With all of the outdoor adventures that await in the Mountain
State, camping is a wonderful way to experience them all.
Rustic Retreats
Nature is your hostess in West Virginia’s 50 State Parks, which encompass more
than 200,000 acres of spruce and hardwood forests. She’ll put you to sleep
with the music of crickets and wake you with birdsongs, just the way she did when
you went to summer camp. In many cases, there will be a lake or river at your front
door – if you choose to have a door rather than a tent flap.
Most State Parks have well-situated campgrounds with sites
from deluxe to primitive. If you prefer a hard roof over your head, more than a
dozen parks and forests have rustic cabins tucked in the woods and isolated from
each other. Varying in size, they are reasonably priced and perfect for family gatherings
or romantic escapes.
For a complete directory, visit http://www.wvstateparks.com/lodging/camping.htm
A Hotel on Wheels
It's big. It's new. It's open for business.
Centrally located right off Interstate 79 in the heart of Central West Virginia,
the new
Flatwoods RV Park is a one-stop recreational vehicle campground. Nestled
behind the Flatwoods Days Inn, the park features 50 expansive lots and wide, paved
roads.
You can enjoy the great outdoors without leaving the comforts of home. All guests
are granted full access to the amenities at the Days Inn, plus all 50 sites include full electric, water
and sewer service, fire pit, grill and a concrete patio. The on-site Mountain Lakes Amphitheater is a state-of-the-art 2,000-plus
capacity outdoor venue offering occasional concerts by local and national artists.
What a Wilderness
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When it comes to feeding an appetite for adventure, few
places are better equipped than West Virginia. This vast and rugged natural playground
offers incomparable challenges, idyllic charms – and plenty of surprises.
For example, the sprawling Monongahela National Forest in Pocahontas County provides
an astonishing array of sights and diversions. For a peak experience, visit Spruce Knob, the highest point in the state. A stone-and-steel
platform atop the peak offers panoramic views from 4,863 feet above sea level. Nearby
Seneca Rocks, a majestic formation of Tuscarora sandstone, ranks as a premier rock-climbing
destination.
Continue Monongahela explorations by taking a boardwalk stroll over marshy bogs
filled with ancient varieties of moss, orchids, insect-eating plants and other amazing
flora at Cranberry Glades Botanical Area. Or wander an ecosystem
that resembles a bit of transplanted Alaska on the 25 miles of trail that wind through
the Dolly Sods Wilderness. This high plateau, located on a crest
of the Eastern Continental Divide, is home to everything from huckleberry heaths
to hardwoods and offers superb wildlife viewing opportunities.
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Flying, Climbing and Geo-what?
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Extreme sports enthusiasts may choose to soar over the scenic
wonders of West Virginia by paragliding. Experienced paragliders can spend five
or more hours catching thermal lifts and climbing thousands of feet above the earth.
Certified instructor Dwayne McCourt of Fly West Virginia, based in Webster Springs, introduces
newcomers to this addictive, airborne activity.
For earthbound thrills, Nelson Rocks Preserve in Judy Gap, southeast of Elkins, offers
the first American via ferrata, which is Italian for "iron way." This
half-mile long, Alpine-style climbing system incorporates fixed steel cables and
metal rungs for traversing vertical surfaces and drapes a heart-pounding, 230-foot
long swinging foot bridge 150 feet above wicked and wild terrain. The permanent
paraphernalia enables beginners to enjoy a level of excitement usually experienced
only by rock-savvy technical climbers.
Techno-geeks can lose themselves in pursuit of "treasure"
– actually quite modest trinkets – through geocaching, a high-tech version of an old-time scavenger
hunt that uses Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. Canaan Valley Resort State
Park is a hot spot for this trendy international game, and the resort rents GPS
locators for a reasonable fee, so everyone can get in on the fun.
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