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West Virginia Explorer

WVExplorer delivers the latest West Virginia news and original reporting on communities, travel, culture, history, recreation, and life across the Mountain State. View our West Virginia Travel Guide!

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West Virginia to drain 60-year-old fishing lake, restore natural stream

A bull elk stands in the southern West Virginia coalfields, where the state's restored elk population is beginning to roam farther from its established range. (Photo: W.Va. Dept. of Commerce)

Wildlife / Conservancy

West Virginia elk are roaming farther as restored herd grows

Will Reedy August 30, 2026

Injured athletes can face increased body-image pressures and potentially harmful eating and exercise behaviors during recovery, according to a West Virginia University researcher. (WVU Photo/Davidson Chan)

Health and Medicine

Injured athletes may be hurting their recovery by trying too hard, WVU researcher says

West Virginia Explorer publisher David Sibray examines the Water Panther Stone at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant, W.Va. The prehistoric petroglyph has been interpreted as depicting an Underwater Panther, a powerful being represented in Indigenous traditions and rock art.

History / Prehistory

Ancient spirit ‘underwater panther’ carved in stone survives in West Virginia

The Gothic Revival facade of the West Virginia Penitentiary dominates Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville. The prison operated from 1866 until 1995 and is now open to visitors as a historic attraction.

Landmarks / Museums

Behind the walls of West Virginia’s massive Gothic prison, now a tourist attraction

Latest West Virginia News

The new Ike and Sue Morris Stadium at Glenville State University is part of the university’s $26 million Morris Family Health and Fitness Complex in Glenville, West Virginia.

Higher Education

New Glenville State stadium marks $26 million investment in rural West Virginia

August 29, 2026

Autumn At Babcock State Park in West Virginia

Festivals / Events

Fall begins Tuesday in West Virginia with temperatures in the mid-90s

August 28, 2026

Developers and project representatives examine the site of the planned TAProom development on Spruce Street in Thomas, West Virginia. The $4.3 million project will add workforce housing and commercial space downtown. (Photo courtesy Woodlands Development & Lending)

Economic Development

$4.3M workforce housing project finally breaking ground in Thomas, West Virginia

August 28, 2026

Dolly Parton poses for an RCA Records publicity photograph in 1970. Parton later founded the Imagination Library, which now provides free books to more than 46,000 children in West Virginia. (Public domain)

Higher Education

Dolly Parton put books in the hands of 46,000 West Virginia children. Thousands more remain unenrolled

August 28, 2026

Employees of the Kanawha & Michigan Railway pose with Engine No. 547 in southern West Virginia in 1909, 18 years after the railroad's deadly Fourth of July wreck near Dunbar. (Photo courtesy West Virginia & Regional History Center, WVU Libraries)

History / Prehistory

They thought it was morning fog, then this West Virginia train hit a burning trestle

August 28, 2026

Turkey Run Lake near Ravenswood, West Virginia, is slated to be drained as the state removes its aging dam and restores Turkey Run to a free-flowing stream and wetland complex.

Wildlife / Conservancy

West Virginia to drain 60-year-old fishing lake, restore natural stream

August 27, 2026

Communities

An illustration shows how an AI system can give a correct answer, then reverse itself after a user pushes back — a tendency known as “AI sycophancy” that a West Virginia University researcher is studying. (WVExplorer illustration)

AI can have the right answer — then let you talk it out of it, WVU researcher warns

Clyde Craig August 26, 2026

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Artificial intelligence can give a user the right answer and, just a few sentences later, allow that same user to persuade it that the answer was wrong. A West Virginia University computer scientist is studying

Autumn Leaves In The Canaan Valley in West Virginia

West Virginia vacation guide wins national award after 350,000 copies distributed

Clyde Craig August 26, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s 2026 Vacation Guide has won a national tourism marketing award as distribution of the printed publication has climbed past 350,000 copies, the West Virginia Department of Tourism said. The guide received a 2026

Sunlight filters through a forest canopy. WVU researchers are using artificial intelligence to help scientists understand how forests respond to environmental change in near real time. Photo by John Towner

Forests ‘breathe’ 24 hours a day; West Virginia scientists want to watch it happen

August 24, 2026

A vehicle promoting Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, passes Independence Hall in Philadelphia as part of a 12-week tourism campaign connecting the spa town's 250th anniversary with the nation's semiquincentennial. Photo courtesy Travel Berkeley Springs.

Berkeley Springs takes 250th birthday campaign to Philadelphia as tourism grows

August 24, 2026

Crews replace aging water lines in Chapmanville, West Virginia, where the water system had been losing more than half its treated water through leaks. Photo courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

West Virginia targets water crisis with $145 million investment

August 22, 2026

West Virginia National Guard members navigate a partially destroyed road near Buckhannon following severe flash flooding in July 2026. More than seven inches of rain fell in parts of Upshur County, including 4.5 inches in just 37 minutes. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Edwin L. Wriston)

Why August can be especially dangerous for flash flooding in West Virginia

August 21, 2026

Attractions

The New River winds through a landscape where railroads, communities, industrial history and outdoor recreation remain intertwined inside New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

National Park Week starts Saturday: Why West Virginia’s New River Gorge is different

David Sibray August 19, 2026

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — National Park Week begins Saturday, spotlighting hundreds of America’s most celebrated landscapes. But in West Virginia, the national park experience is a little different. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve isn’t simply wilderness

A debris slide blocks a road in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve following torrential rainfall Sunday. Flooding, washouts and fallen trees closed several roads and recreation access points across the park. (NPS photo)

Flash flooding closes roads across New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia

Clyde Craig August 16, 2026

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Torrential rainfall has washed out roads, triggered slides, and toppled trees in the northern New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, closing several routes into the gorge and cutting off access to popular river

Bear Lake is one of several small fishing lakes at Bear Rock Lakes Wildlife Management Area in Ohio County, West Virginia. Fishing access is temporarily closing while the state modifies two dams at the property. (Photo by Brian M. Powell/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fishing closes at Bear Rock Lakes WMA as $1.5 million dam project begins

August 13, 2026

Visitors stroll through the recreated 19th-century village at Heritage Farm Museum and Village near Huntington, West Virginia, the state's only Smithsonian Institution Affiliate. The 150-acre destination combines Appalachian history, artisan demonstrations, wildlife and outdoor adventure.

Heritage Farm, West Virginia’s only Smithsonian affiliate, belongs on every Ohio Valley road trip

August 2, 2026

Cyclists ride the Rend Trail, one of the easiest and most scenic routes through New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The historic former railroad corridor is scheduled to reopen in 2027 following an $11.8 million rehabilitation project.

One of New River Gorge’s easiest trails is closing for two years—but it will return better than ever

July 31, 2026

Conceptual rendering: The historic Prince Brothers General Store restored as a welcoming destination for visitors, offering local foods, outdoor gear, and Appalachian products while serving as a gateway to the New River Gorge.

Instead of demolishing New River Gorge history, a new plan would put it back to work

July 31, 2026

Recreation

Rafters charge through whitewater on the Gauley River during Gauley Season in West Virginia. The six-week fall season draws thousands of whitewater enthusiasts to the river each year. (NPS photo)

Six weeks of legendary whitewater are about to begin on the Gauley in West Virginia

David Sibray August 26, 2026

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — For six weekends beginning in September, controlled releases from Summersville Dam will turn the Gauley River in West Virginia into one of the world’s premier whitewater destinations. Veteran river guides say this year’s unusually wet

A couple walks a wooded trail at Pipestem Resort State Park, where the West Virginia Trails Conference will be held Nov. 8–10, 2026.

West Virginia trails conference looks to turn outdoor recreation into community growth

David Sibray August 24, 2026

PIPESTEM, W.Va. — West Virginia communities seeking ways to attract residents, expand outdoor recreation, and turn existing natural and industrial resources into economic assets will be the focus of a statewide trails conference planned for November. The West

Morgantown angler Robert Glover holds the 9.76-inch pumpkinseed sunfish he caught at Cheat Lake, setting the West Virginia record for a category that has now been broken three times in little more than a month. (Photo courtesy W.Va. DNR)

West Virginia fishing record broken for third time in little more than a month

Will Reedy August 21, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia fishing record that didn’t exist until this summer has now been broken three times in less than a month. Robert Glover, of Morgantown, landed a 9.76-inch, 0.75-pound pumpkinseed sunfish on Aug. 6

Participants learn outdoor skills during a Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop in West Virginia. The nationally recognized program introduces women to hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities in a supportive setting.

More women are taking up hunting and fishing; these West Virginia workshops may be helping

August 18, 2026

Visitors descend into Organ Cave in Greenbrier County, one of the many West Virginia caverns around which generations of history, tradition and folklore have accumulated. Photographer to be determined.

West Virginia cave lore—strange stories from beneath the Mountain State

August 17, 2026

Filmmaker Emma Crow-Willard pauses beside a mountain stream while hiking West Virginia's 320-mile Allegheny Trail. Her month-long journey combines backpacking with interviews exploring the changing economies of communities along the route.

Most hikers have never heard of the Allegheny Trail. One filmmaker set out to discover why

August 3, 2026

West Virginia anglers Ken Neer (left) and Sierra Adamson each caught state-record pumpkinseed sunfish in summer 2026. Adamson's catch surpassed Neer's record just 19 days after it established the species' first official place in the state's record books.

West Virginia’s new state fishing record lasted 19 days before another angler broke it

July 30, 2026

Two cyclists bike the West Fork Rail Trail near Durbin in the Monongahela National Forest.

Expedia will help two West Virginia towns build new trails into the Monongahela National Forest

July 30, 2026

Kayakers paddle around Big Rock on the lower Greenbrier River near Hinton, West Virginia.

Big Rock: A Greenbrier River landmark where the Civil War didn’t end

July 17, 2026

A white-tailed doe pauses in a West Virginia forest. The state's controlled antlerless lottery hunts are designed to manage deer populations while protecting forests and wildlife habitat.

Hunters can apply for rare deer hunts in West Virginia state parks

July 16, 2026

Hikers enjoy panoramic views from North Fork Mountain Trail, where miles of exposed ridgeline overlook the South Branch Valley in eastern West Virginia.

10 best hiking trails in West Virginia for scenic views and adventure

July 15, 2026

An American woodcock pauses on the forest floor during its annual migration through Appalachia. The secretive bird depends on young forests and moist woodlands that provide shelter and abundant earthworms as it travels between its northern breeding grounds and southern wintering habitat.

As autumn migration approaches, West Virginia sets seasons for dove, rail, woodcock

July 14, 2026

Culture

Star trails sweep above Blennerhassett Mansion during Mansion by Candlelight at Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park. The annual event returns Oct. 9–10, 2026. (Photo courtesy Greater Parkersburg CVB)

West Virginia’s mysterious island will glow by candlelight for two nights this fall

David Sibray August 27, 2026

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — As darkness falls over the Ohio River, a sternwheeler departs from the Ohio shore, carrying passengers toward a West Virginia island lit by hundreds of candles and lanterns. For two nights this October, visitors to Blennerhassett

Dolly Parton appears in a 1977 RCA Records publicity portrait, during the decade in which she performed at Wheeling's WWVA Jamboree in West Virginia. (Public domain)

Dolly Parton’s remarkable West Virginia story spanned nearly 60 years

David Sibray August 25, 2026

WHEELING, W.Va. — Long before Dolly Parton‘s name began arriving on packages of children’s books in West Virginia homes, the young country singer was coming to the Mountain State to perform. Parton’s documented associations with West Virginia span

Participants run through a cloud of colored powder during a previous Color Dash for Hope at ACE Adventure Resort near Oak Hill, West Virginia. The 5K returns Saturday, Aug. 29, to raise funds for addiction recovery efforts across Appalachia. Photo courtesy ACE Adventure Resort.

Colorful New River Gorge 5K returns Saturday to support Appalachian recovery

David Sibray August 24, 2026

OAK HILL, W.Va. — Runners and walkers will be showered with colored powder as they cross part of the New River Gorge landscape Saturday during a 5K that raises money for addiction recovery efforts across Appalachia. The Color

An illustration depicts traditional lye-soap making, in which water was passed through wood ashes to produce lye that was boiled with animal fat. The process was once practiced in West Virginia households. Illustration: West Virginia Explorer

Lore and Legend

An artist’s interpretation of the legend of Crock Face, an Indigenous warrior said to have disguised himself as a scarecrow while waiting near the home of an early settler in what is now Harrison County, West Virginia.

Real Estate

History and Prehistory

Union soldiers reached the Mercer Saltworks on the New River during the early hours of Aug. 10, 1862, finding its steam engine running and its enormous salt pans boiling before destroying the works by fire. (WVExplorer illustration)

State Parks

Mountain Creek Lodge glows in the evening at the bottom of West Virginia's Bluestone Gorge, where the new Mountain Creek Appalachian Cuisine restaurant welcomes diners arriving by Pipestem Resort State Park's iconic aerial tram.

Hunting

Fishing

West Virginia has stocked more than 50 lakes and ponds with channel catfish for the summer, giving visitors and residents fresh opportunities to fish at state parks and public waters across the Mountain State. (Photo courtesy W.Va. Dept. of Commerce)

Hiking

Skiing

White Grass has long been a magnet for visitors from Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mountain River Media)

National Parks

A family enjoys a quiet moment overlooking the New River Gorge Bridge. Many first-time visitors underestimate the size of the national park region and end up wishing they had planned a longer stay, local tourism officials say. (Photo: David Sibray)

Kayaking

Motorboats with engines larger than 10 horsepower are now permitted to operate at no-wake speed on Elk Fork, North Bend, O’Brien, Stonecoal, and Woodrum lakes.

Whitewater Rafting

Biking

One of the largest networks on the East Coast, the routes activate thousands of miles of gravel roads across the Mon Forest for visitors and communities. (Photo: Getty Images)

More West Virginia News

Wildlife / Conservancy