HURRICANE, W.Va. — Six West Virginia state parks and forests will benefit from $105,000 in grants to replace aging playground equipment and improve recreational facilities for children and families.
The West Virginia State Parks Foundation announced the grants after completing its “Playground of Possibilities” fundraising campaign, which raised $110,881 over the past year. The improvements are intended to make playgrounds safer, more modern, and more accessible for children visiting the parks, according to Brad Reed, the foundation’s executive director.
“The response to this campaign has been tremendous, and we are extremely grateful to everyone who contributed to making it a success,” Reed said.
“Playgrounds are an important part of the state park experience. They give children a place to play, explore, and enjoy the outdoors while families create memories that last a lifetime. These grants represent a meaningful investment in our parks and, most importantly, in the children and families who visit them.”
Six parks and forests awarded grants
Three local park foundations will receive grants of $25,000 each:
- Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park, near Parkersburg
- Watoga State Park, in Pocahontas County
- Coopers Rock State Forest, near Morgantown
Three additional foundations will receive grants of $10,000 each:
- Canaan Valley Resort State Park, in Tucker County
- Tomlinson Run State Park, in Hancock County
- Stonewall Resort State Park, in Lewis County
The grants were awarded to local nonprofit foundations that support improvements at their respective parks and forests.
The foundation said it launched the campaign in November 2025 in response to concerns about aging playgrounds across the state park system. Some facilities had become worn or outdated, while others no longer met current safety and accessibility standards.
The announcement did not specify what equipment would be replaced at each park or when the improvements would be completed. It also did not indicate whether the grants would cover the full cost of the proposed projects.
Private donations support park improvements
The Playground of Possibilities campaign brought together individual donors, businesses and other supporters to help finance improvements at state-owned recreational facilities.
The West Virginia State Parks Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that works with local park foundations to raise money for improvements to West Virginia’s state parks and forests.
Although the campaign has concluded, the foundation said it will continue efforts to improve and maintain playgrounds throughout the park system.
Of the $110,881 raised, the foundation awarded $105,000 in grants. The foundation did not specify how it would use the remaining $5,881.
State parks serve local communities
West Virginia’s state parks and forests provide recreational facilities for residents and visitors, particularly in rural communities where municipal and county parks may be limited.
“In many areas of the state that lack their own city or county parks, our state parks provide the primary source of free outdoor recreation,” Kim McCluskey, treasurer of the West Virginia State Parks Foundation, said in an earlier interview.
McCluskey emphasized the importance of playgrounds to families in rural areas, where children may have fewer opportunities to use public recreational facilities.
Former state parks administrator Scott Durham also emphasized parks’ role in bringing families together.
“Families create family traditions and build memories that unite and enrich family life,” Durham said in a 2025 interview.
Durham identified playgrounds, picnic areas, swimming pools and reunion facilities as places where generations gather. He also described state parks as important community meeting places that contribute to residents’ quality of life.
The parks also contribute to West Virginia’s economy. A 2023 visitation study estimated that state parks and forests generated about $521 million in annual economic activity and supported more than 5,250 jobs statewide.
More information about the foundation is available at LoveWVStateParks.com.