PEYTONA, W.Va. — Drawdy Falls, one of the most scenic and accessible waterfalls in West Virginia, is attracting a huge amount of attention after a generation of neglect.
In fact, the restoration of the falls and the redevelopment of a surrounding park may herald economic growth and stewardship in what had been an impoverished mining region.
Locals champion the Drawdy Falls revival
Boone County native Bobby Miller, tourism instructor at the county career and technical center, says students are demonstrating their drive to care for natural resources that older generations neglected.
"What's surprised me most about the falls today and Drawdy Falls Park is that community volunteerism is keeping it clean," says Miller, who grew up in an era in which litter was a problem in the coal mining regions of the state.
Though now carefully tended, the stream around the falls was strewn with broken glass, and in the picnic area, refuse collected around litter receptacles.
"I think that's why it stopped being a state park," Miller added, recalling decades of vandalism and pollution that resulted in the state's withdrawal of support for the four-acre park that's now owned and being maintained by the Boone County Commission and its partners.
Miller and former county commissioner Craig Bratcher, who has retired as an electrical teacher at the school, began working on a renovation of the park four years ago. Since then, the landscape has changed.
A Community Effort: Spirit of Stewardship
"I think it's starting to pay off," Miller said, underscoring the efforts he and other instructors have made to help students understand the value of stewardship.
"Over the four years we've been working on this, we haven't had one stitch of vandalism."
Repairing picnic shelters, removing litter, the up-and-coming generation in Boone County is taking care of their community in a way he hadn't seen.
"We're witnessing the development of a healthy sense of stewardship," Miller said. "They're being more attentive to their environment and are working to keep the environment clear of trash."
Though long one of West Virginia's chief exporters of coal, Boone County has long suffered from issues that are usual in an economy of extractive industry. Advances in mining technology led to poverty and unemployment in a mountainous region in which transportation was difficult and resources grew slim.
Though only a drive of half an hour from the West Virginia capital, the county was long known for its isolation, which has lessened in recent years with the completion of the US-119 expressway and the improvement of regional highways.
"Now tourism is replacing those lost industrial jobs," Miller said. "Don't get me wrong: I'm a fan of coal, and I was a recipient of the Westmoreland Coal Scholarship."
Now, however, tourism is catching fire across southern coalfields, Miller says, and may eclipse the mining industry in the future of Boone's economy, bolstering employment opportunities supported by the work-from-home revolution.
The region's streams have now become water trails, and off-road vehicle trails in the Hatfield-McCoy Trails system are attracting tourists. The new Big Coal River Off-Road Trail, part of the trail system, is accessible by way of a trailhead adjoining Drawdy Falls Park and has opened 50 miles of backcountry trails to ATV, ORV, and jeep use.
A new 9,000-acre Coal River Wildlife Management Area has been established near the Boone County seat at Madison, West Virginia, creating a forest buffer around the town and attracting hikers, hunters, anglers, and wildlife observers.
Miller said he now hopes to see the county work to attract hikers and bikers, which, in tandem with other attractions, could attract lodging, which would support a travel bureau that the county currently lacks
"We don't have a CVB, but we could. We have one employee in an economic development office who does all she can," Miller said. "I'd like to see tourism take hold so we can support a bed tax that would help us staff a visitor center with a museum."
Drawdy Falls gets a boost from West Virginia Tourism
In cooperation with the success of the state government in building its tourism economy, he says Boone County is positioned to become far more attractive to new residents and more tourists.
West Virginia Secretary of Tourism Chelsea Ruby recently added the Drawdy Falls to the West Virginia Waterfall Trail and saw the installation of an Almost Heaven swing at the park.
Outdoor recreation—notably trail-based activities like hiking and biking—contributed $1.2 trillion in U.S. economic output in 2023 and supported 5 million jobs.
Miller says he's also noted that area residents are taking care of what's known as Peytona Beach, a stretch of the Big Coal River where sand naturally accumulates. He says he hopes to help local proponents improve the beach as well, which is near Drawdy Falls.
In addition to thanking area residents and Boone County students, Miller says he'd like to thank the Boone County Career and Technical Center, the West Virginia Department of Tourism, and the National Coal Heritage Area Authority, a chief underwriter of the park restoration project. West Virginia Paving recently provided gravel for the park areas, which Miller says is invaluable with so many visitors in the park.
Visiting Drawdy Falls Park
Drawdy Falls Park is located on WV-3 at Peytona, a 30-mile drive south of the state capitol at Charleston, West Virginia, and a 12-mile drive from I-77 and I-64 at Marmet, West Virginia.
Map showing the location of Drawdy Falls Park
Sign up to receive a FREE copy of West Virginia Explorer Magazine in your email weekly. Sign me up!
