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David Sibray

David Sibray is the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of West Virginia Explorer, a news and travel magazine devoted to the state’s history, tourism, outdoor recreation and economic development. For more information, he may be reached at 304-575-7390 or at editor@wvexplorer.com

September view at Dolly Sods Wilderness, Tucker County, Allegheny Highlands Region

Attractions

Monongahela National Forest sets opening dates for recreation sites

March 1, 2024 by David Sibray

ELKINS, W.Va. — Officials at the Monongahela National Forest have announced the 2024 opening dates for developed recreation sites across the 921,000-acre forest in eastern West Virginia. Campground and picnic shelter reservations for some sites may be made at Recreation.gov, and roadside camping, or dispersed camping, is available in much of the forest year-round. According to … Read more

Agriculture

“Worm Moon of March” lore is accurate, says West Virginia gardener

March 1, 2024 by David Sibray

FLAT TOP, W.Va. — Worms are already making their presence known in the upper layers of the soil in early March, says a West Virginia permaculturist who can attest to the lore of the Worm Moon of March. Justyn Marchese says he’s already observing the early-spring activity of worms at his farm on Flat Top … Read more

Chip Vincent At New River Gorge in West Virginia

Attractions

Visitation increased in 2023 for all national park sites in southern W.Va.

February 26, 2024 by David Sibray

Glen Jean, W.Va. — According to park officials, visitation increased across the board at all three national park sites in southern West Virginia in 2023. Visitation remains high and continues to rise at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, which was designated as the newest national park in the U.S. in 2020, according … Read more

Agriculture

West Virginia’s northern panhandle was once prime U.S. sheep country

February 26, 2024 by David Sibray

WHEELING, W.Va. — West Virginia may best be known for its vast mountain forests, but its northern panhandle was once a grassland clipped low by sheep. Part of the vast Ohio market area, which includes much of Ohio and western Pennsylvania, the four northern panhandle counties—Brooke, Marshall, Hancock, and Ohio—produced more wool than all other … Read more

An angler casts into scenic Paint Creek, hidden just out of site of Interstates 64 and 77.

Communities

Scenic trout stream lies hidden along I-77 / I-64 West Virginia Turnpike

February 23, 2024 by David Sibray

PAX, W.Va. — Few motorists traveling the West Virginia Turnpike between Beckley and Charleston may know that one of the state’s most beautiful trout streams lies hidden in the mountain forests along the way. But now scenic Paint Creek, named for ancient trees once painted blood-red by Native American warriors, is gaining ground as a … Read more

Wirt and Jackson counties experienced a failed silver rush in the late 1800s.

Culture

A silver rush in the Ohio Valley near Ravenswood, W.Va., came to naught

February 23, 2024 by David Sibray

SILVER VALLEY, W.Va. — Is there silver in the hills of West Virginia? Parts of what’s now western West Virginia enjoyed a kind of silver rush in the late 1800s, and many prospectors opened mines, though geologists say their efforts were for naught. Geologists seem to agree that strata underlying the valley of the Ohio … Read more

Botany and Forestry

Forester using AI to identify trees likely to trigger power blackouts

February 13, 2024 by David Sibray

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A West Virginia University urban forester is developing a method, with the help of artificial intelligence, to identify trees at risk of falling on power lines and causing blackouts. According to Greg Dahle, associate professor of arboriculture and urban forestry at the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, downed … Read more

On The Ohio River At Wheeling in West Virginia

Culture

On the Ohio River, Wheeling was once proposed as a new U.S. capital

February 10, 2024 by David Sibray

WHEELING, W.Va. — There was a time when Wheeling was being proposed as the location for a new capital of the U.S., though the idea never attracted much interest. Situated at the junction of the Ohio River and the National Road, two of the expanding nation’s most influential travel routes, the burgeoning city was also nearer … Read more

Dueling was not popular in West Virginia, though the Moore-Burnham Duel was notably undertaken at Clarksburg in 1810.

Culture

Though a rarity in West Virginia, this Clarksburg duel was fought in 1810

February 4, 2024 by David Sibray

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Possibly because of a resurgence of ideas about chivalry and codes of conduct, dueling surged in popularity in the U.S. in the late 1700s, especially in the Deep South. Alexander Hamilton was infamously killed in a duel with sitting vice-president Aaron Burr in 1804 as a result of the trend. But dueling … Read more

David Sibray At Northern Panhandle Monument in West Virginia

Attractions

Storied West Virginia monument stands forgotten in the woods

February 2, 2024 by David Sibray

GEORGE TOWN, W.Va. — Finding the monument on a map is difficult enough. Finding it in the steep woodlands is even more challenging. But on a remote hillside at the southeast corner of Marshall County stands a weathered monument that establishes West Virginia’s singular northern panhandle. Some say it’s a place that at least every … Read more

Major access road to Dolly Sods Wilderness in national forest closing for repair

West Virginia’s highest waterfalls ranked: The Mountain State’s tallest cascades

Why thousands visit these little-known waterfalls in West Virginia each year

West Virginia waterfowl hunt applications open at McClintic, home of Mothman legend

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

WVU researcher develops robot that could transform West Virginia strawberry farming

West Virginia mineral rights: Who owns the minerals beneath your land?

Appalachian prison book project delivers 70,000 books to incarcerated people

West Virginia’s hidden mountaintop Civil War sites reveal forgotten campaigns

Small-town West Virginia festivals that still celebrate July 4 the old-fashioned way

Patriotic destinations worth visiting in West Virginia on Fourth of July weekend

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

New Peters Mountain Trail System takes shape in Monongahela National Forest near Franklin

Interior Department opens review of rock climbing policies affecting New River Gorge

Bowden Fish Hatchery to host free Youth Fishing Derby during W.Va. Free Fishing Days

Here’s why fishing records are being broken more often now in West Virginia

David Sibray

Monongahela National Forest sets opening dates for recreation sites

“Worm Moon of March” lore is accurate, says West Virginia gardener

Visitation increased in 2023 for all national park sites in southern W.Va.

West Virginia’s northern panhandle was once prime U.S. sheep country

Scenic trout stream lies hidden along I-77 / I-64 West Virginia Turnpike

A silver rush in the Ohio Valley near Ravenswood, W.Va., came to naught

Forester using AI to identify trees likely to trigger power blackouts

On the Ohio River, Wheeling was once proposed as a new U.S. capital

Though a rarity in West Virginia, this Clarksburg duel was fought in 1810

Storied West Virginia monument stands forgotten in the woods