Green Bank Observatory
The world's largest fully steerable radio telescope, at the center of the National Radio Quiet Zone — a 13,000-square-mile area where radio transmissions are restricted by law. The practical outdoor consequence is that this is among the darkest and quietest country in the eastern United States, and your phone will not work.
Know before you go
- Exceptional astrophotography conditions — plan around the new moon
- Expect no cell service across much of Pocahontas County
- The science center and tours run daily in season
What you can do here
Guides, gear and lodging near Green Bank Observatory
Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.
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Nearby in the Greenbrier Valley
Greenbrier River Trail
Seventy-eight miles from Cass to Caldwell on a former Chesapeake & Ohio logging grade, crossing 35 bridges and passing through 2 tunnels, following the Greenbrier River the entire way.
Watoga State Park
West Virginia's largest state park at over 10,100 acres, built largely by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
Beartown State Park
A half-mile boardwalk through a formation of large Droop Sandstone blocks separated by deep crevasses, some of which hold ice into early summer.
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
The largest area of bogs in West Virginia — sphagnum and cranberry peat bogs holding plant communities left behind after the last glaciation, more typical of Canada than the mid-Atlantic, including carnivorous sundews and pitcher plants.
Falls of Hills Creek
Three waterfalls in three-quarters of a mile, dropping 25, 45 and 63 feet — the last is the second-highest waterfall in West Virginia.
Highland Scenic Highway
A 43-mile National Scenic Byway climbing over 4,500 feet across the Allegheny plateau between Richwood and US 219, with four major overlooks and access to Cranberry Glades, the Falls of Hills Creek and the Cranberry Wilderness.