The Great West Virginia Road Trip
The vagabond lifestyle isn’t something I always imagined for myself, but one that I have adopted over the last two years. Crisscrossing back and forth across the country living out of my vehicle, working seasonal jobs, and embracing a life where every day is a new adventure. Though my nomadic life has taken me places I never thought I would go, West Virginia has always remained my “home base”.
After being put out of my job and ‘house’ in September due to a wildfire in California, my partner, Luke, and I decided to head back to the Mountain State. Along the way, we started having car trouble and had to think about trading in our vehicle. The natural choice for us was to join the #VanLife movement, and purchase a van to convert into a home on wheels! We had been working on our van for several weeks installing insulation, a floor, and a custom bed when we started itching for another adventure. Thus, the Great West Virginia Road Trip came to be.
Day 1
We began our epic West Virginia road trip at the New River Gorge National Park! Having spent extensive time at this park, we opted to keep our visit here short. But if you’re feeling adventurous you could easily visit this park and the town of Fayetteville for several days!
After witnessing the breathtaking site of mist coming off the mountains surrounding the Gorge, we drove 20 minutes north to Babcock state park. It was the perfect day to stop and take some photos of the famous Grist Mill. Babcock State Park is also home to a wide variety of activities like hiking, biking, camping, and boating.
We were lucky enough to make an extra stop to visit my grandparents and have dinner with them before pushing our way to the Monongahela National Forest! This national forest covers more than 910,000 wild and wonderful acres over 10 counties and is considered by the Nature Conservancy to be in an area of global ecological importance.
Our first stop in the national forest was the Falls of Hills Creek, three beautiful stacked waterfalls including the second highest in the state! From here we drove to Cranberry Glades, a 750-acre area where the plant and animal life resembles that found in the arctic tundra.
Day 2
After spending our first night in the van at a dispersed campsite, we woke up early and took another stroll around the Cranberry Glades boardwalk before jumping in the van to drive north on the Highland Scenic Highway. This beautiful drive features several scenic overlooks of the Allegheny Mountains that will take your breath away!
We hopped off the Highland Scenic Highway near Snowshoe Mountain. If you’ve never been to Snowshoe I would highly recommend adding this mountain resort to your list! Known best as a ski resort, Snowshoe isn’t only a winter getaway, you can plan a visit during all four seasons. Whether it's mountain biking and hiking in the summer, leaf peeping in the fall, or at a relaxing spa getaway in the spring Snowshoe has so much to offer for every visitor.
After taking in the mountain views at Snowshoe, we made our way to the historic company town of Cass to ride the Cass Scenic Railroad! Cass State Park offers several different scenic train rides to choose from, and is the most picturesque way to experience West Virginia. The most popular of these trips is the 4.5 hour trip to the top of Bald knob, but was unfortunately sold out when we visited. Luckily we were able to snag tickets on the Durbin Rocket, and rode the historic steam engine along the Greenbrier River!
DAY 3
On the third day of our road trip we continued north to Spruce Knob. At 4,863 feet above sea level, Spruce Knob is West Virginia’s highest point. This was a bucket list item for Luke and I, as we work towards our goal of summiting the high point in all 50 states! We walked along the Whispering spruce trail and took in the endless views. From the summit there were mountains as far as the eye could see, and it had a way of soothing the soul.
After enjoying our morning on Spruce Knob, we made our way to the iconic Seneca Rocks! Wanting to continue our theme of high points we hiked the Seneca Rocks Trail, where we scrambled to the top to take in the 360 view of the West Virginia hills. I wouldn't recommend this hike to everyone, as it was strenuous. But we are extremely experienced hikers and had no problem navigating the rock scramble to the top.
I will say this was one of the most incredible hikes I’ve done in West Virginia. While sitting on top of the rocks, I truly felt like I was almost in heaven.
We spent about 40 minutes at the summit of Seneca rocks, before having a picnic lunch by the van and heading to our next destination. Which just happened to be one of my favorite places in West Virginia, the Dolly Sods Wilderness. The ground at the Sods looked as if it was on fire, with the berry bushes having turned a vibrant crimson, you wouldn't have believed such a place could exist. We spent the evening hiking through the wilderness area, even trying some of the wild blueberries that survived through the summer, before setting up camp at the Red Creek Campground.
DAY 4
The final day of our West Virginia Road Trip took us from the Dolly Sods to Blackwater Falls State Park and the town of Thomas. The park’s main attraction, the 57 foot high Blackwater Fall, is named such because the tannin from pine needles has dyed the water a dark amber color. After doing some hiking in the park and taking in the vibrant autumn hues of the canyon the weather turned to rain and we started to get hungry.
We made our way to the town of Thomas, where we had lunch and some locally brewed craft beers at the Purple Fiddle. Sadly we couldn’t stay to watch the live music that evening, but we did walk around and visit some of the other awesome shops on the town's main street before making our way back ‘home’.
I was sad to see our West Virginia road trip come to an end, but I feel so lucky to have had this experience! A few things I should mention: there is no cell service in the Monongahela National Forest so stop by the WV visitor center and get a paper road map, Cass Scenic Railroad sells out fast so purchase your ticket online ahead of time, always practice leave no trace principles, but most importantly have fun! West Virginia has some of the best scenery and outdoor recreation in the US, and this road trip definitely helped confirm that. Hopefully after reading this you’ll feel inspired to get out and explore Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.
