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    Recommended Reviews - Almost Heaven Swing

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    Criel Mound - Indian Mound Historical Marker at Criel Mound, South Charleston

    Criel Mound

    5.0(5 reviews)
    49.0 mi

    If you're cruising through South Charleston and spot a big grassy hill tucked between antique shops…read moreand quiet streets, that's the Criel Mound. It's worth a stop. It's not flashy, but there's something grounding about standing next to a structure built over 2,000 years ago by the aboriginal people. The steps leading up are wide and gentle, and once you reach the top, you get a surprisingly peaceful view of the neighborhood. It's a quick visit. The mound itself is steeped in mystery and history. Archaeologists found 13 skeletons inside, including a central figure surrounded by others. There's a small park around the mound with interpretive signs that give you just enough context to spark curiosity. Some locals say horse races were once held around it, and there's even talk of burials that might represent alliances between different tribes. It's wild to think about how much has happened on that patch of earth, and how little we still know. The Criel Mound stands to quietly anchor the town. Kids run up the steps, people are walking dogs, and there's me, pausing to read the plaques. There is a sense of reverence here if you feel it. It's not at all a playground. [Review 569 of 2025 - 154 in West Virginia - 24130 overall]

    The Criel Mound is a historic and cultural gem nestled in South Charleston, WV…read more The small park which houses it has plenty of street parking available and several interpretive signs around the mound explaining its history, importance, and what archaeologists discovered inside the mound when excavating. The mound is the second largest Adena mound in West Virginia and is believed to have been developed between 250 and 150 B.C. The Criel Mound was originally one of 50 mounds and prehistoric earthworks located in WV but unfortunately most have since been destroyed due to industrialization. It's definitely worth a visit (plan on about 30 minutes) if you're in the area.

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    Criel Mound
    Criel Mound
    Criel Mound - Criel Mound, South Charleston

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    Criel Mound, South Charleston

    Thurmond Depot - Bridge into Thurmond

    Thurmond Depot

    4.8(15 reviews)
    7.4 mi

    What an amazing site in the National Park. This is an abandoned town from the early to mid 1900's…read morethat had quite the past. They do an excellent job of explaining the buildings and life when it was a booming steam engine railroad town. Take your time visiting the area. I could believe that it is an active Amtrak site today.

    What an amazing place to stop and try to imagine this was once a place bustling with people…read moreworking, traveling, living .. it's so small and empty now that only the pictures can tell the tale! They did a good job putting up information and learned so much about what it was like to work here for the railroads way back when. It's incredible how times change, things become more efficient, jobs are reduced, and eventually eliminated. I spent a total of an hour and 15 minutes here for reference. There is a gift shop where I got my usual souvenir magnet, but there are other neat things here as well! I was tempted to buy the "dining on the railway" book (or a name something like that). A great piece of history here and I hope someday the interiors of the buildings can be brought up to code and replicated to look how they did in their heyday so we can get a real feel of walking into the businesses (also a rebuild of the Lafayette Hotel would be amazing, even if just a smaller scale). I'm glad what is there has been preserved by the NPS! I have to say, I left West Virginia with a treasure trove of history!

    Photos
    Thurmond Depot
    Thurmond Depot - The old Main Street

    The old Main Street

    Thurmond Depot - 2nd floor visitor's center

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    2nd floor visitor's center

    New River Gorge Bridge - New River Gorge Bridge

    New River Gorge Bridge

    4.6(81 reviews)
    9.7 mi

    A local Princeton friend decided to take 2 days off work and drive me around to show me the local…read morearea. One of the stops we got to see is the New River Gorge and the bridge that crossed over it. I didn't realize that the New River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places in West Virginia. It's featured in various top tourist attractions to visit in southern West Virginia. The bridge is a working bridge that connects people from point A to point B. I also didn't realize that the New River Gorge is operated by the National Park Service. I assumed it was maintained by the local West Virginia county. With that said, my friend and I arrived here around 10am. We thought that the visitors center would be closed during the government shutdown of 2025, but it was not. We browsed through the visitor center and took in the short 10 minute visitor video that they had. It was cool to learn about the area and what conservation efforts are currently being done for the area. They had a small little area theater that they used to show this 10 minute video. It was comfortable and very much cute and enjoyable. After browsing the exhibits that they had to offer, they had a small gift shop area, where I browsed a minute or two before leaving the visitor center. There was a nice place to view the gorge and the bridge that allowed vehicle traffic to flow constantly every day and that. It was just a beautiful thing to see on a November 2025 morning. I was glad to be here to witness West Virginia's pride and joy. It was definitely a highlight of the day for me and I'm sure that my friend was happy to take me here to see such a natural splendor. The over experience here at the new River Gorge here in West Virginia was very beautiful and mesmerizing. It was definitely one of West Virginia's top tourist, destinations, and the most scenic. I always wondered if you could go to the bottom of the bridge gorge area, and we actually did that during my stay here. Although it was about an hour or so visiting, we did just that. We drove down as far as we can go and took a break at the Waters edge. We had to walk a few just to get to where we needed to go and we saw a river. It was nice to see all the forest the area down by the water edge and to see the natural surroundings that make up the gorge so many years ago. I think how the water carved out this beautiful landscape probably did the same with the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Natural forces that work here people. And so, after we head down to the waters edge, we looked at the bridge which was towering over us. It was cool to be here on a random workday, but I was on vacation. To be able to see such wonder and compare to other wonders of the world is interesting. Traveling makes it so much more fun and rewarding when you are doing with friends. We spent about 15 to 20 minutes, exploring the bottom of the gorge. It was nice to have available walking trails to explore and not have it closed off to people. As always is at your own risk if you injured yourself or whatever. For the most part though, it was a very enjoyable trip to see the gorge and the new River Bridge. Definitely recommend coming here if you're in the area and I would like to see the number one West Virginia tourist attraction. Not much in terms of choice attractions in the state, but if you're in the south side of the state, you'll be wow'ed beyond your wildest dreams. The New River Gorge is located in south West Virginia. The closest town is Fayetteville. The visitor center has limited amenities, but they do have knowledgeable national Park service staff that can assist you in anyway possible about the Gorge and the area in general. As far as food and concessions are concerned, your best bet would be to find something along the way in or out of the area because there is not much around. As far as parking goes, they have a generous parking lot situation at the visitor center. When I got there there was plenty of parking spaces at 9 AM in the morning. Best bet would be to have your own vehicle or rent one because I'm not sure if there is actual regional public transportation options to get here for cheap. You can luck out with something, but I don't know. There's always Uber or Lyft if you need them, but it can't get very pricey if you do it that way. And so, best thing to do is to make a friend or drive yourself because the new river Gorge is outside of any major town in West Virginia so it's quite a drive to get there. Along the way you'll see many beautiful things so enjoy the ride and the journey because that's life for you. It's true what they say about the area though. You can immerse yourself in the beauty of the area and still not be bored with it. 5.0 stars for the overall experience Support local! A+

    Whether you're driving across or visiting the National Park, the New River Gorge Bridge is a…read moremust-see in West Virginia. You can visit the National Park center and collect stamps in your passport or take one of many trails that give you beautiful views of the bridge and nature. No matter what you choose, the scenery is stunning! If you're a Fallout 76 fan, add this location to your FO76 itinerary. We did a 4 day Fallout trip around West Virginia and we were glad we added this massive bridge and National Park to our itinerary.

    Photos
    New River Gorge Bridge - Can you find the man in this photo?

    Can you find the man in this photo?

    New River Gorge Bridge - Park Ranger

    Park Ranger

    New River Gorge Bridge - New River Gorge Bridge

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    New River Gorge Bridge

    Humpback Covered Bridge

    Humpback Covered Bridge

    4.8(18 reviews)
    50.5 mi

    Well, we didn't come on "hump" day, but this gorgeous almost fall Thursday didn't disappoint! As we…read moremeandered through the curvy mountains of VA and WVA to get here, we we worried as we didn't have any cell signals and much of the country roads were winding and barren, except of course for the beautiful foliage. Lots of open farmland and barns or just empty fields. But we drove with trepidation through these mountains until we finally arrived at Humpback Covered Bridge! It was worth the drive! Some other reviews have lots of stats about this bridge which is worth looking up, so I won't repeat them here, but suffice it to say, I was enthralled with this bridge that I've been wanting to visit for years!! I love covered bridges and have a collection of them on my Yelp profile if you'd like to take a gander. And I must say, this is one of my favorites considering the structural design, the historic value, the Virginia heritage, and lovely park area with picnic tables and the LOVE sign. Covington VA is definitely on my come back list!!

    No excuses for missing this beautiful bridge that is not even one mile off the Interstate…read more Constructed of hand-hewn timber in 1835 for the James River Kanawha Turnpike Corporation. The bridge remained in active public use until 1929. In 1953, the bridge was reconditioned and the land purchased for this lovely park. Portable toilets, picnic benches and lighting. It's lovely and well worth a quick stop on your journey near the Virginia / West Virginia border. [Review 19595 overall - 1432 in Virginia - 566 of 2023.]

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    Humpback Covered Bridge
    Humpback Covered Bridge
    Humpback Covered Bridge - Humpback Covered Bridge, Covington Virginia

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    Humpback Covered Bridge, Covington Virginia

    Organ Cave - Cool newt, amazing colors

    Organ Cave

    2.5(4 reviews)
    33.1 mi

    The cave tour experience was OK. It was my first experience in a cave so it was interesting…read more Basically they offer a general tour every hour on the hour during business hours. A person will lead a group of people (there was 4 in our group) inside the cave and act as a tour guide. This tour is a 2 part tour: one part is the Civil War aspect where soldiers were using the mine while the second part is historical (natural cave formations). Our tour lasted about an hour. I recommend that you wear tennis shoes or hiking shoes. The cave is slippery and your walking uphill and downhill in various parts of the cave. Also a light jacket or sweater comes in handy because the air has a chill in it especially early or late in the day. Another strong recommendation is bring your own flashlight. The flashlight provided by the tour was weak and usually the battery is almost drained by the time you get it. If you are not in decent shape or if you have difficulty bending over I recommend passing. Think of it as going up and down several flights of stairs in damp, dark conditions. If you want pictures then a camera with a flash is required. I have a Canon T3i with a flash and it took good pictures. The pictures taking with smartphones did not turn out very good. I heard they have a more involved cave tour where you can crawl through the mud and get more hands-on with the experience. I did not do this part of the tour but heard it was interesting.

    Came to visit these caverns on the way to visit another, but ended up here at the recommendation of…read morea local. The cave itself is miles long and the beginner tour is guided and runs about an hour or so long. The cave is very interesting as there is much civil war history, as well as of the course geological history and curiousity as well. Hard for me to gauge the experience compared to other caverns, since this was really my first time down in a real cave like this. I'd give the cave and guided tour 4 stars. Worth the money. What really turned me off, was the bible lesson that came with it. They make a point of mentioning at the commencement of the tour that they are bible believers and even put a copy of the bible in their exhibit with other pieces, petrified stone, and civil war era relics. Mind you, the bible didn't come out of the cave from the civil war era or anything... It's just a new bible they put there to talk about at the beginning of each tour. When I asked something about the giant sloth bone casting, part of the response was that they believe the "great flood" washed them in... Same with the shells and coral fragments... YIKES... Anyway, I'm not trying to be insensitive to religion, I just wasn't expecting a bible lesson during my cave tour and was a bit surprised to see the people actually hadn't heard of or believe in plate tectonics. Minus 2 stars for the whole religion thing... At the end of the day, it was a nice tour and it's a nice place, but the religion thing was a sour note for me and just wasn't really necessary or relevant to the attraction.

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    Organ Cave
    Organ Cave
    Organ Cave

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    Almost Heaven Swing - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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