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Clyde CraigClyde Craig

Clyde Craig is a staff writer for West Virginia Explorer. Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he traveled with his family across the globe with the U.S. Army before returning to the Mountain State in 2011. He has been a writer with the explorer since 2018. He can be reached at 304-575-7390 or at craig@wvexplorer.com.
A family overlooks the New River Gorge Bridge from Long Point Trail in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve near Fayetteville. The overlook is among West Virginia's most popular destinations for travelers exploring the Mountain State by road trip. (Photo: David Sibray)
Travel / Transportation

Why more Americans are choosing West Virginia for summer road trips

by Clyde Craig

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — As the summer travel season reaches its peak, more travelers are turning to West Virginia for road trips that combine mountain scenery, outdoor recreation, small-town culture, and relatively short driving distances from major East Coast cities. The Mountain State has become increasingly visible to travelers since the designation of the New River … Read more

A new $7 million research partnership between West Virginia University and Johns Hopkins University will support studies focused on rural health, mental health, substance use disorders, dementia, and other healthcare challenges affecting West Virginia communities.
Health and Medicine

WVU, Johns Hopkins launch $7 million partnership to address W.Va. health challenges

by Clyde Craig

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University and Johns Hopkins University have launched a new $7 million research partnership to address some of the state’s most pressing health and environmental challenges and help researchers compete for major federal grants. Announced Friday during a meeting of the WVU Board of Governors, the initiative will support collaborative research … Read more

Illustration of the 1944 Shinnston tornado in Harrison County, West Virginia, one of the deadliest tornadoes in state history.
History / Prehistory

West Virginia’s Deadliest Tornadoes: The most destructive storms in state history

by Clyde Craig

SHINNSTON, W.Va. — For many residents, West Virginia is known more for its mountains than for tornadoes. Yet some of the state’s deadliest weather disasters have come not from floods or winter storms but from violent tornadoes that swept through towns with little warning. While West Virginia experiences fewer tornadoes than the Great Plains states, … Read more

Captain William Foreman and 21 militiamen died in a Revolutionary War ambush at McMechen Narrows near present-day McMechen, West Virginia, in September 1777.
History / Prehistory

One of West Virginia’s deadliest Revolutionary War ambushes happened at McMechen Narrows

by Clyde Craig

The 1777 attack known as the Foreman Massacre left 22 frontier militiamen dead and remains one of the most significant Revolutionary War-era sites in the Ohio Valley. MCMECHEN, W.Va. — The steep hills rise abruptly from the Ohio River at McMechen Narrows, creating one of the most dramatic landscapes in West Virginia’s northern panhandle. Today, … Read more

The Wild Trails Festival is building quickly and is ideally suited to the Greenbrier Valley, a region steeped in history and growing as a national destination for outdoor recreation.
Festivals / Events

Wild Trails Festival 2026 returns to Lewisburg with Koe Wetzel, Tucker Wetmore

by Clyde Craig

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — The Wild Trails Festival will return to the West Virginia State Fairgrounds in Lewisburg June 18-20, bringing a star-studded lineup of country, Americana, and Red Dirt artists to what organizers call West Virginia’s largest country music festival. Headliners this year include Koe Wetzel, Tucker Wetmore, Ian Munsick, and Shane Smith & The … Read more

Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia
Higher Education

Green Bank Telescope powers WVU search for gravitational waves and cosmic origins

by Clyde Craig

GREEN BANK, W.Va. — The Green Bank Telescope, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, is at the forefront of a major scientific effort to unlock the secrets of gravitational waves, supermassive black holes, and the origins of the universe. Backed by $5.9 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, researchers at West Virginia … Read more