Archive for August, 2009

What’s The Big Deal With Nicholas County?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

In the northernmost reaches of Southern West Virginia (?!) are the beautiful rolling hills of Nicholas County.  It’s the gateway to

Summersville Lake

Summersville Lake

West Virginia’s mountain lakes region, and there’s a lot going on up that-a-way.

First up on the Nicholas County list of cool things is, of course, the world famous Gauley River.  Nicholas shares the big time whitewater part of the Gauley with Fayette County, it’s fine neighbor to the south, and they are brought together once every year for the phenomenon known as Gauley Season.

Gauley Season starts the weekend after Labor Day Weekend and rolls into mid-October.  During that time, the whitewater world descends on the Nicholas county area for food, recreation, and some of the wildest excitement this side of, well, northern West Virginia.

Nicholas County famously won the war to host Gauley Fest, the largest whitewater festival in the world.  Gauley fest is a little hard to describe- part trade show, part family reunion, and part outdoor nightclub is probably as close as anyone is going to get.  One thing’s for sure:  if you go, you’ll never forget it.

Nicholas county also gets to claim what’s on the other side of the dam there on the Gauley River – Summersville Lake.  The lake is often referred to by divers as the “Little Bahamas Of The East”.  That’s a bit confusing, as the original Bahamas are also little and located, well, east.  But who cares?  It only means that the diving is fantastic, clear, and scenic.

Nicholas County is also home to it’s very own winery and distillery which hosts an annual ‘Grape Stomping Festival‘ in September.  (Anyone thinking of Lucy and Ethel stomping grapes?)

The lake also boasts something lakes are not really famous for – great climbing.  A lot of the river outfitters (and all of the area’s climbing outfitters) take climbing trips  to the sheer sandstone walls that rise straight up out of the lake.  It’s the perfect place to go if you want to have a climbing experience that’s way, way out of the ordinary.

Beyond the lake is the town of Summersville, the county seat.  Summersville is not unlike some other towns in southern West Virginia in that its buildings are beautiful, its people are friendly, and its food is outstanding.  Anyone visiting southern West Virginia from the north owes it to themselves to stop over in Summersville and hang out for a while.

Summersville also attracts plenty of art, music, and culture from the rest of the county, and puts it all in one place.  The town often hosts touring productions of plays, big name music acts, and entertainment of every stripe.  The performing artists that come through are eclectic and interesting; they make it always  worth checking out the Nicholas County calendar of events.

Wasn’t music mentioned there a while back?  Nicholas County hosts what’s often the country’s biggest bluegrass festival, Music in the Mountains.  For almost 30 years, the lineup at Music in the Mountains has gotten bigger and better.  It’s a staple for the festival crowd, and a sight for any and all travelers to see.

Plus, there’s tons of other stuff to see and do in Nicholas County.  This is just a tiny fraction of it.

Interested?

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Top 10 Things To Do At Beckley’s Appalachian Festival

Monday, August 17th, 2009

As big admirers of all things Appalachian, the Southern West Virginia CVB offers you up this list.  Come to the Appalachian Festival, and get your last

Quilts - Appalachian Arts & Crafts Fest

Quilts - Appalachian Arts & Crafts Fest

summer fun in the southern WV way!

•    Hillbilly Breakfast – Biscuits-n-gravy, and… well that’s all you need to  say    really (plenty of other stuff, too).
•    Arts and Crafts Fair – This is the 45th annual event, where you can find knicks, knacks, and pretty much every combination thereof.
•    Coal Mine Tour -  The tour goes on all the time, but there’s a deep discount (by showing your Appalachian Arts & Crafts Fair ticket stub) during the Festival!  It’s always worth going underground for this one.
•    Strolling Musicians -  It’s like a bluegrass mariachi band; just eat lunch in the park and enjoy the show.
•    Ghost Tours – Find out what the dead are up to in Uptown Beckley as you tour some beautiful homes with some frightful history right in town.
•   Live Music at Grandview – There’s nothing better on the last nights of summer that showing up at the outdoor amphitheater at Grandview for an outdoor show.
•    Flea Market - Everything from apples to stuffed zebras is on sale, and then some.  If you’re a bargain hunter, this is for you.
•    Kids Crafts – Traditional artisans show up to teach kids how to make something special with the soul of the mountains in it.
•    Taste Of Appalachia -  Everything worth eating in a 50 mile radius will be on hand to try out.  This is the perfect event for the appetite that wants everything.
•    Classic Car Show -  How did so many great cars wind up in southern West Virginia?  You’ll have to go to the car show to find out.  Worth every second.

Do you have other favorites?  Tell us…

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What’s The Big Deal With Summers County?

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Pipestem State Park Tram

Pipestem State Park Tram

If you go less than 200 miles from home, is that considered a “stay-cation”?  If so, and you live in Southern West Virginia, go ahead and sign up for one in Summers County.

Hinton’s there.  If you have any interest in railroads, or rivers, or coal mining history, or hot dogs (you know what I’m talkin’ about!) that’s your town.  Hinton was a hub in during the coal boom, mainly because 3 major rivers, and as many major rail lines, come together there.

Trivia:  Guess which rivers.  If you said the Elk, Big Coal, and Kanawha, you’re wrong! And you’re thinking of Charleston.  The three rivers that meet in Hinton are the Bluestone, the Greenbrier, and the New.

And, it just so happens that Hinton is also the gateway to some of the coolest outdoor recreation in SWV.  That’s saying a lot.

Bluestone State Park
Just minutes down the road from Hinton is Bluestone State Park, at the mouth of the Bluestone River where it joins the New.  Actually, that’s all part of Bluestone Lake, being backed up by the Bluestone Dam.

But the park – the park is awesome!  Very laid back.  Clean.  Friendly folks.  Lots of space.  The cabins are the way to go if you want to be up on the mountain, but there’s a lot of great camping down at the river.

A bonus is the YPP- Young People for Parks program.  A naturalist meets up with kids every afternoon and evening to explore part of the park.  Check out the bats, find wild mushrooms, go fishing, and on and on.  It’s a very cool program for keeping the kids entertained.

Pipestem
Pipestem is a jewel in the crown of the West Virginia State Parks system.   The park opens up to a big rolling hill of green grass and tall trees, pushed right up to the edge of the Bluestone River Gorge.

Let’s just say that the picture window in the lodge is a good place to spend about 15 hours watching wildlife.  Deer, bear, all kinds of birds.  Walk outside and you’re in a painting.

Also, there’s a ton to do.  If you have kids, and you want the “park” experience, go there.  Archery, interpretive hikes, swimming.  Mini golf, not-so mini golf (par 3 course), big golf.  Camping, cabins,  and two lodges – one’s accessible only by tram.

That’s right.  I said tram.

The place is like a perfect mountain getaway, with plenty to do.  And plenty to not do.  It all depends on what you want.

Bet Summers County has it.

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Waterfall Watching In Southern West Virginia

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

5 Must-See Cascades In the Mountain State

Sandstone Falls

Sandstone Falls

One thing about people:  we’re attracted to water.  Something about vacations lead us to lakes, rivers, and oceans.  Ski vacations?  Yep.  Frozen water.  We can’t get enough of the stuff.

And we love to watch it fall.  Give people a Sunday drive and a picnic next to a waterfall, and it’s like you’ve set the stage to solve the world’s problems.  At least for an hour or so.

Here are some of our favorites…

Sandstone Falls
Stretching across the New River just below the town of Hinton, Sandstone Falls is an impressive piece of waterfall-ery.  On the far left side of the river, there’s a nice, uniform break. On the right side, the river gets squeezed and channeled into a torrent of exploding, frothy whitewater.  It’s inside the New River Gorge National Park so the boardwalks and viewing area here are well maintained.  Don’t miss it.

Twin Falls
Nestled up inside Twin Falls Resort State Park are the beautiful Marsh Fork Falls and Black Fork Falls that the resort is named for.  These are easy to find (take the Falls Trail) and well worth the stop.  The first set of falls, Marsh Fork, is only 1/10 of a mile from the trailhead, with the Black Fork coming in about ½ mile later.  If they named the whole place after these waterfalls, that means they’re something to see.

Kanawha Falls
If you drive through Glen Ferris, you cannot miss the great Kanawha Falls.  Just glance over at where it looks like the entire river broke in half.  Kanawha Falls is a series of ledges, and it’s easy to see where the river had been dammed up.  Stretching from one side of the river to the other, Kanawha Falls is the very first feature of the river, still visible from where the New and the Gauley make their confluence.  Just a short distance from Kanawha Falls is Cathedral Falls – another can’t miss!

Glade Creek Falls
Just outside of Beckley and still within the New River Gorge National Park, you’ll find Glade Creek Falls.  The big falls are at the bottom of the creek just upstream from where the creek meets the river.  This is an impressive drop to see when you’re looking at the creek with a lot of water in it.  When the water is low, this is great for swimming, with a big jump into the pool below for the adventurous.

Sweet’s Falls
The world famous Sweet’s Falls on West Virginia’s mighty Gauley River is only available for viewing one way:  going over it.  Rafters have had a love affair with Sweets Falls for nearly 40 years, and there is nothing- repeat: NOTHING- like running the falls during Gauley Season in autumn.  The big bonus is that, once you go over, you get to turn around and watch others test their luck on the same drop.  Part fun, part coliseum, at Sweet’s Falls, rafters prove the old rule of thumb, “Sometimes you watch the show, and sometimes you are the show.”

Okay, there’s our five.  Which ones did we miss?  Please, share your favorites with us- one of the great things about the Mountain State is that there’s so much falling water around.

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