Attractions

Re-enactors stroll the grounds of the Blennerhassett Mansion on Blennerhassett Island.

“Mansion by Candlelight” tour wins Top 20 event award

The Southeast Tourism Society has named the annual “Mansion by Candlelight” tour hosted at Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park near Parkersburg, West Virginia, as a Top 20 event to attend in October. The two-evening fete held in the island’s replica mansion welcomes more than 1,400 guests to witness an evening as it might have been in … Read more

Diagram of Meadow Creek Campground

New campground on New River will boost local travel

MAY 12, 2014 — Its construction delayed by a hard winter, the new flagship campground for the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, located near Sandstone and Meadow Creek, W.Va., in northern Summers County, will open in autumn, according to National Park Service officials. The 26-site campground will be the first on park property … Read more

2014 Pipestem Season Pass

Pipestem introduces season pass to outdoor performances

Fans of Pipestem Resort State Park and outdoor entertainment may wish to invest in a season-long amphitheater pass being provided for the first time. Sixteen varied engagements are scheduled on the stage in the Summers County highlands from May 24 until August 23, and officials expect the package to appeal to frequent guests, according to Kim Hawkins, … Read more

View from ski lift at Canaan Valley State Park, Tucker County, Allegheny Highlands Region

Guests not likely to notice Canaan management transfer

The July 1 transfer of management of Canaan Valley Resort State Park to a second hospitality-management company won’t likely result in obvious changes, according to officials at the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The new management company, which operates lodges and resorts in Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, and South Dakota, is not anticipated to significantly … Read more

Golfers tee off at Pipestem Resort State Park

W.Va. park courses offering expanded access packages

Three state park golf courses in West Virginia are providing guests full-season 2014 passes that include lodge stays, meal discounts, and access to other park courses.  According to the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources, passes are now available at Twin Falls, Pipestem, and Cacapon resorts and include two rounds of golf at other state park courses, … Read more

Smoke wreaths Idol Point, New River Gorge, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

Forest fire burning southeast of New River Gorge Bridge

UPDATE (9:47 a.m., 4-24-2014): The fire that swept the wall of the New River Gorge southeast of the New River Gorge Bridge was 90 percent contained as of 9 a.m. Thursday morning, according to ranger Leah Perkowski-Sisk of the National Park Service. Based on the weather forecast and continued suppression efforts, she said, full containment … Read more

View from Fort Scammon, Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha County, Metro Valley Region

Fort Scammon, an ideal spot for an afternoon outing

I finally made it to Fort Scammon, a Civil War-era earthwork atop what’s now Fort Hill in Charleston, West Virginia, No one died at the fort, or because of it, and historians can’t affirm that any artillery was ever even fired from its now-grassy battlements. By the time Union soldiers finished building the fort, the war in the Kanawha … Read more

White Trilium, Kanawha State Forest

Spring 2014 park specials include cabin discounts

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Birding programs, wildflower walks, and discounted cabin rates are among the spring tonics being proffered in West Virginia state parks and forests in 2014. Fifteen state parks are offering discounts of 20-percent off of mid-week rates at cabins through May 2, according to Sissie Summers, programming coordinator for the state park system, … Read more