Exploring West Virginia’s State Parks
By Amanda Berg
In the winter of 2018, I purchased a state parks poster from Charleston print shop, Basecamp Printing Company. The poster features an outline of West Virginia and numbered pins where all the state parks are located. There are 34 state parks, nine state forests and two rail trails that make up the state parks system. As a lifelong West Virginian, I had no idea there were so many places that fell under the state parks umbrella. This poster purchase set in motion the idea of trying to visit all 45 destinations.
My husband, Quentin; daughter, Esther; and I decided to start at the first one on the list, Audra State Park. We had traveled along Corridor H numerous times on the way to visit our family in Grant County and would pass by several signs for Audra. That winter, we decided this time we were going to stop. We were immediately enamored by this park’s serene beauty. We hiked on the Alum Creek and Cave Trail, which features a boardwalk that follows the Middle Fork River and winds below the Alum
Cave overhang. After taking in beautiful river views and exploring a cave, I would say this first adventure cemented the idea to visit the other 44 sites our state parks system has to offer.
In 2019, we continued to check off a few different state parks with family. We took my in-laws to Blennerhassett Island, which involved a scenic ferry ride and a tour of the Palladian mansion. We biked part of the North Bend Rail Trail through old train tunnels, hiked among the tall virgin hemlocks in Cathedral State Park and put our feet in the healing natural springs at Berkeley Springs State Park.
When we started sharing our goal to visit all the state parks with our friends, we were introduced to Very Important Parks Person (VIPP), a West Virginia State Parks program that encourages others to explore. Once we applied online for the program, we were sent three cards in the mail, one for each member of our family, and instructions to complete the VIPP program. There are 15 required parks you must visit and five additional parks of your choice to earn your VIPP status. The cards are to be stamped and dated at each park visited. Once completed, you can receive a prize and the title of VIPP. When I found out I could visit all the state parks and earn a prize, I was all in.
Unfortunately, 2020 started with the tragic death of a family friend followed by the looming uncertainty of a global pandemic. By spring, the world had shutdown. Quentin was able to work from home, and, as an essential frontline health care worker, I continued my in-person duties as an ICU nurse. After weeks of staying home, social distancing and exploring our back yard, we felt like we needed to take an afternoon drive. We packed a picnic lunch, our own toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and spent the day exploring the open trails with friends at Holly River State Park. The facilities were all closed, but the trails were wide open. Getting outdoors, feeling the sun on our faces and a little distanced social interaction did our spirits so much good. With few others at the park, it felt like a safe way to reset in a world that had changed so much in just six months.
Esther had not seen her paternal grandparents in months, and we felt that meeting at an outdoor park was a safe option to visit, while keeping a social distance. At Valley Falls State Park in Fairmont, we had a picnic, climbed rocks, explored pools of water and enjoyed the cascading falls.
Once summer officially started, we spent almost every weekend into late fall at a West Virginia state park. We were able to visit 24 new parks during this time by planning our trips based on an area, checking the proximity of other parks and combining multiple park visits into one trip.
Pocahontas County has the highest concentration of state parks and forests in the state. We started at Beartown State Park. Beartown’s focal point is a half-mile boardwalk, and it feels like a place out of a storybook forest with the large rock formations, boulders, thick trees and mossy overgrowth.
Only five miles away from Beartown is Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park. This location is known as the site of the last major American Civil War conflict in West Virginia. Droop Mountain boasts a historic museum and a lookout tower. We hiked the overlook trail that follows along trenches used by soldiers during the Civil War. We also climbed the stairs of the lookout tower for vast valley views.
