These caves were very interesting, and beautiful. I had never visited a cavern before and this one…read morewas a great first one to visit. It was very easy to get into and did not disappoint.

The friendly staff and tour ways perfect for all ages. The info signs along the way helped. We…read moreenjoyed the gift shop and did the gem mining before leaving.

Delightful and Unexpected:…read more My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum. We pass it every other year on our Ohio/Pennsylvania vacations, and we always joke about visiting. This year we decided to give it go. We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed Wolf Creek. The staff is super friendly and our tour guide was exceptionally educated on the site, and you could easily tell that she enjoyed her job. This is a fun and relatively inexpensive way to spend 2 to 3 hours and learn fascinating Native American history

Saturday, April 20th, 2024 (Earth Day Weekend) Showed up…read morelate afternoon so guided tours were over but self guided tour and indoor museum available however we just shopped at the gift shop. The staff were very friendly, professional, knowledgeable, eager to help and had answers for any and all questions. The pottery was stunning, the book selection was great, fun gifts, cool collectible items, handmade jewelry etc We highly recommend this experience to any and all

Beautiful place when I went it was closed but I was able to walk around outside. It doesn't appear…read morethat they are open for tours right now.

Fantastic historical place to eat. Much better menu than nearby establishments and the food is…read moregreat. Prices are more than the nearby venues but this is several cuts above. I also recommend taking the tour of the grounds and house. Great service! They are only open from May through December but is worth the trip!

After taking a tour of the historic town of Thurmond, located at the Thurmond Depot (they do tours…read moredaily at 11 am), we came across Dunloup Falls just down the road. Coincidentally, we were planning to hit up some waterfalls as part of the Waterfall Trail of WV and to our delight, Dunloup Falls was one of the falls on the list. Dunloup Falls is located along Route 25, do as you're coming out of Thurmond, you'll come across a pull off to your left. You have enough room to park and no need to hike it. You can enjoy from the road or walk down a little to get closer. It had been raining for the last couple of days prior, so the falls was just gushing with life! Waterfalls are just a sight to see, big or small, trickling or gushing! If you happen to explore Thurmond, definitely don't miss this gem on the way out!

My local West Virginia friend started out the day by driving north from Princeton to Beckley. Along…read morethe way, I mentioned the abandoned theme park attraction and we made a pitstop. I saw that this was a theme park in a West Virginia tourism video on YouTube, but the property fell into disrepair over the years and itself became a tourist attraction in its own right. Some say it's haunted as well. Entrance into the property is by appointment only. When we arrived at the property, we saw the gate locked up with an aged sign posted with a phone number. We assumed that it would be open for tourists, but ended up disappointed. We wandered around the property for a bit and peeked inside the fencing and saw a lot of stuff were in disrepair and felt like it was a bit more than unusual. Too bad they don't fix it up to be a reputable theme park for the local West Virginians who want to come to visit again. With that said, we spent 10 minutes touring around outside the fencing until we decided to call the number on the signage. We did not receive anything. It kept ringing for a minute or so and then we just hung up. After that, we just got back in the car and made our way northward to Beckley. The drive to get us here was exciting as it could be but as it turned out, it was anything but. The disappointment factor was off the charts that day but we assumed it was going to be open and not chained up. We should have called ahead but we didn't. Lesson learned to call ahead to make arrangements. The overall experience here at the abandoned theme park at Lake Shawnee was very interesting and quite off to be in path for sure. It is not something that you would want to see in everyday travels, whether you're visiting or are on business. Since I did not have any history on the theme, park itself, I resorted to finding any information online and it was quite a learning experience to hear that the theme park was in need of desperate face left. But nobody seemed to care over the years and decades, so it just sat there like this and it tends to be a tourist attraction all by itself, willingly or unwillingly. For the most part though, the abandoned theme park at Lake Shawnee is pretty much haunted. As far as I was concerned at least. Even the signature Ferris wheel looked like it seen better days for sure, even though it was relatively brand new in the 1980's. And so, if you decide to venture into the abandoned amusement park in southern West Virginia, consider making arrangements first to get access to the grounds ahead of your arrival. Maybe 10-14 days beforehand so you get full confirmation prior to arrival. Don't be a bonehead like i was. Well, maybe. And so, if you enjoy this kind of thing, consider making a road trip and come out to the abandoned theme park. While there is a lot of dark history surrounding the theme park and definitely is haunted, the park is generally okay during the day like many places out there. Just don't venture at night unless you don't want to get spooked easily. Unless you enjoy that kind of thing like ghost hunters do. The abandoned theme park at Lake Shawnee is located in the outskirts of Princeton, West Virginia. I learned about the cost of admission when I was writing this review and it was sizable. There is an official website where you can book tours online. There's a day time tour and a ghostly overnight tour too. Do so at your own risk with either that you do. I assume major credit cards are accepted if you pay online. They probably accept cash in person too. As far as parking goes, I'm sure there's parking options available when you get to the site itself. As long as they know you are confirmed and are coming, there's plenty of parking here for your benefit. I doubt that there is any viable public transportation that would be readily available for anybody and everybody to come from Princeton or anywhere in between. You would have to have your own personal vehicle or rent one for the most convenient experience. Then there's always Uber or Lyft at your disposal, but best believe that it could be a very expensive ride because of the remote location that you're trying to reach. With that said, if you're really into ghost stories and theme parks that have seen better days, you're more than welcome to enjoy this place. Too bad it's not in-use anymore. Otherwise, it would have been something to look forward to share memories with family or friends. 3.0 stars for the overall experience. Too bad I didn't get a chance to check out the tour. On the flip side, I don't want to scare myself to sleep either. Support local! C

This location was listed in the Paranormal Trail for West Virginia. Like many others, we tried to…read moreschedule a tour but had no luck. We did end up driving by to try and check it out but you can't really see anything but overgrowth. There is a locked chain length fence with a sign and what looks like a dilipadated trailer home, but after seeing the location for myself I'm glad no one responded because there is no way a tour here could possibly be worth what they are asking.

What a gem tucked away right next to the VA Tech campus! This is a must visit for history buffs…read morewhen in the area! No longer owned by the APVA, it's a private foundation now I believe, the house has been painstakingly restored and features many pieces owned by the original family. Take the tour! The on-site historian who gives them is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the history of not only the plantation and Home, but the area as well. I could have listened to her for hours! This is reasonably priced ($8 for adults, but we found a groupon!) and the gift shop has some nice and locally made choices.

visited Saturday with our DAR group. our guide was the executive director and he was amazing!…read more beautiful historical home and grounds

What a great way to explore downtown Lexington. Trotting down the street, hearing the clip-clop of…read morehorse hooves on the cobblestone, seeing important buildings and monuments, hearing the tour guide talk about the history of this Virginia town -- it's all very romantic. The horses are well-taken-care of and seem happy. No beefaroni in these horses' diets. But the horses who pulled out carriage did like getting apple Pop Tarts as treats, which was cute. The carriage tour goes all around downtown Lexington, and we saw the old hospital, cemetery, two universities, historic houses and lots more. The pace of travel is slow, so you have lots of time to look around and ask questions. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Lexington, and answered all of our questions. Afterward, you get to pet the horses and take pictures with them. I would definitely recommend this carriage tour to someone visiting Lexington for the first time.

Plan Ahead - Beautiful Town, But Limited Carriage Availability…read more I was really looking forward to exploring the downtown area by carriage--it looked like such a charming way to see this quaint and lovely town. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the carriage service closes early and requires advance tickets. They only have one carriage, so it's not like other cities where multiple carriages run in rotation and you can wait for the next one. It was disappointing to miss out, especially since the experience seemed fantastic. I'm sure it would've been a 5-star ride had I been able to go. Just a heads-up to future visitors: book ahead if you're hoping for a carriage ride--don't count on just walking up.

I was debating about whether or not to visit, as I was afraid it might be a simulation experience…read more Boy, was I wrong! This turned out to be the highlight of my roadtrip. I enjoyed going underground, and our tour guide, Gerald, was great. He was able to answer all the questions he was asked. I also went to some of the outbuildings. I was surprised and pleased to see that there were docents in the Supervisor's house & the school. Both of those women came from coal mining families, and I was lucky to be able to spend some time talking to each of them about their experiences. What a hard -- and kind of sad -- life. I actually felt a little guilty that mine is so much different. I also went into the gift shop, where all of the women were just hilariously funny! They almost made me wish that I lived in the area & wanted a job; I would love to work with them! I encourage everyone to visit the Beckley Coal Mine. It was very informative and eye-opening.

We had a great experience on the mining tour in Beckley! I was born and raised in West Virginia, so…read morecoal has always been part of our history--but I had never actually been inside a mine before. This was such a unique way to experience it firsthand. Our tour guide, Tony, really made the tour. He was incredibly knowledgeable and added a lot of humor, which kept things interesting the entire time. You ride through the mine on a cart that's pulled along, and while you don't get off during the tour, he stops a few times to share stories and information. If you're extremely claustrophobic, it might not be for you--but personally, I didn't find it too bad at all. The whole facility is really well done. There's a gift shop, drinks, restrooms, and a museum inside the depot. Outside, there are several historic buildings and houses you can walk through, and they're all accessible with ramps. Parking is easy and right on site. Overall, it's a really neat experience and a great way to learn more about an important part of West Virginia's history. Definitely worth a visit!

Today, while taking a Sunday drive up the Kanawha River towards Cedar Grove, we stopped in Belle,…read moreWV to visit the 1810 National Historic Home of Samuel Shrewsbury Sr. The Stone House is well built and preserved. Located along the Route 60 Mid-Land Trail, it is very easy to locate near the DuPont Plant. There is a private small parking lot. The 2 Story home is closed normally to the public and only opened on special occasions. There is plenty of signage available telling about Samuel Shrewsbury from Bedford VA and the Salt Industry that brought him to the Kanawha Valley. Please stop if you are in the area and appreciate the beauty of this well constructed 214 yr old home! I was able to enjoy with my husband, Tony Vanoy, Daughter in law Kayla and grandson, Deacon. Only wish we could have went inside!!!

Located in Courthouse Square in the center of Union, this marker points out the history of a local…read morewho is laid to rest nearby. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "In Green Hill Cemetery is the grave of William Porcher Miles, who was a Congressman from SC, a signer of the SC Ordinance of Secession and a member of the Confederate Congress. During the Civil War he served on the staff of General PGT Beauregard where he helped to negotiate surrender of Fort Sumter and was designer of the Confederate Battle Flag." Miles was mathematics professor at the College of Charleston, later elected mayor of Charleston, where he modernized the police force, and then a U.S. Congressman known for defending Southern rights. As a member of the Confederate Congress, he chaired the Military Affairs Committee and designed the battle flag that became the most enduring symbol of the Confederacy. After the war, Miles married into a wealthy Virginia family, managed plantations in Virginia and Louisiana, and briefly served as president of the University of South Carolina. He remained committed to the principles of secession throughout his life, dying in 1899 in Louisiana, with his legacy tied to both civic reform and Confederate identity. [Review 1457 of 2025 - 191 in West Virginia - 25010 overall]