Vacation in WV - places to go and things to do? (Parkersburg: luxury, rental)

[moving_pains]

Hi WVers,

Greetings!

I am looking for some advice. Me and a few of my college friends have a tradition. We have a yearly reunion somewhere inside the Continental US every year. Last year, we went to Smokies, before that VA etc. There would be about 4-5 of us guys (maybe more, depending on who can join us), with our wives and small kids. This time I thought we'd come to WV since I've heard that WV is beautiful. We are planning for the Memorial Day weekend, for 3-4 days.

I am looking for some general advice on where to go and what to do (including any well-kept secrets). I'd rather hear from you guys straight, than gulp down the claims of the tourism sites. We already know we'd like to do some white water rafting and plenty of drinking (the latter is a must :-)). We are thinking of renting a log cabin somewhere and unwind. Which place would be ideal for that? Beautiful views and scenery would be a plus (my wife is a photo fanatic and loves taking pictures).

Thanks in advance for all and any advice! If you need more info to make a recommendation, just ask!

P.S: Us guys are in the age range 30-32, with our wives in the range 23-29 (the latter is a guesstimate).

[snorpus]

The Summersville-Fayetteville area is along the Gauley, probably the "wildest" Eastern River. Check out ACE Adventure Centers.

Also look into Blackwater Falls State Park, which has both a lodge (with restaurant) and cabins; rafting on the Cheat River would be about an hour away.

[snowshoemtnman]

Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort - Official Website - Snowshoe, West Virginia Pocahontas County, and it is considered off season, so you can get great rates on a nice mountain home. Look on the website for summer events. Also, you are just a few miles to Cass Scenic Railroad. Great golf course at the resort, hiking, mountain biking, flyfishing, you name it in outdoor sports. Whitewater would be about 2 hours drive though.

[creemarie]

Wherever you choose to go, pick it soon and book early-- they tend to fill up quickly over the hoildays!

I agree with snorpus, Fayetteville and Blackwater Falls are both beautiful most any time of year. I don't know if you are familiar with WV, but Fayetteville is home of the New River Gorge Bridge where "Bridge Day" is held every year. I'm not a white water rafter, but I've heard that it's some of the best here.

New River Gorge National River (U.S. National Park Service)
New River Gorge Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You might also look at the Canaan Valley area. There is a lot to do here for people of all ages.

Tucker County CVB - Canaan Valley, West Virginia


Finally, I'd also look at the Monogahela National Forest area, it's a little more secluded than some of the other places mentioned, but still very beautiful and plenty of things to do. And while you're there, you could make a trip to see the Greenbrier Resort. It will be beautiful in May!

Welcome to the Monongahela National Forest in Elkins, WV.
Monongahela National Forest - West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia
The Greenbrier | Defining Luxury since 1778.

[David Kennedy]

cacapon state park...see the website...everything for everyone and a Robert Trent Jones masterpiece....

[GottaHerdOn]

If you'd like to see what the real WV wilderness is like, while maybe not hiking through 30-40 miles of it. You can catch an excursion train at a historic remodeled railroad depot in historic downtown Elkins. Ride the train for about two hours, through an S shaped tunnel, and deep into the wilderness to the High Falls of Cheat. There is a new Holliday Inn Express within walking distance of the depot, and you can use your free time to stroll through the historic shops, and grab a bite to eat, or even catch a Branson style show at the American Mountain Theater or the Old Brick Playhouse.
Camping, biking and fishing are also all around the Elkins area. As well as some spectacular mountain views

Also, Creemarie mentioned how the headquarters to the Monongalia Nat. Forest is in Elkins, you can also visit the neighboring counties attractions including Seneca Rocks, Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, Snowshoe any many others are only an hour or so away. In Elkins you would be centrally located.

The New Tygart Flyer, scenic train excursion in Elkins and Belington WV

American Mountain Theatre West Virginia

Blackwater Falls State Park - West Virginia State Parks

Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort - Official Website - Snowshoe, West Virginia

Seneca Rocks: Home

Welcome to the Monongahela National Forest in Elkins, WV.





I also really enjoy Blennerhassett Island in Parkersburg. Its on this cool little island, and there is just so much history there. Too much to type, but you can find out some information from this link.

Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park - A West Virginia State Park

Hope this helps!!! and I hope you enjoy your family's vacation in Wild & Wonderful West Virginia

[Hinton Bound]

I saw this thread a while back. I would love to check out these places. Would make a nice day stop on a trip to WV.
Swimming holes

~Mark

[poppimds007]

ok just stay away from Harpers ferry and Bolivar,to many child molesters.

[WVUWinnie]

I have lived in Fayetteville my whole life, so if you are planning a whitewater rafting trip this is the place to do it. The guys can hit the Lower New River, which is the more difficult, while the women and children can take a play trip on the Upper New. The Upper gives more opportunities to play in the river and float along, while the girls can get a nice lifejacket tan....just kidding. There are wonderful places to eat such as Sedona Grill, Pies and Pints, Gumbos, Dirty Ernie's Rib Pit, and Smokey's on the Gorge. Most rafting companies have cabins that you can rent, but you need to start looking now. There are also many trails you can hike, such as Longpoint, to get a beautiful view of the New River Gorge Bridge. Another fun family activity is horse back riding through the gorge, or even mountain biking. If you have a significant number of kids coming along, I would try to stay with ACE adventure center. They have a huge lake with water slides, zip lines, and a "blob". you can check out their site here West Virginia White water rafting (WV). if you have any questions feel free to ask, i know all kinds of places around here...i've been all over the state....oh yeah! seneca rocks and the caverns were pretty cool when i was little

[moving_pains]

First of all, let me thank all of you folks for some great suggestions. I've been looking at them.

Some more info - we couldn't make it for the Memorial Day weekend because couple of us had other stuff coming up, so we decided to postpone this to the July 4th weekend. And as it stands now, we won't be having any kids with us. It'd be 5 guys and 4 girls (4 husband-wife pairs and one single guy), so we need to tailor our vacation accordingly. And I know, even with a July 4th date, if we don't do the bookings now, everything's going to get filled up, so I'm looking to get everything wrapped up in a weeks' time.

A little bit more on what we'd like to do - I don't expect us doing a LOT of whitewater rafting or even ANY hiking. I'd like to try whitewater rafting, that's for sure, but the problem is my wife doesn't know how to swim (and I am sure there might be others in our group with the same problem). Not knowing swimming, I think we might be stuck to doing whatever rafting is possible in shallow waters (class 1?). Wife is ready to pass out after a 2 mile hike on the trail near where we live, so I can't expect her to hike the wilderness of WV.

From what I've seen so far, it appears as if going to Elkins, WV would be the best option (~7 hours drive for me though ). And from there, we could go wherever else we want to, in a couple of hours time. Am I right?

Most importantly - any idea where I can get cabin rentals in Elkins? Any recommendations? Hopefully some place where someone here has been before and liked it? I'd like it to be a bit away from the hustle and bustle (but not in a godforsaken place, of course), be able to accommodate 9 of us with ease, has good scenery around, so we can sit on the decks with our beer bottles, gaze away into the scenery and catch up on each other. Google hasn't been much help, so far.

Any idea which would be the nearest airport for Elkins? Some folks live as far away as Chicago, Boston and Dallas.

And if I may ask, any good place like Elkins, which could be closer for me? I'd like to keep the drive within 4-5 hours, if possible. Davis, Berkeley Springs, everything, seems as far away as Elkins.

Thanks!