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Communities in West Virginia offer residents a welcoming atmosphere, affordable cost of living, and a strong sense of connection to nature and neighbors alike. From charming small towns to vibrant cities like Charleston and Morgantown, West Virginia communities provide friendly neighborhoods, excellent schools, and access to outdoor recreation right at your doorstep. Residents enjoy a slower pace of life, surrounded by the state’s beautiful mountains, rivers, and forests, as well as rich local culture, historic sites, and community events that bring people together.

 

With safe streets, local businesses, and a true spirit of Appalachian hospitality, living in West Virginia communities means enjoying a high quality of life and a supportive, tight-knit environment where everyone feels at home. Be sure to visit our Communities Travel Guide for information about communities in West Virginia.

Autumn color brightens a morning near Cabins in Grant County, West Virginia, as fall foliage spreads across the Potomac Highlands.
Communities

West Virginia releases 2026 fall foliage map as autumn countdown begins

by David Sibray

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia tourism officials have released the state’s 2026 fall foliage projection map, offering travelers an early look at when autumn color is expected to sweep across the Mountain State. The W.Va. Department of Tourism announced Wednesday that it will update its Live Leaf Map weekly throughout the fall, giving travelers current information … Read more

A surviving version of West Virginia Explorer from Aug. 18, 2000, shows the website helping readers explore the Mountain State months before Wikipedia launched in January 2001.
Communities

Before Wikipedia, this website was helping people explore West Virginia

by Bianca Bosworth

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Before Wikipedia, WVExplorer.com helped people navigate the Mountain State. More than 25 years later, it reaches more than 100,000 monthly readers looking for places to visit, things to do, and communities to explore. “We bring businesses an audience that’s already interested in West Virginia,” said Lori Noble, the publication’s new advertising director. … Read more

Professional staff members of the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane in Weston pose outside the institution circa 1894–1900. Dr. Lorilla F. Bullard, who testified during the 1899 investigation of Superintendent W.E. Stathers, is standing at front left. The historic photograph has been digitally enhanced for clarity to improve accessibility for readers with limited vision. (West Virginia and Regional History Center, WVU Libraries)
Communities

Women accused the head of West Virginia’s famous asylum. Then came a mysterious train trip, controversial verdict

by David Sibray

WESTON, W.Va. — In 1899, the directors of West Virginia’s hospital for the mentally ill concluded a highly publicized investigation into allegations of improper conduct by Superintendent W.E. Stathers, finding him not guilty after days of testimony from female employees and other witnesses. The decision followed testimony about alleged unwanted advances, visits to women’s rooms, … Read more

A massive plume of black smoke rises from the Peoples Cartage warehouse fire in Parkersburg on July 5, 2026. The fire prompted extensive environmental testing of water, soil and agricultural products in the surrounding area. (Photo by Dan Fauxsmith/CC BY-SA 4.0)
Communities

Contaminants found after massive Parkersburg warehouse fire, but below federal action levels

by Clyde Craig

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Environmental testing following the massive July warehouse fire in Parkersburg has detected low concentrations of contaminants in some soil, produce, vegetation and honey samples, although state officials say results received so far have not reached federal action levels or warranted additional protective measures. The findings are part of an ongoing investigation and … Read more

Nemacolin in southwestern Pennsylvania is hosting a record 21 West Virginia University interns this summer, giving students experience across the luxury resort’s hospitality, recreation, entertainment and wildlife operations.
Communities

Record number of WVU students get behind-the-scenes look at Nemacolin luxury resort

by Clyde Craig

FARMINGTON, Pa. — From coordinating poolside entertainment and guiding outdoor recreation to caring for animals at a wildlife center, a record number of West Virginia University students are spending the summer learning how one of the region’s best-known luxury resorts operates behind the scenes. Twenty-one WVU students are working this summer at Nemacolin in southwestern … Read more

Paddlers make their way down the Greenbrier River in southeastern West Virginia, where cool mountain water, forested shorelines and higher elevations have long provided an escape from the summer heat. (Photo courtesy Kirstin Cole)
Communities

‘Coolcations’ are surging as travelers escape the heat. West Virginia’s Greenbrier Valley is ready

by David Sibray

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — At the southern end of the Allegheny Mountains, where the Greenbrier River enters a landscape of bluegrass pastures, mineral springs and cavernous limestone, a West Virginia valley is finding itself particularly well suited to one of the travel industry’s fastest-growing summer trends. They are called “coolcations”—vacations chosen at least partly to escape … Read more