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
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
West Virginia is home to some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the eastern U.S. Most will have weakened by June, when many of us are ready to escape summer’s heat, so we asked the creator and editor of Daytripper to provide us a list of must-see falls that offer refreshment through summer. Lisa Stansell dedicates an … Read more
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
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
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
LANSING, W.Va. — The Endless Wall Trail and adjacent climbing access areas above the New River south of the New River Gorge Bridge have been reopened to the public following a forest fire that was declared 100 percent contained and controlled today, April 27, 2014. Ranger Leah Perkowski-Siski announced in a press release at 10:06 … Read more
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
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
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
