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.
Trip planner
Answer a few questions and get a plan built from this site's own records: where to go, where to base, a shape for each day, and the organizations to call first.
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Reading for this trip
A rotating selection of guides and itineraries. Reload for a different set.
Guide · Eastern Panhandle
Fishing the Cacapon and Lost Rivers
Smallmouth on the Cacapon, stocked trout at Cacapon Resort, brook trout in the only natural lake in the state, and how WVDNR posts its stockings.
7 min read · June
Guide · Eastern Panhandle
Tubing the Shenandoah River in West Virginia
The 2.5-mile Millville Dam float, minimum ages, season pass hours, the Class II+ Potomac alternative, and the parking problem at Harpers Ferry.
7 min read · July
Best of · Eastern Panhandle
Camping in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
Two state parks, a George Washington National Forest campground and 22,928 acres of primitive ground, with the booking system and season window for each.
7 min read · September
Guide · Eastern Panhandle
The Appalachian Trail in West Virginia
The state's 24 trail miles, the Conservancy headquarters at Harpers Ferry, the three overlook hikes off the trail and how to walk them in a day.
8 min read · May
Destination · Eastern Panhandle
Trout Pond Recreation Area: A Complete Guide
The only natural lake in West Virginia, Rock Cliff Lake's beach, the campground fees and season windows, and why the ranger district matters here.
7 min read · June
Best of · Potomac Highlands
The Best Hikes in Canaan Valley
Trail by trail on the Canaan Mountain plateau and the valley floor: lengths, surfaces, elevations, and the wet ground the Forest Service warns about.
8 min read · SeptemberWest 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.