Try visiting Seneca Rocks Park, Smokehole Caverns, Blackwater Falls State Park and Cannan Valley Park/Ski area (beautiful any time of the year) I've been on Cass Railroad. You will not be disappointed but bring some warm clothing. It can get chilly up there.

Gosh, have you never heard of the Greenbrier at White Sulphur Springs, the ne plus ultra in resort luxury in the Eastern US? Of course you have to be pretty well-heeled to stay there--but it IS "something to do in West Virginia." They're not ALL hillbillies there. Have a good visit. Joan

Try www.pocahontas.org and that will give you a myriad of activities to do other than mountain biking and rafting. Snowshoe Resort has a calendar full of activities per weekend (www.snowshoemtn.com) and these include a Wine and Jazz festival, a Chili Cookoff Festival, a renowned Bluegrass Festival (I think it already happened) and many others. On topside at 5,000 feet altitude, you will also find several excellent restaurants, including the Red Fox (reservations and dress code) and a casual Auntie Pasta, among several others. By the way, Intrawest, which owns Mt Tremblant, Whistler and many other ski areas, recently bought Snowshoe and they are making it into a world-class upscale resort.

Aside from Snowshoe, there are some excellent restaurants in the vicinity. The name escapes me right now, but it is about 6 miles to the north of the intersection of 219 and 66, on the river, and it serves trout that literally was caught minutes before cooking. Reservations a must. The locals there know it as an excellent restaurant. As far as antiquities, handcrafted items, etc, the area is a gold mine.

Although I haven't been there, Snowshoe built a new restaurant and lodge to which you must hike (no cars allowed) and I have heard people raving about the place.

As another person already stated, the Greenbriar Trail provides spectacular scenery and can either be hiked or biked. There are several places where you can get to the Greenbriar, either Cass, or Marlinton, which is a very charming little town.

Don't miss the Beckley demonstration coal mine, which is in the New River area. You can go deep into the mine, and feel what it must have been like, and they also have some of the company housing the miners had to live in. Vewry enlightening.

All of the posts were about nice places in West Virginia. The reason they are so nice is that they are not overrun by people looking for a Disney-esque nature experience. There is nothing to see or do in West Virginia. Stay away. Fortunately they have coal in their hills instead of gold and missed the romanticised past that Colorado has, but with all the natural beauty.

The best place to go for information is www.callwva.com. I'm not a native, but live in WV by choice. There is so much to do that we usually cannot get to all the events we want to attend. Our favorite activities are outdoor events -skiing, hiking, and outdoor concerts. It's sad when people say negative things about a region - you really do not have to look very hard to find things to do in West Virginia.

Why wouldn't they? Traveled on I-77 through WV and thought S WV was absolutely gorgeous, we were surrounded by mountains the whole way through the state. There was alot of advertisement for white water rafting if you enjoy that kind of sport. There must be some state parks with hiking trails but I'd guess you'd have to really in shape to climb those type of mountains.

Is there life in WV? Anyone recall the answer to the same question posed to the Thousand Year Old Man about Mars? He said perhaps on a Saturday night. I understand some people who are born there live there. But I've not heard of many who moved there voluntarily.

I suppose you can look for good restaurants in Charleston (a very, very quiet but beautiful city). The fact is, WV is a state of spectacular natural beauty-- but you have to look incredibly hard for anything to do in the way of entertainment or nightlife. I never found anything on my frequent visits there to see family.

I say this after watching my folks get transferred there (to Wheeling) for my dad's job-- from Montréal. Talk about a step down! They were used to having a VERY lively nightlife and avant-garde culture around them. Dad was miserable, then fell ill and died, leaving my poor mom stuck in a dying steel/coal town with practically no culture whatsoever. When she finally sold the co-op, she moved so fast to Buck County PA she left skidmarks. Philly and NYC are train rides away now, and she couldn't be happier.

If you're looking for a lot of rugged outdoor activities and a much quieter culture than, say, Sheboygen, West Virginia IS wild and wonderful. Once you clean up and want to look for something to do at night, you're kinda out of luck.

There are no decent restaurants in Charleston, WV.

WV really does have some great scenic beauty, but falls short on some of the cultural activities you may be looking for.

I spend some time in Morgantown, site the University, and really can't recommend it. Usually, towns like that are attracitve and have a lot of cultural activities -- think of Austin, TX., Amherst, MA, etc. Morganotwn didn't.

OK - here is my 2 cents.
I was born in MD, but grew up in Morgantown, WV (1st grade to 12th).
Since many of my relatives lived (and still do live) there, I have been pretty much all over the state.
The MINUTE I was old enough to, I moved away from there, attended college at UNC - Chapel Hill, and am only dragged back kicking and screaming for necessary family functions. (Death being the only thing I deem as "necessary.")
I've been in North Carolina since 1980, and I have a running joke with my husband that I would not move back to West Virginia for $1 million per year if it meant I had to stay there the rest of my life and never leave the state.
Some people love it, but it's not for me...

We just traveled thru West Virginia 2 weeks ago. It was truly beautiful and very scenic.We went thru Beckley and then went to the New River Gorge bridge which is a awesome site. Route 60 west towards Charleston is a must drive road. Of course we travel by motorcycle which makes traveling those roads even better, enjoy!

Believe it or not there is life outside Philadelphia and New York City.

Leave West Virginia alone, it's a beautiful state...I lived in Charles Town, and it's beautiful. DC and Baltimore were only an hours drive away. For White water rafting down the New River, use Mountain River Tours, www.mrt.com. I know several of the guides, even dated one and they are all extremely experienced. Most people will say use ACE expeditions, but i wouldn't, often the guides are new and ill experienced. Bigger isn't always better...Ask For guides nicknamed Spindle or Fuzzy, you'll have a great time!

I have done the Cass railroad and it is very interesting. On a clear day the view from the top is wonderful.

There are other historic railroads in the area. None are the "big deal" that the Cass RR is, but they are all enjoyable.

You ought to reconsider you antipathy towards whitewater rafting. It's a blast!

There is also the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, WVA, every summer. The dates this year are July 11-August 3, 2003. There are 4 plays and it is set up so you can do all 4 of them on a weekend.

A friend and I went last summer and had a blast and have our tickets for this summer to repeat the fun.

An excellent restaurant in Shepherdstown is The Yellow Brick Bank.

When you travel to a rural area, you cannot expect the food of a major city, but, as a trade off, you can get some spectacular scenery and a change of pace. A change of pace is what a vacation is all about.

I live in a big city (or at least in the suburbs). On vacation, I do not mind looking at scenery and foregoing expensive restaurants. You can always find some "down home" cooking somewhere--and that is fine with me.

WVA has a lot of raft trip possibilities. I seem to do that when I go far afield, but one of these days, I am going to do the New River.

And I did note--after posting--that the original query was put up in 1998. I presume Yarbrough already took his vacation in WVA. Ha!

It's nice to see that not everyone feels the need to slam West Virginia. West Virginia is a beautiful state. I've traveled extensively and there's something about the beautiful scenery of West Virginia that calls you back. Everyone should experience those WV mountains in the fall when the leaves are so colorful.

West Virginia may be beautiful, but there really doesn't seem to be anything to do. I was looking for information on Charleston. There are three posts here from the past few years that request info on sights, restaurants, etc. in Charleston. There hasn't been a single response to any of them. So it really doesn't seem to be the place to go for a good time.

Not sure why you dug up this old post, but I feel compelled to answer since I've spent several vacatiosn in West virginia. Forget the cities, that is not what people go to West VA. for. West Virginia has some of the best hiking in the east. Blackwater Falls trails are incredible, esp. when the wild rhodedendrons are blooming - most of the park is lush with them. Dolly Sods Wilderness area ranks right up there in my book. We hike all over the U.S. and West VA is 4 star in that area. And cross country skiing in winter is also excellent. Also biking. You go to West VA for the great outdoors.

Many people from the Baltimore/DC metro area have weekend homes in the WV panhandle area. It is a beautiful area and a great place to enjoy nature.

Flamingomonkey, with a name like yours I can see why you can't quite figure out a reason to go to West, By God, Virginia.

Thank You

If some one cannot find something to do or see in West Virginia, they are either not looking or are only interested in glitz. I could keep folks busy in WV for a month without even doing any hard thinking .

Wow, this is from July 26th, 1998..
How cool is that!

emd
Tell me more about Blackwater Falls. Sounds as if Spring would be a good time to go. Where do you stay? Are the trails fairly flat or really hilly? I have bad knees so steps and the like are hard for me. We hiked Hocking Hills this past weekend and I know I can't go back. It was too hard on my knees and if I didn't have DH to hold on to, I could not have made it.

I actually purchased a vacation property in WV. The skiing is great! The mountains are beautiful! It is nice to just go there and relax.

So, yes some of us go there to just soak up the beauty surrounding us
Of course, the outdoor sports draw us too.

I went to Charleston, WV and had a very nice time in June.

www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=1&tid=34824989

cd: We have stayed in rental houses in the Timberline area, which you can rent for 3-4 days (you don't have to stay a week). We have gone twice over Memorial day weekends, which is an excellent time, as is all of summer. We've also gone in April and June. It is nice and cool up there in summer and not humid.

Blackwater Falls State Park also has a nice lodge, and also has 26 separate cabins, and a nice new indoor pool. You might enjoy staying in the lodge if it is harder for you to get around. I think it would be nice to stay right in the park, although we have not done that. We have, however, stayed in the rustic cabins at Canaan Valley State park, about 15 min. away from Blackwater, also a lovely park w/lots of deer but not as pretty and nice for hiking as Blackwater.

There are so many trails at Blackwater. Some are more challenging than others. I think you should call them and talk to the people at the park about whether there are trails suitable for you, because the trails we choose to hike are more moderate to strenuous level. However, I believe there are easier trails.

Nice virtual tour of the park and facilities and lodging on the website at:
http://www.blackwaterfalls.com/

CD,
Blackwater Falls State Park is part of what is called Canaan Valley.

There are a few pretty flat trails in the Canaan Valley area. Most may be too hilly for you because of your knees, but some are suitable. Also, there are a lot of beautiful sights you can get to without having to hike to them.

Since this thread is so old and so long, I am posting a new thread with information for you on places to stay and things to do. Look for the thread titled “West Virginia Canaan Valley”.

Thanks emd! The Lodge suites look inviting. I will be looking into this for the spring. We love wildlife and beautiful scenery. I would prefer the cabins, however, no tv. We are so spoiled!