‘Almost heaven’? Here’s why West Virginia is the place to go

15.02.2024 - 12:33 / nationalgeographic.com

West Virginia’s Blue Ridge peaks, dramatic gorges, and rushing rivers put it on the map for hikers, rafters, and rock climbers. But the Mountain State isn’t just an adventure destination—it’s also home to historic Civil War sites, old-time music venues, and some of the best stargazing in the United States. We consulted local artists, chefs, and Nat Geo staffers from the region to plot your course in the place that the classic country song calls “almost heaven.”

At the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, hikers explore 100 miles of paths, anglers hook smallmouth bass, and rock climbers scale sandstone cliffs on 70,000 wooded, mountainous acres. But the most heart-pumping way to see America’s newest national park? Hop a guided white-water rafting trip (one of National Geographic’s top 20 Best of the World travel adventures for 2024). “Running the Lower Gorge with Class III to V rapids was a blast, and made for a challenging day,” says Anne Farrar, a National Geographic photo editor who grew up near the West Virginia-Ohio border. “Learning to dump a raft, flip it, and climb back in safely was pretty cool. I can’t wait to go back and spend more time on the epic river.”

Travelers step back in time at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, a riverside settlement with ties to the Civil War. “Thewhole town is a walkable museum with furnished 19th-century buildings—a dry goods shop, a tavern—you can peer into,” says Ryleigh Nucilli, a native West Virginian and National Geographic’s director of digital content. You can also visit John Brown’s Fort, the 1848 armory where Brown and his followers staged their famous, doomed anti-slavery rebellion. The park, located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, also has 22 miles of Blue Ridge hiking trails, many with dazzling mountain and water views.

Thanks to its elevation (3,200-5,000 feet) and basin-shaped geography, the Canaan Valley region of far western West Virginia averages about 150 inches of snow a year—a boon for winter recreation. Paper artist Nevada Tribble, who lives in Elkins, recommends renting cross-country skis and gliding off from the White Grass Ski Touring Center, with its 31 miles of groomed paths and a cozy café for après-ski soup, microbrews, and brownies. “The trails take you on lovely journeys through the woods,” says Tribble. “There are wind shelters along the trail where you can scoop up birdseed and try to entice the winter songbirds to land on you.”

Travelers can also rent snowshoes to troop around White Grass, Canaan Valley Resort State Park, or the wintery wilds of the Monongahela National Forest’s Dolly Sods and Cranberry Wilderness areas.

In the remote Potomac Highlands of eastern West Virginia, mountainous