Did you know that West Virginia is lousy with bears? I did not know this before visiting West…read moreVirginia. Did you know that I am incredibly afraid of bears? I am, and I agreed to stay in a cabin in the West Virginia woods without doing any bear research beforehand. I learned about the bears -- all 14,000 of them roaming the state -- a day before I was supposed to stay at Mountain Creek Cabins, which are located in the middle of the woods in Bruceton Mills. I was ... a little anxious about my stay, you could say. Never mind that a bear attack has never been recorded in the state of West Virginia. There's always a first, right? And it could be me!
I'm writing this review unmauled, with all of my limbs intact, and with great memories of my stay at Mountain Creek Cabins. Staying at our cabin was one of the highlights of my visit to the area, and my kids agree: We all loved staying here.
There are eight cabins on the property, so we weren't as isolated as I thought we'd be. We weren't isolated, but we were also far enough away from other people that we felt very much like we had lots of privacy. We stayed in the White Tail cabin, which can sleep five with one king bed, two twin beds and a rollaway bed. The twin beds are upstairs, but everything else is downstairs, including a living room with a big TV connected to Roku, a push-button fireplace, a full kitchen and dining table, and a restroom. The kitchen has everything you need to cook and eat at the cabin.
The living room has a cabinet with board games. We played one of them (Rummikub) and loved it so much that we ended up buying it once we got home. There's also free and fast wifi, which is important to each person in my family.
The decorations in the cabin are sparse, but what decor there is included Bible verses and deer paintings, which is definitely a choice. I was not blown away by the aesthetics of this cabin, but it was the garish lighting that really messed me up. There's one soft lamp in the living room, and everything else is bright, cool, alarming overhead lighting. If you're a person who notices lighting like I do, this place will have you all effed up. My advice: Turn on the lamp, turn on the little light above the stove, and just be OK with the place being a little dark. Your only choice is this or prison lighting.
Every cabin comes with its own hot tub, which my children used multiple times during our stay. It was immaculate and steaming when we checked into our cabin, which was much appreciated after a long drive to get to the cabin. The hot tub overlooks the woods, so it was nice to sit in the hot tub and see nothing but trees and a small creek that runs through the property. Well, it was nice for my kids to do that -- I was standing outside on the deck, looking out for bears. I was not about to let the bears dine on Indiana-children soup.
All of the cabins have access to a free laundry room, plus there are firewood bundles and eggs (?!?!) that you can purchase on the honor system.
We had a great time at Mountain Creek Cabins. It was so relaxing to stay at a place that had everything we needed. I never did end up seeing a bear, so I would stay here again without hesitation.