorite hike for the weekend! If you want to play it safe, there’s the less cool lookout deck as mentioned above.
Seneca Rocks!
Seneca Rocks Discovery Center
At the top of Seneca Rocks!
360° views at the top of Seneca Rocks!
Seneca Rocks!
Seneca Rocks Discovery Center
At the top of Seneca Rocks!
360° views at the top of Seneca Rocks!
Blackwater Falls State Park
Our next stop was 45 minutes north at Blackwater Falls State Park. We first did the quick 0.4-mile hike (that was mostly stairs) down to an overlook of Blackwater Falls. This waterfall is named after the discoloration of the water caused by fallen hemlock and spruce needles. It’s a beautiful area for those less active. Our other stop within this state park was the Lindy Point Overlook. This 0.8-mile 49 ft out and back trail brings you to a truly picturesque overlook of a beautiful green valley – this is the classic view of West Virginia.
On the steps down to Blackwater Falls!
Another glimpse of Blackwater Falls!
Lindy Point Overlook Trail!
A classic WV view!
It’s always fun to enjoy the overlooks for a bit!
On the steps down to Blackwater Falls!
Another glimpse of Blackwater Falls!
Lindy Point Overlook Trail!
A classic WV view!
It’s always fun to enjoy the overlooks for a bit!
Tygart Lake State Park
We then drove an hour and a half NW to Tygart Lake State Park. We were lucky because we arrived at the beach at 5 PM and the swimming/beach area closes at 6 PM. We enjoyed a quick dip into the water surrounded by mountains and probably could’ve really been here all day. There is a nice picnic area, sand volleyball court, and paddleboard/kayak rentals complete with showers located in their main building! We stayed in the water until the lifeguard kicked us out and then made our way north to Morgantown.
Tygart Lake State Park
Sand volleyball and lots of other fun things to do here!
Tygart Lake State Park
Sand volleyball and lots of other fun things to do here!
Morgantown
Morgantown is one of the largest cities in West Virginia at a population of 32,000. This is an awesome looking town! We enjoyed checking out the campus of West Virginia University here- including the sports stadiums. Even the drive up to Morgantown on interstate 79 was beautiful. In their Wharf and Warehouse District we went to Mountain State Brewing for dinner which had delicious fire-oven pizzas and both beer and cocktail flights! To be honest the cocktail flight blew away any of their beer selections, but the pizzas more than made up for the watery brews. We then visited Morgantown Brewery for a nightcap after dinner while we tried to figure out our camping plan. Try out their Mr. Goofy Bananas or Drastic Measures to put you to bed.
The West Virginia University Stadium.
One of the beautiful WVU buildings!
Another WVU building at the downtown campus.
Mountain State Brewing Company
Where they make the tasty pizza!
Bomb pizza and fun cocktail flights at Mountain State!
Patio with a river view!
Morgantown Brewing Company
The West Virginia University Stadium.
One of the beautiful WVU buildings!
Another WVU building at the downtown campus.
Mountain State Brewing Company
Where they make the tasty pizza!
Bomb pizza and fun cocktail flights at Mountain State!
Patio with a river view!
Morgantown Brewing Company
Leisure Time Campground
We didn’t start looking for a campsite until about 10:30 PM, but our main goal was to get closer to our Sunday morning activities. We found a place online while we had service at the brewery, but it proved to be more difficult to find in the darkness of midnight! We eventually stumbled across Leisure Time Campground to discover it was a campground for RVs… Luckily, the camp host was kind enough to let us snag another free plot of grass for our tent as long as we left right away in the morning. We did just that and woke with the sun to make our way to Holly River State Park.
Holly River State Park
Holly River State Park is located just about in the center of West Virginia and you can tell. Thick green forest, no civilization in sight, no cell service, and no one else on the trail. We parked at the Holly River Campground where a ranger gave us a park map and oriented us to the area. We took the Tecumseh Falls via Reverie Loop Trail which is 4.6 miles 853 ft. Tecumseh Falls is kind of unique because it’s a much smaller waterfall than others that we recently enjoyed- and you can walk behind it! It was basically like an outdoor shower! We mostly enjoyed the journey through the forest getting to this waterfall. At the end of the trail you actually walk on a road surrounded by some backcountry cabins that appear to be rentable and looked fun for maybe a night or two.
Tecumseh Falls
Basically an outdoor shower!
Tecumseh Falls
Basically an outdoor shower!
New River Gorge National River
After enjoying our trek through the low forest, we drove two hours SW to the New River Gorge National River where we did a higher hike- the Endless Wall. This 2.7-mile 298 ft trail brought us to an overlook with sweeping views of the New River Gorge. We could see tiny rafters, kayakers, and tubers all enjoying the river from above. It was my favorite hike of the weekend. The view was quite spectacular, and we even caught a glimpse of the Gorge bridge!
New River Gorge!
A quick smooch overlooking this cool gorge!
New River Gorge!
A quick smooch overlooking this cool gorge!
Green Bank Observatory
We had perfect timing for our Gorge hike because it started raining on our 2-hour drive NE to Green Bank Observatory. Did you know there’s 13,000 square miles of “National Radio Quiet Zone” near the state border between Virginia and West Virginia? They chose this area of the country due to the low population and multiple protected National and State Park lands here. The Green Bank Observatory is placed right in the middle of this zone. This is where the Green Bank Radio Telescope, the world’s largest steerable radio telescope is housed- and wow is it impressive. Its dish is the size of two football fields. If you are within a 10-mile radius of this telescope, you can’t use your cell phone, a microwave, or really anything that might interfere with this crazy technology that is constantly sending and receiving electromagnetic radiation signals from outer space. The population of Green Bank is very low due to people having restricted technology usage, but some people purposely live here to get off the grid. The Green Bank Observatory also has a museum where your whole middle school science textbook comes to life! And they offer a guided bus tour of the grounds for $6 a person to get closer to the telescope and we highly recommend it.
The learning center at the Green Bank Observatory.
A mini science museum!
View of the Green Bank Telescope from the Observatory Building.
The Green Bank Telescope – the size of two football fields!
The learning center at the Green Bank Observatory.
A mini science museum!
View of the Green Bank Telescope from the Observatory Building.
The Green Bank Telescope – the size of two football fields!
And that wraps up our first and currently only weekend in West Virginia! West Virginia doesn’t have any national parks, but they sure do have several killer state parks. The rumors of this being the mountain state and not having any big cities are very true! Be prepared for continuous curvy backcountry roads though. It is a beautiful state offering a variety of exploring options and a nice change to escape the traffic and smog of huge metropolitan areas.