I love the smell of Krylon in the morning. Tagging is my favorite kind of public art: raw, off the…read morecuff, available to anyone with an idea and a can of spray paint. I don't condone writing on private property, but dang it if I don't love to see it. I am probably in the minority with this one. It might be because of where I spent several of my formative years (in gang territory, surrounded by graffiti). So when I visited Wheeling, I made sure to stop and see Mt. Wood Overlook, because it's a little spot in this small West Virginia city that's covered with tags and writing. This place is a hidden gem, especially if you like quirky public art. The space itself looks like it's the cement foundation of a former building, and taggers have just taken over and written all over it. There are drawings and messages (happy birthday wishes, dates of first kisses, angry statements to exes) scrawled over every inch of this place. From the parking lot, you enter on the top floor, then you can take two flights of stairs down into what looks like a castle full of graffiti. It's seedy and creepy, but it's so cool to see what's going on in the minds and hearts of people who stopped by and left a message. There are some trails near the overlook, and just from the look of them, I would not recommend going down them. The trails are littered with spray paint cans and liquor bottles, and I read that this is also a popular spot for drug use, so who the heck knows what you might come across. Mt. Wood Overlook would make an excellent spot for a photo shoot. It's also located across the street from a cemetery! It's an awesome place to feel life breathing off the walls from fresh art, with the background of death looming in the periphery. Whatta place! You gotta visit if you're in the area.

It was a cool artistic place yet at the same time it was very sketchy. Any time you see graffiti…read morethat's what usually gives people first impressions. But this had graffiti all over, that you can step in it and not worry about paint being on your shoes. They have a small parking lot with maybe a few spaces - but there was one scary-looking dude just sitting and chilling in his car looking at everyone -like he was getting ready to snap. But I let it go. I did not go to the lower levels, as I just stayed at the top. The top is where you get a great view of the city of Wheeling. It's very interesting that the city is separated by a mountain. Bring your cameras, folks!

My grandparents have been living in Oglebay for over 50 years. I absolutely adore Oglebay! I love…read morethe lodge and the new updates they've made, the glass house, the museum inside of the mansion, the beautiful views throughout the hills, it's truly an incredible place. I have been going to Oglebay since I was very little, and still continue to visit due to my grandparents living there... but I will say the kids Park absolutely needs renovated. There are so many trip hazards and the entire park is very old and has outdated play equipment. I highly suggest they take some of the funds that they receive for Oglebay and put it into making a new park for the kids. The paddle boats and all the new updated activities are great, but for kids to play at the park, safely, that should be the next focus. As you can see in my photos, every season is gorgeous, and the walking trails throughout are really nice for exercise. There's a restaurant now located on the grounds, I would say it's a little overpriced, but the food is good. I've stayed in the room several times over the years, and some of them are old and outdated, and some of them are really nice and new. I appreciate both. No matter what, they always keep the hotel portion clean. I would say the hot tub seems to have some issues here and there, that pool and hot tub have been there since before I can remember. There's new restaurants inside of the lodge as well, and they also have ravenous reviews. Christmas time is always beautiful, and the beautiful bloom of the flowers during spring is quite a sight to see. Apparently, the zoo will now have lions and beekeeper, I'm excited to take my baby to visit this spring! If you're thinking about visiting, do not hesitate you will enjoy it as much as my family I have for many decades.

I did not stay overnight at Oglebay Resort, but simply visited the park for an afternoon in…read moremid-June 2025 and thought it was pleasant but nothing spectacular. If you have young children in town, Schenk Lake is a nice spot for a short boat ride or to try fishing! Originally a private country estate of 750 acres purchased in 1901 by Earl W. Oglebay, he donated the land to the City of Wheeling in 1928 to create a public park and education center. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped to build out the trails in the 1930s. Overall, it may be worth a stop here if you have young kids. However, I found the park to be kind of "meh" due to a lack of scenic views. At the end of the day, it's just a nice public park.

My family and I were looking for a park for a quick picnic, while being social distant during our…read moreshort road trip. Wheeling Park was perfect for that, even with the impending rain. When we arrived, we found well manicured hills of grass and trees, and a large number of picnic tables that were empty and available for us to use. And even better, we were able to park right on the side of the road, 100 or so feet from the tables. Does a picnic on a blanket seem more appealing to you? There was ample space to spread out on the side of a gently sloping hill too. We could also see a lovely lake with paddle boats, and from the other reviews, it looks like there are more amenities as well, including an ice rink and putt putt. At the same time, this park seemed old, yet very well taken care of. The large stone markets at the park's entrances made the impression that we were entering a space that a lot of thought and time had been put into. Unfortunately, just after finishing our meal the rain started falling -- or fortunately it didn't start before we were done, I suppose we could say. So we didn't get to explore this more. Wheeling, though, is the halfway point between my family and my brother-in-law's, so I anticipate we will be meeting here more in the future. I very much hope we come back to this park.

This park is very lovely. There is a building called White Palace where they play indoor hockey…read more There are some large shelters, a lake with paddle boats and putt putt. There is tennis courts and the pools are both outdoor and indoor with a slide. They were ice skating and we sat down to watch for awhile. There is an outside viewing area. Very nice park.

I visited the park just for the scenic view on a Sunday evening in mid-June 2025. First, the vista…read moreis really pretty where you can see the deep bend in the Ohio River, the town of Moundsville below, and the surrounding hills. Second, the scenic trail is easy to access from the end of the parking lot (follow signs or your Google map). Third, it was not very crowded when I visited - just 3 people hanging out. If you are in the area of Moundsville to visit the Grave Creek Mound, why not take an extra 10 minutes to drive up to Grand Vue? That said, if you are in a hurry to get somewhere, this is not necessarily worth a stop as the highlight is simply the easily accessible view itself.

Soon after we got settled the owner/ manager Craig came by to see us. He was super nice and…read morehelpful However, No laundry facilities And No dog park A park this expensive should at least have a laundry .

I'm a little torn on this review to be honest and it's kind of a hard one to write because the…read morePalace of Gold is definitely beautiful, but overall my experience wasn't the greatest. I visited in winter, which meant no flowers were in bloom in the gardens and the outdoor space was pretty gloomy with the exception of a very cool bug that I found on the steps. The seasons definitely change the atmosphere and I imagine that in spring or summer it feels much more vibrant and alive here. The palace itself is lovely with intricate details and ornate interiors and very much what I expected stylistically. However, it wasn't nearly as grand in scale as I had imagined. It was much smaller than I thought it would be. When you step inside the front lobby area, there are gorgeous stained glass windows and beautiful decor and I really enjoyed the light coming through into that space and being able to take photographs in there. The woman inside asked us on a few occasions if we wanted to take the tour and I wasn't sure until we saw the lobby area. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment was for me was finding out -- only after paying -- that photography wasn't actually allowed inside. That was tough and had I known I definitely would have made a different decision. Personally, I would have been just as happy taking photos of the exterior and I would have saved myself a lot of money. The tour is a little costly considering that you're just accessing a very small area and although the information was somewhat interesting, I had already read the majority of it beforehand. After the tour I was excited to head over to where they keep the cows, which are considered sacred here, because I had read that guests are sometimes allowed to help feed them. Unfortunately (again) it's only during a specific time of day and there wasn't anyone around that I could talk to, but I was able to see the cows through the fence and they were absolutely adorable. We were advised during the tour that we were welcome to go to the lunch offering near the housing area and we did try to find what the tour guide had described, but there were no clear signs. When we did eventually locate the area where they were serving some food, it felt very uncomfortable, like we had wandered somewhere we weren't meant to be. We definitely didn't feel like we belonged there and left almost immediately. Overall, the palace itself is really beautiful and historically interesting and although I don't subscribe to the beliefs of the people here, I do respect what it represents to them. Between the cost and the no photo surprise and the general feeling of uncertainty throughout our visit, we just spent much of our time here wandering and feeling uncomfortable. The welcome center wasn't very welcoming, the peacock walk had no peacocks and the chanting and yelling of Krishna devotees can be a frightening experience to those new to it. This is worth seeing once, hopefully in a season where it's full of flowers and sunshine and beauty. I just suggest you manage your expectations and definitely make it clear that you are not there to be converted.

I recently learned that you should always be open minded to the suggestions on the billboards on…read morethe highway. We saw a sign mentioning the Palace of Gold on the way to Pittsburgh so we decided to make a detour and check it out. My first impression was how beautiful it was. Most of the building is indeed gold colored so there was no false advertising there. They also do tours of the palace so you can get an in depth look of the palace. The tour guide did an amazing job. What I really enjoyed was how quiet peaceful it was. There was a lot more to do than look at the temple. You could take a walk, visit the temple for worship and just enjoy the Mountain View. Everything was very relaxing. We loved it visit to the Palace of Gold. Such a hidden gem!

I have visited more than half of the Madonna of the Trail statues that were erected by the D.A.R…read more in the late 1920s, and this was my seventh one. The statues are all identical; however, all have different text on the sides of them. They were all sculpted by St. Louis sculptor August Leimbach. This is one of five that are placed on the Historic National Road. All twelve of the MOTT statues are on the Old Trails Road, which technically doesn't exist. The one complaint that I have about this one are the "No Parking" signs. This is clearly on a roadside pullout that invites people to check this statue as well as the historical markers next to it. But check it out anyway!

This lovely statue erected by the DAR Society is located along the National Rd. It is near the…read moreWheeling Park entrance. There us a pullover area where you can get out and Read the historical markers. This statue is part of 8 statues located along the National Rd, they are called Madonnas of the Trails. This is the 4th one that I have visited

Nice, big, open park with a good playground, lots of courts (basketball, tennis, pickleball, etc.),…read moreand a pool with a water slide. We just stopped here to let the kids run around and play during a road trip, but it was a surprisingly big, nice park. It was a great little stop with picnic tables, swings, a playground, and plenty of shade. There were also lots of other things including a baseball field and big shelters with tables for parties.

Terrible wind and the sun was not out. Crazy! Took the boys to a picnic and couldn't even eat…read more Halfway down the road there is a sudden turn around that you don't even get warned about. Tear up my car turning around in gravel and weeds.

We went on 12/5/25 for the first time. The lights were nice but it was super unorganized and really…read moresporadic signage. We had no idea where things were or which way to go. Most of these light shows are highly organized to handle traffic, this one is not. My husband didn't really get to enjoy the drive or take in the lights b/c he was too focused on where we were supposed to go. We only made it to the Santa's Village area after stopping at the welcome center/sweet shop for directions. Santa's village really was a small train, gift shop with Santa, and a plastic ice skating rink. The kids did enjoy the ice rink and ice cream from the sweet shop.

I don't have a lot to say about the Festival of Lights... but bring a paper map, marked with all…read morelocations around Oglebay, and try to know where you're intending to go. There aren't marked street signs to inform your direction. It's a lights show. There are other lights shows everywhere... you've probably seen this same sort of thing before. The cars are driving very slow, and you're stuck behind whoever is in front of you. I don't think they've updated the experience in 40 years but to add more modern music. You can opt for the trolley, which is $30 per person around the holidays, departing on the hour, or drive yourself for a $30 'donation'. If you're staying in Wilson Lodge, you have to go through the entrance anyways and they won't question your intention.

The Greater Wheeling Trail is also known as the Ohio River Trail. Along with the with the…read moreWheeling Creek Trail, it's part of the Wheeling Heritage Trail System. The Brooke Pioneer Trail connects at its northern end. Using the combination of trails, my husband Rick and I did a 32 mile round trip between Wellsburg and Wheeling. Although the address shown is the parking lot at the southern end of the trail, we connected from the Brooke Pioneer Trail and made our way south. Picking up from where we connected, we continued our way south along the Ohio River. Like the Brooke Pioneer Trail, this path is sandwiched between WV #2 and the river. We continued to enjoy the great river views as we pedaled along. Approaching the north end of Wheeling, we saw a lock and dam. From this point south, the trail became much more urban-like, however it was very well marked and maintained. At this point, Wheeling is very long an narrow because of the topography. We curved a little to the west, temporarily losing the urban feel of the trail as we were in the narrows between the cliffs and the river. Curving again to the south we regained the city atmosphere and had a great view of Wheeling Island. We noticed the tail wasn't as well-marked south of I-70/US-250,but it was still easy to follow. We eventually made our way to the southern terminus & parking lot at 48th Street. We retraced our path north to and we picked up the Wheeling Creek Trail. This trail was built on an old Baltimore & Ohio line and whereas the Ohio River Trail had a city feel to it, the Wheeling Creek Trail was in a park-like setting. The trail didn't parallel the creek in some places--indeed it was adjacent to the interstate in places, but it was still a pleasant, meandering ride towards the eastern edge of the city. The scenic high point was the tunnel near Rock Point Road. After reaching the east end of the trail, we turn around and headed back to Wellsburg. We did every inch of the 32 mile combined trail systems. These trails were an easy ride, paved all the way, and made for a pleaseant day cycling.