West Virginia News

West Virginia Explorer

WVExplorer delivers the latest West Virginia news and original reporting on communities, travel, culture, history, recreation, and life across the Mountain State. View our West Virginia Travel Guide!

Trending Now

Filmmaker got lost looking for Virginia location and found his movie in West Virginia

Snow covers a street in Davis, West Virginia, the state’s highest incorporated community. At an elevation of about 3,100 feet in the Allegheny Mountains, Davis experiences cooler summers, earlier autumns, colder winters, and later springs than many lower-elevation communities.

Botany and Forestry

These are West Virginia’s 10 highest communities, from cool summers to snowy winters

David Sibray September 15, 2026

Panoramic view of New River Gorge from Grandview Overlook in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia.

Travel / Transportation

West Virginia ranked America’s No. 2 most naturally beautiful state — here’s why

West Virginia students take part in a hands-on technology activity. A new $2.6 million initiative is expected to bring similar problem-solving and entrepreneurship programs to 15,000 middle- and high-school students statewide over three years. (WVU Photo/Canyon Lohnas)

Higher Education

West Virginia initiative aims to teach 15,000 students how to turn ideas into businesses

Students walk past historic Woodburn Hall on the West Virginia University campus in Morgantown. WVU has launched a program that allows qualifying high school seniors in Kanawha and Monongalia counties to be admitted without completing a traditional application.

Higher Education

WVU will automatically admit some high school seniors in two West Virginia counties

Latest West Virginia News

Gary Morefield cleans the grave marker of Clarkson Prince in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Morefield joined an effort to clean and document the historic cemetery and the graves of families who settled the area.

History / Prehistory

These Appalachian pioneers came from wealth and privilege

September 13, 2026

Historic buildings line the railroad at Thurmond in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. A proposed New River Gorge Artisan Corridor would seek to connect preservation and adaptive reuse here with arts, workforce development, recreation and economic opportunities in communities from Hinton to Montgomery. (Photo David Sibray)

Economic Development

New plan imagines a different future for communities of the New River Gorge

September 12, 2026

A hiker follows the boardwalk beneath the Alum Cave rock overhang along the Middle Fork River at Audra State Park. The photograph won the outdoor recreation category. (Photo by Stasha Ray)

State Parks, Forests

Family gives 47 acres to expand scenic West Virginia state park

September 11, 2026

Pipestem Resort State Park’s aerial tramway descends into the Bluestone River Gorge amid autumn color. The park will host its first Oktoberfest Oct. 16–18, when fall foliage in the gorge typically approaches its seasonal peak. (Photo courtesy Perry Bennett Photography)

Festivals / Events

First Oktoberfest coming to West Virginia gorge as fall color peaks

September 11, 2026

Arts

39 Appalachian films coming to West Virginia festival, and admission is free

September 11, 2026

The mountain farm in north-central West Virginia where Adam’s Fire was filmed became an important part of the feature film’s setting. The movie opens Oct. 9, including at AMC Morgantown 12.

Arts

Filmmaker got lost looking for Virginia location and found his movie in West Virginia

September 11, 2026

Communities

Units 1 and 2 of the John E. Amos Power Plant in Putnam County, West Virginia. State utility regulators are considering proposed rules governing generating capacity, plant operations and fuel supplies. (Photo by Tikilucas/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

West Virginia power plant rules headed for public hearing

Clyde Craig September 8, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia regulators are inviting the public to comment this month on rules proposed to govern how electric utilities maintain and use generating plants under a law approved by the Legislature in 2025. The Public

The 80-foot Red Oak Fire Lookout in the Monongahela National Forest is now available for overnight stays in Webster County, West Virginia. (Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service)

You can now spend the night 80 feet up in a West Virginia fire tower

David Sibray September 8, 2026

COWEN, W.Va. — Travelers can now spend the night 80 feet above a remote West Virginia forest, sleeping in a restored fire lookout for as little as $100 a night. The Red Oak Fire Lookout opened Tuesday for

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announces the first awards from West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program at Chesapeake Healthcare Center. Spotted Owl Healthcare Organization received $1.17 million through the program in partnership with the center. (Courtesy photo)

Small West Virginia nonprofit lands $1.17 million to expand workplace healthcare

September 5, 2026

Two properties proposed for inclusion in an expanded historic district stand along a residential street in Richwood, West Virginia. The proposed expansion would extend the existing downtown district into nearby residential areas.

Richwood could double historic district at gateway to Monongahela National Forest

September 2, 2026

Two unbanded peregrine falcons have been confirmed at the New River Gorge Bridge, continuing a conservation story that began decades ago. The inset shows one of the peregrines recently observed at the bridge. (Inset photo by Larry Massey)

Two unbanded peregrine falcons confirmed at New River Gorge Bridge

August 31, 2026

A model walks the runway during a fashion show. A West Virginia University researcher says the rise of weight-loss medications is coinciding with a retreat from size inclusivity in the fashion industry. (Photo by Yogendra Singh/Unsplash)

Weight-loss drugs are changing American bodies; Fashion may be changing with them

August 31, 2026

Attractions

Historic buildings line the railroad at Thurmond, a former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway boomtown now largely preserved within New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The town is challenging National Park Service plans to demolish several historic structures.

Historic town inside national park prepares legal fight to stop demolitions

Clyde Craig September 5, 2026

THURMOND, W.Va. — A nearly abandoned railroad town preserved within New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is preparing for a legal fight with the federal agency that owns much of it as the National Park Service moves

The Big Moses gas well erupts along Indian Creek in Tyler County, West Virginia, during the region’s oil and gas boom of the 1890s. Drilled in search of oil in 1894, the well instead struck an enormous flow of natural gas that repeatedly resisted efforts to bring it under control.

In 1895, lightning struck a massive West Virginia gas well, which then blew out its own fire

David Sibray September 4, 2026

ALMA, W.Va. — When lightning struck one of the world’s most powerful gas wells in 1895, flames reportedly leaped 200 feet into the air, illuminating the rural countryside as crowds traveled to see what a Parkersburg newspaper described

A young forager gathers wild berries. Foraging for edible plants is the focus of Nature Wonder Weekend, a West Virginia tradition held at North Bend State Park since 1968. (Getty image)

For nearly 60 years, West Virginians have gathered in this park to eat from the wild

September 2, 2026

The former Fort Gay High School in Fort Gay, W.Va., closed in 2013 and is now being redeveloped with eight affordable apartments and space for community, municipal and commercial uses.

West Virginia high school closed for 13 years is becoming apartments

September 1, 2026

The night sky stretches above the observation tower at Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park in Pocahontas County. The photograph won the summer beauty category in the West Virginia State Parks Foundation's spring and summer photo contest. (Photo by Leslie Carpenter)

Five stunning photos capture summer in West Virginia’s state parks

August 31, 2026

The Gothic Revival facade of the West Virginia Penitentiary dominates Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville. The prison operated from 1866 until 1995 and is now open to visitors as a historic attraction.

Behind the walls of West Virginia’s massive Gothic prison, now a tourist attraction

August 29, 2026

Recreation

Mountain bikers ride a wooded trail in Beckley, West Virginia, where an expanding trail network is part of an effort to develop the city as an outdoor recreation destination.

West Virginia city eyes 40-mile trail network near New River Gorge

David Sibray September 10, 2026

BECKLEY, W.Va. — A West Virginia city near the nation’s newest national park is developing a recreational trail system that could grow to more than 40 miles as part of an effort to transform it from a transportation

A young shooter receives guidance while handling a firearm. West Virginia has eliminated the minimum age for its special youth hunting seasons, although hunters younger than 15 must still be accompanied by a licensed adult. Photo credit: Remy Gieling

West Virginia eliminates minimum age for youth hunting seasons

Will Reedy September 10, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia no longer requires children to be at least eight years old to participate in the state’s special youth hunting seasons, a change taking on new relevance as the first youth black bear season

Wesley Scarbrough helps his brother-in-law, Justin, fire a gun while squirrel hunting near Rock Creek, West Virginia, in 1995. The photograph by Lyntha Scott Eiler is part of the Library of Congress Coal River Folklife Project.

Long a West Virginia rite of passage, squirrel hunting returns Saturday

Will Reedy September 10, 2026

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A hunting tradition that has introduced generations of West Virginians to the woods returns Saturday when the state’s regular squirrel season opens for nearly six months. The statewide season opens Sept. 12 and runs through

Tyler Harmon holds the 72.75-pound blue catfish he caught in the Ohio River in Jackson County as a West Virginia Division of Natural Resources official assists with the record certification. The fish set a new state weight record and was released alive. (WVDNR photo)

West Virginia brought back a giant native fish that now keeps breaking records

September 4, 2026

A bicycle rests beside the Meadow River along the Meadow River Rail Trail, an 18-mile route between Rainelle and Nallen in southern West Virginia. (Photo courtesy Meadow River Rail Trail)

New 18-mile trail is revealing a hidden West Virginia river valley

September 4, 2026

Rafters charge through whitewater on the Gauley River during Gauley Season in West Virginia. The six-week fall season draws thousands of whitewater enthusiasts to the river each year. (NPS photo)

Six weeks of legendary whitewater are about to begin on the Gauley in West Virginia

August 26, 2026

A couple walks a wooded trail at Pipestem Resort State Park, where the West Virginia Trails Conference will be held Nov. 8–10, 2026.

West Virginia trails conference looks to turn outdoor recreation into community growth

August 24, 2026

Morgantown angler Robert Glover holds the 9.76-inch pumpkinseed sunfish he caught at Cheat Lake, setting the West Virginia record for a category that has now been broken three times in little more than a month. (Photo courtesy W.Va. DNR)

West Virginia fishing record broken for third time in little more than a month

August 21, 2026

Participants learn outdoor skills during a Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop in West Virginia. The nationally recognized program introduces women to hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities in a supportive setting.

More women are taking up hunting and fishing; these West Virginia workshops may be helping

August 18, 2026

Visitors descend into Organ Cave in Greenbrier County, one of the many West Virginia caverns around which generations of history, tradition and folklore have accumulated. Photographer to be determined.

West Virginia cave lore—strange stories from beneath the Mountain State

August 17, 2026

Filmmaker Emma Crow-Willard pauses beside a mountain stream while hiking West Virginia's 320-mile Allegheny Trail. Her month-long journey combines backpacking with interviews exploring the changing economies of communities along the route.

Most hikers have never heard of the Allegheny Trail. One filmmaker set out to discover why

August 3, 2026

West Virginia anglers Ken Neer (left) and Sierra Adamson each caught state-record pumpkinseed sunfish in summer 2026. Adamson's catch surpassed Neer's record just 19 days after it established the species' first official place in the state's record books.

West Virginia’s new state fishing record lasted 19 days before another angler broke it

July 30, 2026

Culture

Kanawha Valley historian Forrest Hull illustrated the old association between autumn, “Indian summer” and frontier stories in this drawing preserved with his writings. The terminology reflects the period in which Hull wrote and is reproduced here as part of the historical record.

Where are the autumns of yesterday? A West Virginia writer remembered a different fall

David Sibray September 9, 2026

CEDAR GROVE, W.Va. — Forrest Hull remembered autumn before foliage forecasts, scenic-drive maps, and photos of mountainsides ablaze with color became common ways to mark the season in West Virginia. “Where are the autumns of yesterday?” Hull asked

The Bank of Huntington, at right, appears in this view of Third Avenue circa 1880, only a few years after four armed men robbed the bank in 1875. The identities of two of the robbers remain uncertain.

The James Gang supposedly robbed this West Virginia bank, though records are less certain

David Sibray September 8, 2026

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — One of West Virginia’s most famous outlaw stories holds that members of the James Gang rode into Huntington in 1875, robbed a bank in broad daylight, and fled toward the mountains with thousands of dollars. The

Daniel Boone prepared this survey of ten acres along Crooked Creek in Kanawha County on June 14, 1791. The original manuscript, signed by Boone, is preserved by the West Virginia State Archives. (West Virginia State Archives)

Daniel Boone lived in West Virginia for years; this document survives in his own hand

David Sibray September 7, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Daniel Boone is remembered as a great figure of the Kentucky frontier, but a surviving document in his own hand illuminates a lesser-known chapter of his life. The famed frontiersman spent years in what’s now

The Ohio River curves through Brickyard Bend at New Cumberland, West Virginia, where more than 20 brick plants once produced millions of bricks for markets across the United States. (Photo by David Sibray)

Lore and Legend

An artist’s interpretation of the legend of Crock Face, an Indigenous warrior said to have disguised himself as a scarecrow while waiting near the home of an early settler in what is now Harrison County, West Virginia.

Real Estate

History and Prehistory

In Thomas Dunn English’s day, the Guyandotte River valley was a pastoral landscape of farms and small settlements tucked between the river and steeply forested mountains, decades before railroads and coal mining transformed southern West Virginia. (WVExplorer.com illustration)

State Parks

Mountain Creek Lodge glows in the evening at the bottom of West Virginia's Bluestone Gorge, where the new Mountain Creek Appalachian Cuisine restaurant welcomes diners arriving by Pipestem Resort State Park's iconic aerial tram.

Hunting

A white-tailed doe pauses in a West Virginia forest. The state's controlled antlerless lottery hunts are designed to manage deer populations while protecting forests and wildlife habitat.

Fishing

West Virginia has stocked more than 50 lakes and ponds with channel catfish for the summer, giving visitors and residents fresh opportunities to fish at state parks and public waters across the Mountain State. (Photo courtesy W.Va. Dept. of Commerce)

Hiking

Two cyclists bike the West Fork Rail Trail near Durbin in the Monongahela National Forest.

Skiing

White Grass has long been a magnet for visitors from Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mountain River Media)

National Parks

The New River winds through a landscape where railroads, communities, industrial history and outdoor recreation remain intertwined inside New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

Kayaking

Kayakers paddle around Big Rock on the lower Greenbrier River near Hinton, West Virginia.

Whitewater Rafting

Biking

One of the largest networks on the East Coast, the routes activate thousands of miles of gravel roads across the Mon Forest for visitors and communities. (Photo: Getty Images)

More West Virginia News

Botany and Forestry