Five Must-See National Forests & Parks (Martinsburg, Elkins: houses, buses, ferry)

[snorpus]

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

"The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature." Thomas Jefferson

George Washington convinced the federal government to build an armory and arsenal here, and abolitionist John Brown raided Harper's Ferry in October 1859, in one of the precursors to the Civil War. Many of the buildings from the Civil War era are still standing, and open to visitors.

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Monongahela National Forest

Headquartered in Elkins, the forest encompasses nearly a million acres stretching from the Maryland border to nearly Lewisburg. The forest is located in Preston, Randolph, Pocahontas, Webster, Nicholas, and Greenbrier counties.

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New River National River

The New River flows north from North Carolina, and is considered one of the oldest rivers in North America. From Hinton to Gauley Bridge, it cuts through the Alleghenies, forming a spectacular gorge nearly 1000 feet deep. In the late 1800s, railroads were built along the river to take coal to the deepwater ports of the Chesapeake Bay. Old mining towns (Thurmond, Glen Jean) still dot the sides of the gorge, while US-19 crosses the valley near Fayetteville on the New River Gorge Bridge, over 3000 feet long and 876 feet above the river.

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Cranberry Glades Botanical Area

The 750 acres of the Cranberry Glades support an ecosystem more typical of Canada. Plants and seeds were carried south by the glaciers of 10,000 years ago. Because the bog (wetland) is marshy, a half-mile boardwalk has been constructed for visitors to tour the area without damaging the bog. The Cranberry Mountain Nature Center is nearby.

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Dolly Sods Wilderness

A part of the Monongahela National Forest, Dolly Sods is managed as "a place where protection of natural processes is the highest priority use." Other than a couple of gravel roads and a few outhouses, there is little evidence of man. The Dahle family tried to farm the high plateau in the 1920s after the logging companies cut the forest bare in the early 1900s, but were unsuccessful, and left only their name (Americanized).

Snorpus

[roanoker 4]

Harpers Ferry Park is one of my favorites as is the little town of Harpers Ferry.
Parking is always a problem and I don't like the shuttle buses but everyone who studies the civil war must go there, as well as the town of Martinsburg and Sharpsburg, MD.
Cranberry Glades is an awesome place also. From my experience a few years ago, isn't that the place where the Venus Fly Traps are located? I remember seeing those strange plants. Also, I remembered being taken to some underground caves around that area.
If you go to WV, you must get out and explore this WILD and wonderful state!

[David Kennedy]

If you go to Harpers Ferry take a fishing rod...that little Potomac River...right in front of the parking lot is full of small mouth bass. Nobody..well, almost nobody fishes for them..

[irishjade]

First and foremost get your history right!! George Washington wasnt the president during the civil war Abe Lincoln was and therefore couldn't have ordered the raid in Harper's Ferry!!

[snorpus]

IJ,

Go back and read my initial post. Nowhere does it say that George Washington was President during the Civil War. It says that he convinced the gov't to build the armory there. (Possibly this is where RCB gets his inspiration ).

[billscamaros]

I don't believe that I've ever read that Abe ordered John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry either. Federal troops, led by Robert Lee, were sent to resolve the problem.

I didn't realize that George Washington was behind the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. It does make sense, given that his family owned a good portion of land in what is now Jefferson county. He certainly was familiar with the area.