Valley Falls State Park. Fairmont, WV. My husband and I visited this scenic West Virginia State…read morePark in Sept, 2025. Its highlight is a series of four cascading WATERFALLS on the Tygart Valley River that are easily accessible by a short path from the parking lot. There are large flat rocks right next to the falls, allowing for scenic photographs but no swimming. (Fishing with license and whitewater kayaking are allowed). Fun Fact: this is one of the sites for West Virginia's "Almost Heaven" swings, installed by the state's Department of Tourism across the state for photo opps. This particular swing has the falls in the background. (As of late 2025, there are 51 swings in the state). We had a unique experience at the park in that we were approached by a park volunteer in an ATV offering us a ride down to the falls, and then continuing along some park paths with his commentary about the history of the site as a 19th-century mill town, and pointing out some gristmills. Both park admission and the ATV ride were free although we did give the volunteer a tip. There are 18 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking, ranging from easy to difficult. We didn't do any hiking on this visit, but did eat our picnic lunch at one of the conveniently located picnic table. There is a gift shop on-site, as well as clean restrooms. It's also a site on WV's Waterfalls Trail, wherein you can earn prizes for checking it at specific WV waterfalls. Note that this is a day-use park, so no camping is allowed. Wi-Fi connectivity is low to non-existent. We approached the park from the south, near Pruntytown, WV, and while the distance was short (about 12 miles), it took us about 25 minutes to reach because of curvy roads. On our return, we went to Tygart Lake State Park, via Grafton, where we camped for the night.

Tony and I went for a nice hike today at Valley Falls State Park in Fairmont WV…read more The Park is lovely and the Park is free to enjoy with plenty of picnic tables, restrooms, grills, playground, and the gorgeous waterfalls

My daughter Noel and I opted to go take some photos at the Haymond Mansion located on the opposite…read moreside of the Elk River from the main section of town. There was a lady outside gardening, so I went down a few clicks and turned around. I parked across the street along the Elk River from the home. I rolled down my window and yelled to her, if you don't mind I would like to take some photos and yo out surprise, she stopped and yelled back Sure go ahead, would you ladies like to look inside. We readily agreed! To our surprise she turned us loose to explore and she was off to go back outside. We went into every room except basement. She gave us permission to take pictures. It was a lovely surprise. House was built in 1894 for the late family of William Edgar Haymond and his family. On the National Historical list and absolutely gorgeous!!!

Had a great time investigating with the Tennessee Wraith Chasers! Owners & staff were very good…read morehosts. Beautiful old mansion. Will go back for a private investigation and follow up on some names we got thru the spirit box.

Here for three train rides with my train loving husband…read more All employees were friendly, from the trains themselves to the stores. Company store had a plethora of items for all ages; hubby had a field day!! Beautiful area and very remote . Bus tours came daily, but not excessive as seating on the trains is limited, so good crowd control lol These trips book up months in advance; my husband booked it a year ago so don't drive up thinking you can get a seat. Three trips: ( different Shay locomotives too, but I am not the expert with this). 1. Bald Knob : a 4.5 hour train ride up the mountain. It was an open car, and it was pretty cold, even for those prepared. The scenery was pretty but I saw zero wildlife. We were going to have a hot cocoa, but after waiting on line for over 10 minutes, they ran out. There was a guy reading over the P.A., giving some history. They give you a " hobo lunch" : bun, turkey and ham, pasta salad, applesauce, chips, water bottle, 2 cookies and mustard and mayo. Bring additional snacks/ drinks as it's a long trip...and gloves and hats if during fall trips. 2. Greenbriar River: a more pleasant ride, 2.5-3 hours, enclosed car with table seating. Narrated as well at parts, but P.A. was terrible. Lunch was at a restaurant ( make your own sandwiches) in Durbin, our stop, and there were three choices which they determined. Saw 2 turtles and one bird. Highlight was meeting the people who Sartre across from us. 3. Whittaker Station: about a 2.5 hour trip, also on an open car. This trip had the most informative and interesting narration of the three. Got my hot cocoa lol and some pretty photos. Interesting town history. A cool experience for train buffs and company houses are available to stay in. Beautiful area.

In full disclosure, I privately messaged them this experience when I was sent an email after our…read moretrip and no one responded so I've decided to write this review to warn others so that they will be prepared in case this happens to them. Honestly our ride was awful. What was supposed to be a 4.5 hour trip ended up being 6 hours. When we were stopped with what I assume was some breakdown, no one said anything or told us what was going on. Instead we sit there looking at woods for what seemed like forever. Then on the way back we stopped at the Whitaker overlook, why I have no idea. No one told us we were stopping, we had no idea how long we were stopping for. The only reason I can gather is so you all could make more money at your concessions and most of us were cold and wanted to get back and instead we're left waiting for idiots too selfish for their nachos or hot chocolate and wouldn't come back to the train when the whistle was blown. They should've left without them. We had reservations at a bed and breakfast and were charged extra because we weren't able to get back before check in hours. It was honestly a miserable trip. I hope that they improve the way they conduct trips in the future as this could've been such an enjoyable trip. Also, we visited the general store the next day (had to make the 45 minute trip back to Cass since there was no time to visit the shops after getting in so late the day before) and made a significantly large purchase after being told that yes they give military discounts but after the clerk processed our sale she said "oops, I forgot to give you your discount", with no suggestion that she rering the sale to include the discount. Just the cherry on the top of a disappointing visit to Cass. The only good thing about the whole trip was a nice man named Danny who let us see the informative video in the theater earlier than the official next showing which wasn't for another hour.

Nice first visit to quiet neighborhood park . Nice native trees, bird song. Uncrowded. Many benches…read moreand picnic tables. Glad I stopped here! The road in has big pot holes (only issue I saw).

Beautiful place! We did the self-guided tour and it took us about 40 minutes to walk through. Make…read moresure to dress a little warmer its chilly. The scenery is absolutely unreal and definitely worth checking out!

I love this place!…read more I could come back again and again and again, wanna go? The views are beautiful! I usually spend the entire day at Nemacolin or Ohiopyle after going here or just stay the night somewhere locally. It's such a lovely area with so much to do. I also love going to the Historic Summit Inn afterwards or before since it's on the way in and way out for drinks and apps in the small bar area. The tour is beautiful and insightful plus the gift shop has a lot of cool items and souvenirs. Go check it out if you're ever in the area.

Great experience, staff was very friendly and fun. I would definitely come back ! It was spooky and…read moreeducational.

Easily one of the best tours I've ever taken…read more I knew this would need to be part of our WV itinerary as soon as this place's existence became known to me while I was planning a possible trip. Just the name is enough to grab you but it certainly delivers. The thought of doing a paranormal tour intrigued me but I was also interested in the history. We arrived at 2:20 and were informed the paranormal tour wasn't starting until 4. Did we really want to wait until 4?! The very nice man provided descriptions of all of the tours and the paranormal one just sounded so interesting that it didn't seem like a real debate. We bought tickets and were considering how we would kill time but it turns out, they have a very interesting museum about the place's history on the first floor that someone entertained my ADHD ass until 3:55. It was incredible. As if that couldn't get any better, the tour was absolutely fascinating. We were taken throughout the museum and our guide, Brad, was impressively knowledgeable about the place, answered every question in exquisite detail. The only disappointment was that instead of experiencing anything paranormal, we were just told stories about things other people have experienced. Don't get me wrong, this was captivating but I was hoping to experience something for myself which I did not. An absolute must visit if you are interested in this kind of shit and are anywhere remotely in the vicinity.

This beautiful red bridge was completed in 1887 and it originally spanned the Tug Fork of Big Mill…read moreCreek. It was named after Enoch Staats, whose water-powered mill and store anchored the surrounding community. The Staats family were early settlers, arriving around 1780. Enoch's father, Isaac Staats, built the first mill on the site. H.T. Hartley built it using the Long Truss system, patented by Stephen Long in 1830, featuring distinctive "X"-braced diagonals across 11 panels. In 1971, the bridge was modified with steel girders inside the original trusses to support modern loads and in 1983, it was relocated about three miles to here and converted to pedestrian only use. The park can get quite busy on beautiful summer days so be prepared to be challenged finding a parking space. [Review 571 of 2025 - 156 in West Virginia - 24132 overall]

This lovely piece of history has been a constant in my life growing up. We have many outings at…read moreCedar Lakes Park in Ripley, and this lovely red wooden historical covered bridge has been in the scenery backdrop all those many years. The bridge is well built since 1887. Built in 1887, the Staats Mill Covered Bridge originally crossed the Tug Fork of Big Mill Creek and was named for Enoch Staats' water-powered mill.. The Staats family were early settlers to the area, arriving around 1780. The bridge is a 97-foot-long "long truss" built by Henry Hartley This location is not the original location it was moved here for safe keeping and easy public access. My people use this lovely old bridge as a back drop in photo ops for weddings, prom, graduation, birthday pics, various different ideas. This is a lovely bridge and FREE to enjoy

Very peaceful!!! It's always very clean and well maintained. Never a bunch of people. Plenty of…read morehiking trails

It's not far at all from town but once you're there you would never know that. It's so peaceful and…read moreusually shady with lots of trails and little streams nearby. Yes, your animals are required to be on leash. There was hardly anyone there that day and no one was near the spot we were at. And my dogs wouldn't run off.

I absolutely loved this park and boardwalk. If you are in the mood to get out and about, check…read moreAudra State Park out. The Boardwalk and scenery is definitely worth the trip! Check Them Out!

Audra State Park is simply beautiful! It is a relaxing get away from the real world where you can…read moredisconnect. They do have WiFi close to the little shop in the campgrounds. The campgrounds are clean, as are the shower houses. The river was nice and cool when we were there and it was nice to see others enjoying the water. We tried one of the hiking trails, some parts were easier than others.