David Sibray
The National Park Service is recruiting volunteers to assist in staffing its visitor center at Grandview, near Beckley, West Virginia, this summer in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, according to National Park Service officials. The center is open daily in summer from noon until 5 p.m., and ideal volunteers will able to … Read more
A new report issued by the National Park Service indicates 1,347,957 visitors to national parks in southern West Virginia spent $58,604,300 in nearby communities in 2016. That spending supported 877 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to local economies of $67,089,900, according to Lizzie Watts, superintendent of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, … Read more
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park invites the public to attend its heirloom gardening program “City Farming: Food in the Backyard” on Saturday and Sunday, May 20-21, from 11 a.m to 4 p.m. During the Industrial Revolution and before the mass production of processed foods ordinary citizens often depended on small kitchen gardens for sustenance right … Read more
In its second summer in the historic White Oak depot at Oak Hill, W.Va., The Depot Produce & More is increasing its variety of fresh produce and introducing a weekly service through which customers may pre-order produce for pick-up or delivery. Grocer Joyce Brenemen, who reopened the store May 1, said she and her husband, … Read more
At the peak of woodland wildflower season in West Virginia, Babcock State Park is offering midweek discounts at its rustic and classic cabins. Guests who rent a cabin for two-or-more consecutive nights will receive a 20-percent discount through May 24, 2017. Each year visitors from throughout the U.S. visit the park to photograph its landmark … Read more
Photojournalist Anne Johnson on May 1 stopped on the flank of Powell Mountain in central West Virginia to visit its regionally famous inhabitant — a solitary, free-range goat that for 17 years has called the high-ground home. Johnson, whose 2015 video of an encounter with the white, wary herbivore has picked-up steam on social media, reports … Read more
Just east of Beckley, in southern West Virginia, Piney Creek descends into a gorge that wanders the tablelands south of the New River Gorge. Near its upper end, the stream winds through what’s known geologically as an “entrenched meander,” the bending course of which has been trapped or entrenched by mountains that have been uplifted around it. Meanders in … Read more
May is a magical month in the Canaan Valley, where visitors may stroll fields of Allegheny wildflowers while being serenaded by songbirds. Officials at its premier state park, Canaan Valley Resort, have scheduled a line-up of programs designed to enhance the appeal of spring in the highland valley. “I’ve lived and worked in Canaan Valley for more than … Read more
As a result of the year’s strange weather, annual wildflower walks being led by park rangers in southern West Virginia this weekend are expected to include the unexpected. The walks, which are scheduled at Babcock, Hawks Nest, and Pipestem Resort state parks and in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, will at least … Read more
Rangers with the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park will lead a particularly strenuous hike to Split Rock on the Loudoun Heights Trail May 8, 2017, according to archaeologist and interpretive ranger Andrew Lee. The six-mile round-trip hike is approximately five-hours long and very strenuous in its ascent and descent to the summit of the Blue … Read more
