West Virginia Favorites

  Green Sulphur Springs exit (143)
by grandmaR
 
  • Green Sulphur Springs exit (143)
      Green Sulphur Springs exit (143)
    by grandmaR
  • Exit at White Suphur Springs just before VA
      Exit at White Suphur Springs just before...
    by grandmaR
  • Crossing the Kanawha River bridge to Nitro
      Crossing the Kanawha River bridge to...
    by grandmaR
  • Dawson exit (150)
      Dawson exit (150)
    by grandmaR
  • Bridge to Nitro
      Bridge to Nitro
    by grandmaR
 
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Meet The Potomac & The Shenandoah!

by lmkluque

This is the second time I've seen the current of two bodies of water conjoining. The first was in Danmark where I saw the meeting currents of the North Sea and Skataget See. This time, it's the confluence of The Potomac River and The Shenandoah River. This is an awesome place! ...and I'm not even a nature lover! I don't know if it's just me or if others are impressed with the concept of seeing two huge bodies of water meeting, but it's a unique sight and fascinating to see the exact border of each river. Of course a backdrop such as the Blue Ridge Mountains does add a bit more drama in this natural setting.

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No Wonder People Settled Here!

by lmkluque

Rail Bridge over the Shenandoah River. The countryside is wild and beautiful!Okay, to be perfectly honest, the area from Washington D.C. to Harpers Ferry West Virginia is the only part of W.V. that I've seen, as an adult. When I was a child I lived about four and a half hours south, In Norfolk VA. so I may have seen more of West Virginia then, but don't remember a thing.The point being that as an adult, I was entralled with almost every scene along the way. The style of homes and farms was different to me, the landscape was lush and oh, so beautiful, that I can't imagine anyone would not like it here. Driving through the countryside was intoxicating! Nature in this part of the USA is so different from the West Coast and few could deny it's power and beauty. I am a person who avoids hiking or rugged outdoor living, but in this part of West Virginia I wouldn't have minded if we stayed a...

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More History in Shepherstown

by lmkluque

Shepheredstown is along the route to Harpers Ferry. It is also a smallish town with a population of less than a thousand. It is old, actually the oldest town in West Virginia, it is full of history and because it has been protected and well preserved, it too is lovely and interesting. We stopped here to have lunch at the Yellow Brick Bank, a favored place of Nancy Reagan and saw a few of the sites along the way. The Patomac River runs through the lower Shenandoah Valley and this is where you'll find Shepheredstown. Exploring a bit around the town after lunch we came upon a lovely bridge that crossed over the Potomac River in to Maryland. We also saw the James Rumsey Monument, which was built by the Rumseian Society to honor the career of James Rumsey. He was among other things, an inventor and creater of the 1787 steamboat.Click on this link if you'd like to see what else is offered in...

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Morgantown

by traveldave

With a population of about 114,500 in its metropolitan area, Morgantown is the largest city in north-central West Virginia. Morgantown is most famous for its Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system, which was built by the United States Department of Transportation in the 1970s as an experimental form of rapid transit. Nowadays, the system has five stations and extends for almost nine miles (14 kilometers).The area was first explored by Zackquill Morgan and his brother David in about 1767. In 1772, Zackquill Morgan established a homestead on the Monongahela River, near what is now the city's downtown. At the same time, Fort Morgan was established to protect the area from American Indian attacks. Over time, another six forts were established in the area. In 1783, after returning from the American Civil War, Morgan commissioned Major William Haymond to survey his land and divide it into...

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Wheeling

by traveldave

Wheeling was first settled by Colonel Ebenezer Zane and his brothers in 1769, when they came from the Potomac River Valley in eastern Virginia to establish a land claim. The area they settled is on a flat plain along the Ohio River, with steep hills rising up from the river valley. Other settlers soon followed. The early inhabitants built Fort Fincastle to protect the settlement. In 1776, the name was changed to Fort Henry, in honor of Patrick Henry.During the American Civil War, Wheeling was the headquarters of Virginians opposed to secession from the Union. At the time, the area that is now West Virginia was part of Virginia. The Union supporters in the city organized the State of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. Wheeling served as the state capital from 1863 to 1870, and from 1875 to 1877.Nowadays, Wheeling is the seat of Ohio County. It is the center of a metropolitan area of around...

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Charleston

by traveldave

The city that would one day become Charleston began in 1787 by the establishment of Fort Lee at the strategic confluence of the Kanahwa and Elk rivers. The fort was built by Colonel George Clendenin and his company of Virginia Rangers. The small settlement that grew up around the fort was named Charles Town after Clendenin's father Charles. The name was later shortened to Charleston to avoid confusion with another Charles Town in what is now West Virginia.Charleston was incorporated as a city by the Virginia General Assembly in 1794. At that time, the population was 35. The city soon began to grow after the discovery of salt deposits in the area. Charleston was the world's largest producer of salt by the early 1880s. While drilling for salt in 1815, natural gas was discovered, and in 1817 coal was discovered in the area.During the American Civil War, the Battle of Charleston was fought...

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Interstate 64

by grandmaR

I've driven through West Virginia on I-64 twice. It is a quite reasonable highway going from Kentucky to Virginia although part of it is a toll road.The towns along the way have very interesting names. Kenova is just over the Kentucky line at the meeting of the Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers, and then we skirt around Huntington on the Ohio River, then Pea Ridge on the Old Guyan River Road, Blue Sulphur (named for the spring with the highest sulphur content in the area), Hurricane (pronounced "her'-i-kin") and named for Hurricane Creek which was named by a party of surveyors commissioned by George Washington after a group of trees at the mouth of the river bent in one direction, and crossing the Kanawha River to Nitro, before we get to the capital Charleston. I found Nitro a most interesting name. It comes from nitrocellulose, a component of modern gunpowder. The Nitro area was to be the US's...

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counties

by davecallahan

The beautiful state of WV is sliced up into 55 self-serving regions called counties.Most of the county names are in reference to famous local or national individuals and families.A few exceptions are:Mineral County..... for the rich mineral resources in the areaGreenbrier.... for the Greenbrier RiverWyoming County.... native american for "wide country"Kanawha County.... for the Kanawha RiverOhio County.... for the Ohio Riverthe full list of counties is:Barbour | Berkeley | Boone | Braxton | Brooke | Cabell | Calhoun | Clay | Doddridge | Fayette | Gilmer | Grant | Greenbrier | Hampshire | Hancock | Hardy | Harrison | Jackson | Jefferson | Kanawha | Lewis | Lincoln | Logan | Marion | Marshall | Mason | McDowell | Mercer | Mineral | Mingo | Monongalia | Monroe | Morgan | Nicholas | Ohio | Pendleton | Pleasants | Pocahontas | Preston | Putnam | Raleigh | Randolph | Ritchie | Roane | Summers...

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Charleston

by grandmaR

Charleston West Virginia is the capitol of the state, and is quite different from the other better known Charleston in South Carolina which is in the "Low Country" an has an altitude of only about 118 feet. Charleston WV is HIGH country at over 500 feet higherThe land on which Charleston was build sold to Col. George Clendenin in 1786 by the Bullits who were the first owners. In 1788, Col. Clendenin and his company of Virginia Rangers built FOrt Lee. Some people think that Charleston is named after Col. Clendenin's father, Charles. Charles Town was later shortened to Charleston to avoid confusion with another Charleston Town in present day West Virginia Charleston is part of Kanawha County. The origin of the word Kanawha (pronounced KAN-A-WA) comes from a West Indian Arawak word for dugout. In fact, a two-story jail was the first county structure ever built. The first floor literally...

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do not drive 55 on the interstates.....

by davecallahan

I am from New York and many of our interstate highways have 55 as the speed limit with a few recently changing to 65.If you try to do 55 or even 65 in West Virginia interstates, you are going to end up with a tractor trailer in your trunk (especially going downhill). I found that if I ran at about 76 I was staying even with the slow lane and not too many people gave me the horn to go faster.

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Related West Virginia Favorites Tips

Top 3 Hotels in West Virginia

Quality Hotel Conference Center  Harpers Ferry

 43 Opinions

 Hotels in Harpers Ferry

Sleep Inn Charleston  Charleston

 1 Review and 44 Opinions  This was a gem of a motel but it was a bit tough to locate. The motel was off the I-79 exit but... 

 Hotels in Charleston

Euro Suites Hotel  Morgantown

 62 Opinions

 Hotels in Morgantown

320 Hotels in West Virginia
 
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Reviews and photos of West Virginia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for West Virginia sightseeing.

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Favorites: Cities in West Virginia
  1. Charleston Favorites
  2. Harpers Ferry Favorites
  3. Morgantown Favorites
  4. Berkeley Springs Favorites
  5. Huntington Favorites
  6. Beckley Favorites
  7. Cass Scenic Railroad State Park Favorites
  8. Seneca Rocks Favorites
  9. Shepherdstown Favorites
  10. Junior Favorites
  11. Grafton Favorites
  12. Holly River State Park Favorites
  13. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Favorites
  14. Pineville Favorites
  15. Sutton Favorites
  16. Yellow Spring Favorites
  17. Elkins Favorites
  18. Fayetteville Favorites
  19. Bluefield Favorites
  20. Cleveland Favorites
  21. Westover Favorites
  22. Marlinton Favorites
  23. West Union Favorites
  24. Brookhaven Favorites
  25. Cool Ridge Favorites

More Cities in West Virginia

 

Questions and Answers

lukksa profile photo

Q:  Forgot to ask before - Can you walk out on the bridge or is there an oerlook where you can look down on the river. Thanks 

TexasDave profile photo

A: You don't say which bridge--- I'm guessing the New River Bridge. If that is correct, then no, there is no place to stop on the bridge, but there are scenic overlooks... 

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