Every organization we link to: local tourism offices, the state and federal agencies that manage the land, the nonprofits and clubs that keep access open, and the universities doing the research.
West Virginia has roughly 1.5 million acres of public land and a handful of places that carry almost all of the attention. The consequence is that a great deal of very good ground sits nearly empty, usually for one of three reasons: nobody has heard of it, the road in is gated or rough, or it is undeveloped and has nothing to advertise. Those are the places below — of them across regions.
Almost Heaven Swings
Three walks that pay off inside a mile
Blackwater Falls State Park, Babcock State Park and Falls of Hills Creek each put moving water a short distance from a parking area. That is the trick with young children: a destination they can see, reached before the interest runs out.
What separates them is what the last hundred yards is made of. Blackwater Falls reaches its platforms by boardwalk and more than 200 steps. Falls of Hills Creek is paved to the first waterfall and steep stairs after that. Babcock puts its most photographed subject in plain view of a creek bank.
None of the three costs anything to enter. West Virginia charges no admission at any of its 35 state parks or 9 state forests, and Falls of Hills Creek sits on national forest, where hiking needs no permit.
Blackwater Falls: the stairs are the whole question
The falls drop 57 feet where the Blackwater River enters an eight-mile canyon, and the water runs amber from hemlock and spruce tannins. The boardwalk route is a quarter mile and more than 200 steps down, which means more than 200 steps back up, carrying whatever child has stopped walking. Reckon on that before you start rather than halfway.
The Gentle Trail is the alternative: a paved quarter mile, offered by the park for anyone who cannot manage stairs. With a stroller or a tired toddler it is the sensible choice, not a consolation. Elakala Falls is a five-minute walk from the lodge and often overlooked, and Pendleton Point Overlook gives the deepest view into the canyon.
Lindy Point needs reading twice. The park describes it as a short flat walk best at sunset, while the trail record puts it at 0.3 miles rated moderate to difficult, to an overlook at 3,000 feet. Of the park's 21 trails, River Road Trail suits a slow family day best: 1.56 miles on an old railroad grade linking the park to Davis, walkable as far as the youngest tolerates.
Babcock: look first, hike second
The Glade Creek Grist Mill is the most photographed building in West Virginia, a working reconstruction assembled in 1976 from parts of three historic mills and set on a boulder-strewn creek. Small children can stand in front of it within moments of leaving the car, and October gives it fall color and low sun.
Beyond the mill, 4,127 acres of trail run in several directions and not all suit short legs. The Narrow Gauge Trail is the one to pick: 2.5 miles on the bed of the Manns Creek Railway, which closed in 1956, so railroad grade rather than climbing.
Two routes are worth naming so you avoid them. Rocky Trail is half a mile of CCC stone staircase between the Skyline and Narrow Gauge trails. Old Sewell Trail runs nine miles downhill to a former mining town and into the national park, and nine miles downhill means nine miles back up. Manns Creek Gorge trails are steep and rugged throughout.
Falls of Hills Creek: decide in advance where you turn around
Three waterfalls fall within three-quarters of a mile here, dropping 25, 45 and 63 feet, and the lowest is the second-highest in West Virginia. The round trip is 1.6 miles.
The upper falls section is accessible and paved. The lower two are not: beyond the first waterfall the route becomes steep stairs and boardwalk descending into a mossy shale gorge. With a stroller the trip ends at the upper falls, which is still a waterfall reached on pavement. With children who handle stairs steadily and a spare adult, the lower falls are the better sight.
Flow is best in spring and after rain, which is also when the gorge is most slippery. Ice makes the winter descent dangerous, so treat the stairs as off the list in cold weather even without a posted sign.
What fills up, and how far ahead
Nothing about a day visit needs booking. Overnights are a different matter. Cabin bookings across the state park system open a year in advance, and Babcock, Blackwater Falls and Watoga fill for summer weekends and all of October within days of that window opening. Babcock's cabins are among the most booked in the system.
Blackwater Falls is a resort park, so it runs a full lodge alongside its cabins, which is the fallback if the cabins are gone. In winter it operates the longest lift-served sledding run in the region, on a magic carpet lift, and that sells out on holiday weekends.
Much of what you stand on was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1942, and Babcock carries recognizable CCC stonework.
Months that suit small children
July and August are humid and hot below 2,500 feet, which argues for going high: Blackwater Falls sits in the Highlands, and trails then are green, buggy and quiet. September and October are the clearest weeks of the year and the busiest, with fall color starting on the highest ridges in late September, and lodging in Davis books months ahead.
Winter splits the three. Blackwater Falls in ice is one of the great sights in the state and the sledding run is open, while the stairs at Falls of Hills Creek turn into a hazard. Spring rain is what makes the Hills Creek waterfalls run hardest.
The hazards that actually apply on a family day out
Ticks first. West Virginia has high rates of Lyme disease, and blacklegged and lone star ticks are active any month above freezing. Treat clothing with permethrin, check children thoroughly after every outing, and remove attached ticks promptly with fine tweezers.
Timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead both occur statewide, and rocky terrain, rhododendron thickets and warm ledges are where you meet them. Keep small hands off ledges and leave anything you see alone. Water levels change within hours of rain, so keep children out of creeks you have not inspected from the bank.
Falls of Hills Creek is national forest, so wear blaze orange there from October through January; the two state parks generally do not allow hunting. Plan the driving honestly, because roads here follow creeks and ridges and sixty miles can take two hours.
Reach people planning this trip
Placement alongside guides for outfitters, guides, shops and lodging.
List your business hereQuestions
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