The Metro Valley Region of western West Virginia follows the Ohio and Kanawha rivers and their tributaries through a landscape of farms, cities, and wooded hills. Two of the largest cities in West Virginia, Charleston and Huntington, anchor the eastern and western ends of the region. Gaming and racing at Cross Lanes are popular attractions. Marshall University, at Huntington, West Virginia State University, at Institute, and the University of Charleston, at Charleston, matriculate thousands of students annually. Arenas, civic centers, and cultural venues throughout the valley help sustain a desirable quality of life and attract tourists year-round. The region is home to many master planned residential communities.
The Metro Valley Region includes Mason, Cabell, Putnam, and Kanawha counties and parts of Clay, Wayne, Boone, Roane, and Jackson counties. The region roughly corresponds to the eastern half of the Metro Valleys Region travel region of the West Virginia Department of Commerce.
Interstates 77, 79, and 64 join at Charleston in the eastern end of the valley region. I-64 spans the region from east to west, traveling between Charleston and Huntington, and I-77 courses from north to south between Charleston and Parkersburg, to the north. The US-119 expressway travels southwestward from Charleston toward Logan, and highway US-60 traverses the area from east to west, shadowing I-64 in its westward course.
