Welcome to Americanparks.info - Information on West Virginia State Park Lodges

Almost every state park has hiking train, camping, and wildlife. West Virginia's parks have that and more.

Amenities like championship golf courses, stables, some of the best whitewater in the country, and even Roman baths make each of West Virginia's 34 state parks unique. They can satisfy the nature lover as well as the history buff or spa fanatic, and most have campgrounds if you want to rough it.

Here is just a sampling of West Virginia's stale parks:

Babcock State Park (Clifftop, 304-438-3004, www.babcocksp.com) is nestled in the mountain adjacent to the New River Gorge National River, one of the area's most popular whitewater rafting destinations. Boating, trout fishing, and swimming are what attract most visitors, but don't miss Glade Creek Grist Mill. The picturesque mill in a combination of parts salvaged from three old mills, some more than 100 years old, and is a living monument to the times when grinding meal along a stream was commonplace.

Berkeley Springs State Park (304-258-2711, www.berkeleyspringssp.com) is actually the town square of Berkeley Springs. Several bathhouses offer Roman baths, Victorian-style, clawfoot bathtubs, massage treatments, heat cabinets, and infra-red heat therapy. Sweet, pure, 74-degree mineral springs flow from the base of a steep ridge. For more than 200 years, people have come to "take the waters" and reap their healing benefits. In fact, the park can boast that George Washington soaked here. And if soaking is not enough, many people take bottles of the water home to drink. Over the last 20 years, health spas, art galleries, and even a homeopathic medicine factory have sprung up in the area, making West Virginia's eastern panhandle a popular weekend destination for East Coast residents.

Blackwater Falls State Park (Davis, 304-259-5216, www.blackwaterfalls. coin) is what you'd picture a state park to be--hiking trails, stables, nature and recreation programs, winter sports--the whole nine yards. What makes it unique is the Blackwater River. Tannic acid from fallen red spruce and hemlock needles gives the water its amber color. The falls, one of the most photographed in West Virginia, plunge five stories, sending the water roaring through an eight-mile-long river gorge. The vistas of the Blackwater Canyon at Lindy Point are drop-dead gorgeous, and just one-half toile from the lodge are where Pendleton Lake's falls do their cascading. To swimmers and boaters, the lake is a big attraction.

Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park (Parkersburg, 304-420-4800, www.blennerhassettislandstatepark.com). In 1794 Harman Blennerhassett wed his niece Margaret. In Ireland, that was a no-no. They were forced to flee to the New World and ended up here. On their 500-acre, Ohio River island wilderness, Harman and Margaret built an ornate mansion. Life was idyllic until Harman got involved with Aaron Burr and an ill-fated plan to invade northern Mexico. Bad move. They got caught and lost everything. Today visitors flock to the island by paddlewheeler to see the reconstructed house, toodle around in a carriage, examine ancient Indian relics, or visit the hut where poet Walt Whitman spent time.

Cacapon Resort State Park (Berkeley Springs, 304-258-1022, www.cacaponresort.com). Way before this was a 6,000-acre state park, George Washington was a frequent visitor to its main attraction, 2,300-foot Cacapon Mountain. Its awesome view from Prospect Overlook encompasses the Potomac River Valley and three states--West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The Cacapon River snakes around the mountain. Come for the view but enjoy the multitude of facilities that the park has to offer--a lodge, cabins, beach swimming at Cacapon Lake, fishing, golf, nature and recreation programs, 20 miles of hiking trails, and horseback riding. It's just 10 miles from the Roman baths in Berkeley Springs.

Canaan Valley Resort & Conference Center (Davis, 304-866-4121 or 800-622-4121, www.canaanresort.com) is located not far from Blackwater Falls State Park. The high-elevation valley is popular with skiers, but the golf course makes the park a year-round destination. Lodging ranges from the modern 250-room lodge with high-speed internet access to secluded cottages and campsites. The spa and health club are state of-the-art. Bring the family because kids-only activities (even ski instruction) let you do your own thing. In the summer, children can busy themselves with miniature golf, tennis, hiking, or naturalist programs. Check out the variety of affordable ski and golf packages.

Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park (Hillsboro, 304-653-4254, www. wvparks.com/droopmountainbattlefield) probably would have stayed wilderness and never become a state park or one of the 300 Civil War Discovery Trail links had it not been for Union Brigadier General William W. Averell. It was here, on November 6, 1863. that he staged the state's last important Civil War battle, successfully disrupting the Virginia-Tennessee Railroad. A re-enactment of the event is performed every fall at the park, located just north of Lewisburg.

Hawks Nest State Park (Ansted, 304-658-5212, www.hawksnestsp.com) is in whitewater country. From its 31-room lodge there is a great view of where the rugged New River Gorge National River forms the peaceful Hawks Nest Lake. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, an aerial tram ferries visitors from the lodge to the marina, where they can whiz down the river at 40 miles per hour on a jetboat ride or experience the excitement of the Eastern U.S.'s best whitewater rafting. Check out the pioneer and Indian artifacts that are exhibited in a 1930s rustic log cabin, the park's museum, located on the main overlook.

Kumbrabrow State Forest (Huttonsville, 304-335-2219, www.kumbra brow.com) is the place to really get away from it all. The term rustic is taken literally here. Five of its six pristine cabins are over 70 years old, and time hasn't changed them. There are also three-bedroom cottages, plus campsites. Amenities at all the lodging facilities are sparse--wood-burning stoves, stone fireplaces, gas lighting, and pit toilets. Water comes from area wells. The newly constructed bathhouse has coin-operated showers and laundry facilities. Not exactly a destination for a princess, but if you are a deer; bear, turkey, bobcat, or ruffed grouse hunter or a trout fisherman, it is paradise.

Pipestem Resort State Park (Pipestem, 304-466-1800, www.pipe stemresort.com), is considered the crown jewel of West Virginia parks. The six-minute aerial tramway ride from the 3,600-foot top of Bluestone Canyon to the bottom will give you a mental snapshot of the area's beauty. The scenery that surrounds the two lodges is so awesome that it is difficult to choose where to stay. McKeever Lodge sits on the rim of Bluestone Canyon. Mountain Creek Lodge, at the bottom of the gorge, borders a clear, crystal river where fish abound. Conference facilities, cottages, campsites, stables, a nature center, an 18-hole golf course, and an artisans shop share the land with the many deer that roam the area. Come winter, sledders and cross country skiers can hardly wait for the snow.

Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park (Roanoke, 304-269-0523, www.stone wall resort.com). Though the famous general, for whom the park was named, lived in the area as a boy, surely his digs were not as sumptuous as the to-die-for resort here. Luxury accommodations, spa and salon services, an Arnold Palmer 18-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor pools, and a full-service marina make the resort one of the best in the state. The park also offers multi-bedroom cottages on the 2,650-acre, manmade lake.

Twin Falls Resort State Park (Mullens, 304-294-4000, www.twin fallsresort.com) is 94 percent forest with an 18-hole golf course, cottages, camping, a mountaintop lodge, and a living history pioneer farm. And, of course, it has the waterfalls (usually dry in summer). Fifteen miles of hiking trails wind along an undeveloped valley populated with hickory and oak trees. A cemetery trail explores the area's old tombstones. The amphitheater plays host to concerts and plays. Once a month, there are special event weekends like photography and astronomy workshops.

Contact: West Virginia State Parks, (800) CALL WVA, www.wvstateparks.com.