Romance, Snakes, and Sledding in Tucker County
Blackwater Falls has a somewhat mythical reputation in my family. It was supposed to be the site of my parents’ honeymoon in 1981. Unfortunately, my grandmother’s health was declining rapidly at the time, leading my parents to cancel the trip. As work and family commitments started to mount, the trip was delayed indefinitely. For years, I heard about how Blackwater Falls was the honeymoon that never was. Dad regularly talked about the falls and how great the trip would have been. I could tell that he regretted not being able to give mom a proper honeymoon.
In 2000, the summer before my sophomore year in high school, I finally got to see Blackwater Falls in person. Mom had a conference at Canaan Valley State Park, only 10 miles south of Blackwater Falls. We drove up to the falls one afternoon, fishing poles in hand, and it was just as my dad had described. The aptly-named Blackwater River, with its dark colored water from the decaying organic matter it picked up along its course through Canaan Valley, surged over the 60-foot tall cliff and disappeared through the deep canyon downstream. I made a few casts into the river a couple hundred yards upstream from the falls until a water snake floated over to the rocks about ten feet below my spot on the bank. I decided that I had fished enough for the day!
Nearly two decades after my first visit to Blackwater Falls, I wanted my wife to see the place that had occupied such a special place in my mind as a child. We walked down the same steps I had walked so many years earlier with my parents to see the falls close-up. We snapped some pictures and then spent the rest of the day exploring Canaan Valley. We visited the boutiques and antique stores in Thomas and Davis and then made our way to Dolly Sods for more sightseeing. In 2021, we returned to Tucker County to go snow tubing at Canaan Valley, and for the first time we got to see the falls in winter. It looked remarkably different in January than it did in the summer, but it was just as beautiful with the icy falls surrounded by spruce trees.
Kim and I enjoyed tubing so much, we decided to go again this past winter. Since tubing sessions are only two hours long, I started exploring the West Virginia State Parks website for other things to do. On the Blackwater Falls page, I saw “sledding” under the activities tab. That definitely piqued my interest because I never missed an opportunity to go sledding as a child. During my previous visits to Blackwater Falls, I didn’t remember anything about sledding. Was it a bring-your-own sled type of thing, or was there a dedicated area where you could rent equipment? It turned out to be the latter. There is a snow sports activity area on the road to Lindy Point with the longest sled run on the East Coast. We purchased our tickets and got our snow pants and mittens ready to go!
It was unusually mild when we arrived at Blackwater Falls for sledding. Temps were in the high 40’s, which felt toasty with our heavy coats and pants. After participating in a 10-minute safety session, we grabbed our sleds and headed for the “magic carpet.” The six-minute ride to the top passed through a peaceful, snow-covered forest before letting us out at the top of the sled run. Unlike tubing, there are no lanes. Each rider must control their sled and regulate their speed with their hands and feet, just like sledding down the hill as a kid!
I was a little nervous as I sat at the edge of the long, steep sled run. I watched a teenager crash into a snow bank about 30 feet from the top of the hill. However, my anxiety quickly faded because I found the sled relatively easy to steer. The length of the run allows riders to reach speeds well over 20 mph, which was the fastest I had ever been on a sled! It isn’t quite as fast as tubing, but it’s every bit as fun and exhilarating. The sled run begins to flatten out at the bottom, so you can come to a stop by lightly dragging your feet for the last few seconds. The ability to control the sled is a totally different experience than tubing, where you hang on and go where the u-shaped lane takes you.
After we had gone down the hill several times, we decided to grab lunch at the Smokehouse Restaurant. I am a sucker for pulled pork, so I went with the classic BBQ sandwich with slaw. Kim got a club sandwich and fries. It was fantastic! The newly remodeled Smokehouse restaurant overlooks the Blackwater Canyon. The Smokehouse reminded me of The Overlook restaurant at Hawks Nest and the Bluestone Dining Room at Pipestem. All three restaurants overlook deep river gorges, which offer some incredible dining experiences!
Over the years, I have developed a deep appreciation for West Virginia’s State Park system. I love staying in the rustic cabins and Adirondack-style lodges. Many of the natural lands protected by the State of WV would be more than worthy as National Parks, and indeed, both Hawks Nest and Babcock State Parks border the New River Gorge National Park boundaries. The Canaan Valley-Blackwater Falls area of Tucker County is just as special as anywhere in the state. Abundant wildlife, peaceful rivers, a deep canyon, vast wetlands, colorful boutiques, and endless outdoor recreation opportunities await at 3200’ in the highest valley east of the Mississippi River.
By the way, on my parent’s 25th anniversary in 2006, while yours truly was off to college in Indiana, my parents finally got their honeymoon at Blackwater Falls.
