Tony Vanoy and I went hiking today at Cascade Falls in Pembroke, VA. Started out really great, we…read morethought it was 1.5 or 2 mile loop hike but OMG it turned out to be 5.57 miles roundtrip!! It cost a $3 per car to park and if you have America the Beautiful Card its free!! It was a beautiful day, but it was so long and so many stairs!! Over 1,000 stairs!!

The provenance of this site is somewhat unclear, but I think it falls under the federal government…read moreand putting up my national parks pass was successful in getting me through a visit without paying any additional parking fee. The main falls are two miles uphill from the parking lot, but the entire journey is a series of eminently worthwhile sights and sounds. Signs warned of challenging currents for anyone taking a dip in the water, which some people did. I would note that when I arrived a rescue operation was underway and emergency services did drive someone by me with what thankfully appeared okay. There are trails on one elevated bank and one closer to the water, as well as some offshoots and extensions. It's a great stretch of forest where you could easily spend more time than the couple of hours I did.

We've been lucky enough to visit a lot of national parks while touring the country and each one has…read moreits own personality. New River Gorge hits a little bit differently because we're such big fans of Fallout so seeing the bridge in person was especially cool. Driving over the bridge to get to the park almost made me feel like I was stepping into the game. That big beautiful arch stretching across the gorge was an incredible sight to behold but I was quickly overwhelmed by the incredible natural beauty all around me and soon forgot all about the game. I just wanted to explore this gorgeous place. The overlooks are easy to access and genuinely breathtaking. The gorge is dramatic and beautiful. The bridge is the star of course and the way it frames the landscape is stunning. It just felt so peaceful in scenic the whole time we were in this park. Of all the parks we visited, this one stands out because it blends natural beauty with something personal, so it wasn't just scenic, It was kind of an iconic moment. I'm so glad that I got a chance to come here and see it for myself.

Hiked the endless wall trail and long point trail and 10/10 recommend! The views are breathtaking!…read moreBoth hikes are pretty easy, maybe slightly moderate due to some uneven terrain. Played some Jurassic park music at the overlook to really add to the effect, but to each their own.

Today, Kayla Beth Fields , Deacon and I were on our way to a Labor Day Cookout at my cousin, Wanda…read moreBlackwell home. We stopped at Grandview State Park to use restrooms, enjoy the Beautiful Famous Horseshoe Bend Vista and play on the playground. We had a nice little 20 minute break from the road. Deacon enjoyed himself.

Went here for the famous Grandview overlook and it was such an amazing experience. There are a ton…read moreof trails for you to explore, with a wide range of difficulty. But as the name states, the Grandview is just beautiful and breathtaking. To get to the overlook, there is a parking lot close by to the entrance and its basically a short walk. If you wanted to explore more areas, there are signs with different trails for you to explore. It all loops back.

My husband and I like to hike so on our recent visit to Roanoke we started exploring options. We…read morelearned that McAfees Knob is the most photographed spot on Appalachian trail. We were a bit nervous about an 8 mile hike, but decided we were going to take it on. That hike was no joke, it kicked my butt. However, I did it and I am not someone in amazing shape by any means. There were some very steep/uphill parts and some stretches that were mostly flat. Trail was well marked. I was happy for the variation and we stopped as needed. It is doable, its just long. They say it takes you about 4 hours, which was accurate for us as we arrived around 10am, finished about 2pm. We did the AT trial up and decided to go for the fire road (runs basically parallel but isn't as strenuous) back as we were already tried. I highly recommend this if you not a serious hiker. Most everything I read kept saying you need to get their early as it gets so busy. That wasn't our experience, but it was an unseasonably colder, windy day so that probably deterred people. We also went on a Thursday to help reduce crowd as recommended. Note there are no bathrooms near parking. We found an outhouse near one of the camping sites about 2/3 way up, which we were grateful for. I am not sure it is being maintained regularly, so bring your own TP and hand sanitizer. Now, the view once you get to the top is absolutely beautiful. You can see out so far while you sit/stand on the rocky overlook. I even slowly inched my way out to the very tip of the rock to get the full 360 view. Breathtaking! We brought some snacks to eat up there to replenish (do this) and enjoy the views. We didn't stay up there as long as I would have liked as it was quite cold with the wind when we no longer had the tree cover. Dress appropriately! After we finished the hike, we took a long nap at our Airb&B. I am not sure I would choose to do it again, but I feel very accomplished that we completed this trail and enjoyed the views and our picutres very much.

What an awesome hike. Our new Thanksgiving tradition has been to go on a hike and this was our pick…read morethis year. We got there around 10am since it's a 3 hour drive from Charlotte. I thought it would be empty on Thanksgiving, but it was pretty crowded. We got a parking spot just fine, but the lot was fairly full. The hike is rated as strenuous, but I thought it was moderate. It's about 4 miles to Mcafee Knob from the parking lot making it 8 miles round trip. We took the Appalachian Trail on the way there and the fire road on the way back. The fire road is flatter and wider--an easier hike overall. Parts of the AT were covered in leaves making it a bit hard to hike. Everyone says the last mile is hard. It's uphill but I didn't find it to be too steep. The views at the end are gorgeous. Luckily it wasn't too crowded and we didn't have to wait to get our picture. We didn't stay at the top long because it was incredibly windy which made it pretty cold even though the rest of the hike was comfortable. The whole hike with stops took us just under 4 hours. With views and difficulty combined, we thought it was a great hike!

Beautiful views and waterfall. Highly recommend. Easy walk on the board walk with some sitting…read moreareas.

Leaving Hinton, WV on Rt 20, it climbs up the mountain side part of the Sandstone Mountains along…read morethe New River. Going up the mountainside there are two areas where you can pull over and view the lovely New River below. There is not a lot of room to pull over made three cars could fit, but not much more. I could not make out the Sandstone Falls below but the views were amazing!!!

We were in West Virginia for my husband's work and made it a little leaf peeping Excursion. Babcock…read moreis on the top of the list of places I like to go the mill and the lake plus the colors around the area are just gorgeous lots of Reds oranges and yellows. No fee to enter they have restrooms that are easy to access and flushy bathrooms. There is a Almost Heaven swing by the mill. But what the pictures don't show is the sound of the Rushing Water it's just all so beautiful. Recommend bringing snacks in a beverage have a little picnic. Fall is the prettiest time but I'm sure it's beautiful anytime of year I'm sure with some snow would be gorgeous but I'd be a little scared to tackle all the West Virginia curvy roads with some ice and snow. This year we had such a dry drought year that no one thought the fall was going to be worth seeing so we didn't make any Leaf peeping vacations. If he hadn't had this work trip we would have missed out on on this for the year. Considering the dryness the colors were doing pretty good around here we had went to other areas where the leaves were already down around black around Blackwater and Seneca Rock. But the bugs were quite annoying mainly lots of gnats that if you stopped moving they were really annoying. We've been here a few other times in other years and this is the only time that was an issue. At the lake they have porta potties and the moved them to block the lake view Which is unfortunate. Please move them. !!

Did a quick stopover on the way to Hawk's Nest SP, and wow, this place is beautiful! One of the…read moremost frequently visited state parks in WV and it's easy to see why! The grist mill is absolutely iconic, sitting atop a picturesque waterfall. The park has a mountain lake for water activities, plenty of trails, and even cabins for longer stays! There's an Almost Heaven swing right by the mill and visitor's center, and the CCC stonework is stunning. The New River Gorge bridge is about 20-30 minutes away depending on how well you drive on mountain roads, and there's plenty to do in the area for a fun weekend or even longer! I will definitely be back myself!

We hike a lot so modest rating is more for avid hikers. The trail is mostly wide and hard ( with…read moremud in places after rain) but gets steep with tree roots everywhere to the lookout. Good view of the big bridge but not the river.

I ended up on this trail because the one leading down to the mine was closed due to heavy rains…read morecausing part of it to collapse, which is unfortunate but probably natural given the geography. This trail ends in a rocky prow sticking out towards the gorge and giving an impeccable view of the justifiably famous bridge to the north. The other overlooks didn't amount to a whole lot, and it was muddy and buggy during my visit, but again, that's all part of the game. The end is definitely a bit dodgy for acrophobics [raises hand], but I managed to get some views without getting too close to the edge.

OK we went here in the fall, but I bet this place is hopping in the summer. It has everything a…read moresummer RV-er could want. Beautiful campgrounds kept very clean. Playgrounds for the kids. A swimming pool (no swimming in the lake). A gorgeous lake that you can take a boat out on. Trails to hike. Camper's paradise. There were no real campers there when we stopped by, probably because it was late October and it gets pretty cold in WV that time of year. It's pretty "off the beaten path" too. Oh, but what a place to go camping.

I wish I could do multiple rankings. I would give this place 5 stars based on our first two nights…read morethere (we were alone in the tent campground), but a group of men with ~15 bear hunting dogs showed up the third day, and their incessant howling (and the campground host's refusal to do anything about it) caused us to leave early. Another camping couple who had just arrived was equally concerned. If we'd arrived that day, I'd be giving this place 1 star. Here is a link to our full experience of Moncove Lake State Park and surrounds (some of which was quite magical): http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/blog/2021/10/covid-camping-and-bear-hounding/

We planned to see as many waterfalls as we could in the Fayetteville area and Wolf Creek Falls is…read moreone of them. We accessed the falls via the Kaymoor trailhead. You just have to hike a short distance on the Kaymoor Trail from the trailhead. You will cross over a creek on a small bridge. It had been raining for a couple of days prior, so the waterfall was flowing really nicely. The unique thing about this waterfall is that a lot of the rocks had moss on them. It also continues to fall underneath the trail path. Definitely a nice waterfall to see, and a short hike from trailhead. The path is not paved though, so not stroller friendly. Get outside and enjoy friends!

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!