Head out southeast a bit. Spruce Knob, North Fork (Chimney Top) and Seneca Rocks.
Every town is a mountain town up here lol but Davis and Thomas are really cool in the Canaan Valley, right next to Blackwater Falls.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear it! I was hopeful Davis will be a nice place to see! You have made me even more excited to explore! I have heard of Seneca Rocks. Is Spruce Knob a good place to hike, or is it not too accessible?
If you visit Davis, stop in Big belly deli for a bite to eat. My wife and I were there in November, stayed in Canaan valley. Great small town. We got to see the Christmas tree that was headed for the capital, was pretty cool.
Spruce Knob has great, though very flat and easy, hiking trails; some are even just gravel paths. They aren't too long either, you can walk all the way around the peak itself within 20-30 minutes. It is very interesting up there, as the fauna is very obviously different from just another thousand or so feet below the top. It has ecology not found south of Canada, or so I have read. In the area, there is Dolly Sods which has a bit more rugged hiking with longer trails and, again, amazing views and nature. Seneca Rocks has a trail up to the top, but honestly really dedicate a day to doing it. It's 3.6 miles uphill, with a \~1000 foot elevation gain. I haven't done it yet, but I imagine it is beautiful up there on the rocks. Seneca Rocks is my favorite spot in West Virginia for natural beauty, that whole area is.
But yes, Davis, Thomas, and Parsons are three towns all very near to each other. They have restaurants and shops, and the brewery in Thomas is great. Blackwater Falls is essentially in Davis, which is our highest waterfall at around 70 feet. It is a nice river to swim in. I went with my friends to this spot that had some abandoned coal company store and coke ovens, and there was a pretty tall waterfall you could hang out in near there.
Another cool cluster of places is south of the Canaan Valley area. Bald Knob down near Snowshoe (our most visited ski town) is our second tallest peak. The Cass scenic railroad (literally like 10-15 minutes from Snowshoe) does a trip up to the top, but keep in mind it's an 8 hour round trip by train. I heard they do serve drinks on it though. The Green Bank Telescope--the largest steerable radio telescope in the world--is right beside there too. And goddamn it's huge. You don't need a tour or anything either, you can just walk around the grounds.
The Allegheny Mountains are our tallest region in West Virginia, they run North to South from Maryland into the Thomas area, through Elkins, down all the way into Virginia. That whole region is what you're looking for.
I'd also add Elkins as a small city to visit, the downtown has a very large, nice restored train depot that is used for excursion trains, and there are some cool places to eat there; I recommend El Gran Sabor, with Venezuelan cuisine. Elkins sits in a valley between two ridges, and makes a good base to explore the Monongahela National Forest.
Dolly Sods Wilderness Area is highly worth a visit. It sits on a high plateau above Canaan Valley. The main forest road through there can get crowded, especially on weekends, but a short hike and there are not many people. The Bear Rocks area there can get crowded but the views are to die for.
You are pretty much going to be in prime mountain visiting location. Coopers rock is 10 minutes from Morgantown, Seneca rocks, spruce knob, black water canyon, dolly sods, snowshoe, ohiopyle (not in wv but still cool) are all within a couple hours of there. You will be able to see pretty much everything I mentioned on the same loop if you want to take a day trip.
So cool! I have never heard of ohiopyle, but I want to check it out! Cooper's Rock looks awesome, and I didn't realize it would be so close, definitely going to go ASAP.
Across the cheat river canyon from cooper's Rock is the snake hill wildlife management area. Several lookouts to get a different view of cooper's Rock.
Morgantown has Coopers Rock which is great, but if you go a bit further out you have some of the most beautiful mountains in the world at the Monongahela National Forest. You could honestly make a weekend out of it, visiting Blackwater Falls, stopping for shopping at Davis and Thomas, having a day hike at Seneca Rocks and Spruce Knob, camping at Dolly Sods, there’s a lot of recreational opportunities there.
You also have the newest addition to the National Parks further south at the New River Gorge which has some fantastic trails and white water rafting. That’s only two examples, but there are hundreds of hiking opportunities through equally beautiful mountains all across this state.
As people have mentioned, Davis & Thomas are cool little towns next to blackwater falls and Canaan Valley. South East has dolly sods, spruce knob, and Seneca Rocks all in relative closeness. Elkins is a cool mountain town. Fayetteville is near New River Gorge and Summersville Lake. White Sulphur Springs is home of the Greenbriar Hotel and deep in the mountains. Cranberry Glades is in pocahontas County and tons of trails nearby it. There's so much more honestly that is awesome to see too, but those are decent highlights
Great spot and they made it nice now. Imagine back in the day prior to interstate when they shops were open! I think my name is spray painted in the abandoned buildings back in the ‘90s! Lol
Around Morgantown you’ll want visit “blue hole” “wonder falls”, and “ravens rock” at Coopers Rock state forest. You can hike in the state forest and the university forest which is close to coopers rock.
Edit: you can DM me if you need directions or more info
No, it's not. The Appalachian cordillera or mountain system is made up of several different ranges. Unless you mean the Blue Ridge in the eastern panhandle, then they are not.
Yes technically they are but they all make up the Appalachian. But I think i know what you mean. The specific look of the Blue Ridge here.
Apologies. Im a bit hungover today. Brain isnt totally on yet.
No worries! Yes, I get you! The Blue Ridge here is NC are a bit taller and made of different rocks and have different flora and stuff like that. Because of this, it gives the mountains and towns in the Blue Ridge a bit of a different feeling to me. So far, I have only been to a few places in WV, so take this with a grain of salt, but some of the plateau is just as similar to the Ozarks as it is the Blue Ridge.
Once you get above 3500-4000' in WV you will see flora you are familiar with, or very similar, especially out in and around the Mon National Forest. Much like the Blue Ridge and the Black Mountains, there is a large population of red spruce, eastern hemlock, and other high Appalachian species. And sometimes it gets downright weird; check out Cranberry Glades, which is a Canadian-style boreal bog at about 3500' in the Mon National Forest, with Canadian Yew, carnivorous plants, stuff left over from the last Ice Age, it's wild and spectacular.
Keep in mind that the highest peaks of WV might be 2000' lower than the highest peaks of NC, but the climate at this latitude is cooler in general than down there, so those mountaintops have similar species.
You'll notice that once you cross East Mountain into WV that the mountains are not in ridge formation the way they are in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's more random and chaotic.
The western part of WV was formed by eroding the Appalachian plateau. Hence, the mountain valleys follow the dendritic pattern of the waters that have drained the plateau for millenia. If you go further east in WV, you will see the classic ridge and valley style of the Appalachian Mountains formed from eroding the folds from the American and European plates colliding. It actually makes WV really cool geologically!
Head out southeast a bit. Spruce Knob, North Fork (Chimney Top) and Seneca Rocks. Every town is a mountain town up here lol but Davis and Thomas are really cool in the Canaan Valley, right next to Blackwater Falls.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear it! I was hopeful Davis will be a nice place to see! You have made me even more excited to explore! I have heard of Seneca Rocks. Is Spruce Knob a good place to hike, or is it not too accessible?
Spruce Knob has some great hiking trails that are easily accessible from the parking lot by the observation tower.
If you visit Davis, stop in Big belly deli for a bite to eat. My wife and I were there in November, stayed in Canaan valley. Great small town. We got to see the Christmas tree that was headed for the capital, was pretty cool.
Spruce Knob has great, though very flat and easy, hiking trails; some are even just gravel paths. They aren't too long either, you can walk all the way around the peak itself within 20-30 minutes. It is very interesting up there, as the fauna is very obviously different from just another thousand or so feet below the top. It has ecology not found south of Canada, or so I have read. In the area, there is Dolly Sods which has a bit more rugged hiking with longer trails and, again, amazing views and nature. Seneca Rocks has a trail up to the top, but honestly really dedicate a day to doing it. It's 3.6 miles uphill, with a \~1000 foot elevation gain. I haven't done it yet, but I imagine it is beautiful up there on the rocks. Seneca Rocks is my favorite spot in West Virginia for natural beauty, that whole area is. But yes, Davis, Thomas, and Parsons are three towns all very near to each other. They have restaurants and shops, and the brewery in Thomas is great. Blackwater Falls is essentially in Davis, which is our highest waterfall at around 70 feet. It is a nice river to swim in. I went with my friends to this spot that had some abandoned coal company store and coke ovens, and there was a pretty tall waterfall you could hang out in near there. Another cool cluster of places is south of the Canaan Valley area. Bald Knob down near Snowshoe (our most visited ski town) is our second tallest peak. The Cass scenic railroad (literally like 10-15 minutes from Snowshoe) does a trip up to the top, but keep in mind it's an 8 hour round trip by train. I heard they do serve drinks on it though. The Green Bank Telescope--the largest steerable radio telescope in the world--is right beside there too. And goddamn it's huge. You don't need a tour or anything either, you can just walk around the grounds. The Allegheny Mountains are our tallest region in West Virginia, they run North to South from Maryland into the Thomas area, through Elkins, down all the way into Virginia. That whole region is what you're looking for.
I'd also add Elkins as a small city to visit, the downtown has a very large, nice restored train depot that is used for excursion trains, and there are some cool places to eat there; I recommend El Gran Sabor, with Venezuelan cuisine. Elkins sits in a valley between two ridges, and makes a good base to explore the Monongahela National Forest. Dolly Sods Wilderness Area is highly worth a visit. It sits on a high plateau above Canaan Valley. The main forest road through there can get crowded, especially on weekends, but a short hike and there are not many people. The Bear Rocks area there can get crowded but the views are to die for.
You are pretty much going to be in prime mountain visiting location. Coopers rock is 10 minutes from Morgantown, Seneca rocks, spruce knob, black water canyon, dolly sods, snowshoe, ohiopyle (not in wv but still cool) are all within a couple hours of there. You will be able to see pretty much everything I mentioned on the same loop if you want to take a day trip.
Do not miss Dolly Sods.
My favorite place on earth. The hike to Rocky Point is challenging but the view of the Red Creek watershed is incredible.
So cool! I have never heard of ohiopyle, but I want to check it out! Cooper's Rock looks awesome, and I didn't realize it would be so close, definitely going to go ASAP.
Across the cheat river canyon from cooper's Rock is the snake hill wildlife management area. Several lookouts to get a different view of cooper's Rock.
By all means, see the New River Gorge. The view from Endless Wall is breathtaking.
I certainly want to! I've only driven over it.
Do the tour where you walk the catwalk under the bridge. It’s 100% worth it
Morgantown has Coopers Rock which is great, but if you go a bit further out you have some of the most beautiful mountains in the world at the Monongahela National Forest. You could honestly make a weekend out of it, visiting Blackwater Falls, stopping for shopping at Davis and Thomas, having a day hike at Seneca Rocks and Spruce Knob, camping at Dolly Sods, there’s a lot of recreational opportunities there. You also have the newest addition to the National Parks further south at the New River Gorge which has some fantastic trails and white water rafting. That’s only two examples, but there are hundreds of hiking opportunities through equally beautiful mountains all across this state.
As people have mentioned, Davis & Thomas are cool little towns next to blackwater falls and Canaan Valley. South East has dolly sods, spruce knob, and Seneca Rocks all in relative closeness. Elkins is a cool mountain town. Fayetteville is near New River Gorge and Summersville Lake. White Sulphur Springs is home of the Greenbriar Hotel and deep in the mountains. Cranberry Glades is in pocahontas County and tons of trails nearby it. There's so much more honestly that is awesome to see too, but those are decent highlights
If you like mountains and are coming in through I-77 make sure to stop off at the East River mountain overlook. Best views in the southern half of WV.
Great spot and they made it nice now. Imagine back in the day prior to interstate when they shops were open! I think my name is spray painted in the abandoned buildings back in the ‘90s! Lol
Around Morgantown you’ll want visit “blue hole” “wonder falls”, and “ravens rock” at Coopers Rock state forest. You can hike in the state forest and the university forest which is close to coopers rock. Edit: you can DM me if you need directions or more info
Its literally the same range of mountains.
No, it's not. The Appalachian cordillera or mountain system is made up of several different ranges. Unless you mean the Blue Ridge in the eastern panhandle, then they are not.
Yes technically they are but they all make up the Appalachian. But I think i know what you mean. The specific look of the Blue Ridge here. Apologies. Im a bit hungover today. Brain isnt totally on yet.
No worries! Yes, I get you! The Blue Ridge here is NC are a bit taller and made of different rocks and have different flora and stuff like that. Because of this, it gives the mountains and towns in the Blue Ridge a bit of a different feeling to me. So far, I have only been to a few places in WV, so take this with a grain of salt, but some of the plateau is just as similar to the Ozarks as it is the Blue Ridge.
Once you get above 3500-4000' in WV you will see flora you are familiar with, or very similar, especially out in and around the Mon National Forest. Much like the Blue Ridge and the Black Mountains, there is a large population of red spruce, eastern hemlock, and other high Appalachian species. And sometimes it gets downright weird; check out Cranberry Glades, which is a Canadian-style boreal bog at about 3500' in the Mon National Forest, with Canadian Yew, carnivorous plants, stuff left over from the last Ice Age, it's wild and spectacular. Keep in mind that the highest peaks of WV might be 2000' lower than the highest peaks of NC, but the climate at this latitude is cooler in general than down there, so those mountaintops have similar species.
You'll notice that once you cross East Mountain into WV that the mountains are not in ridge formation the way they are in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's more random and chaotic.
The western part of WV was formed by eroding the Appalachian plateau. Hence, the mountain valleys follow the dendritic pattern of the waters that have drained the plateau for millenia. If you go further east in WV, you will see the classic ridge and valley style of the Appalachian Mountains formed from eroding the folds from the American and European plates colliding. It actually makes WV really cool geologically!
Morgantown, check out Cooper’s Rock for sure.
Hike to Chimney Top on North Fork Mountain Thank me later
I always like the dolly sods. It’s the product of an environmental disaster but a special place.