Is Wheeling W. VA worth visiting?
 

I'm going to be visiting family in SW Pennsylvania in June -- the closest city is Wheeling. Is it worth a side trip? I'm a tatooed San Franciscan looking for nice quiet nature walks and adventurous thrift shopping, with a year-old baby in tow. Are guys in pickup trucks going to throw things at me? If it is just a strip-malled out cr@phole please warn me now.

I'm not sure where you are going to be in SW PA - we now live in Pittsburgh, but I grew up in Wheeling. Like other places in SW PA and West Virgina, Wheeling has seen a population decline and is not the same place it was even 20 years ago. Wheeling was a lovely place to grow up in, but like a lot of places in our area of SW PA/Eastern OH/Northern WV, its downtown has seen better days. In my mind, Wheeling's best feature is Oglebay Park. It's a sprawling park with a little bit of everything - tennis, golf courses, horseback riding, playgrounds, a small zoo, an Environmental Center, lovely old pool, gardens and a mansion-museum that includes a glass museum highlighting Wheeling's past as a glass-making center. There are plenty of good walking sites.The Oglebay website is:
www.oglebay-resort.com/homepage.htm. It doesn't do the park justice, but at least you can get an idea. Although we are just an hour away here in Pittsburgh, we recently stayed at Oglebay's Wilson Lodge for a family event, and the staff could not have been friendlier.
Feel free to write back if you have additional questions (about Wheeling or Pittsburgh).

>>>>Are guys in pickup trucks going to throw things at me?

Wheeling is "The Friendly City," not redneck central. We have plenty of tattooed folk here, too.

June would be a great time to explore Oglebay Park with the baby, who might like the Good Zoo, playground, lake, walking paths, gardens, etc. You might enjoy the Centre Market section of Wheeling for shopping - very eclectic, and not at all like a strip mall.

In fact, there are very few strip malls in Wheeling, come to think of it. A walk at Heritage Port along the river might be fun, too.
No, it's not a craphole, in other words. It's a nice, friendly city that has been in economic decline but is trying to come out of it.

There's also a brewpub, Nail City Brewing Co., with decent food.

I could think of some places near Pittsburgh that would be much more worthwhile than Wheeling.... Olegbay is nice and your one year old might like it.

Pittsburgh
- South Side
- Strip district (fresh fruit etc.)
- Kennywood (your baby might like the old fashion amusement park)
- Falling water
- The Laurel Highlands
- A ride on the incline

By all means, you must go to Pittsburgh's Strip District for your fresh fruit! No place in Wheeling can offer fresh fruit. Falling Water and the Laurel Highlands are a longer drive from Pgh than Wheeling, by the way.

Correction: Nail City Brewing Co. in Wheeling now is known as River City Ale Works. No matter, it's still a nice restaurant in an historic building.