This visit starts from a ranger I met when I stopped by the Sandstone Visitor Center in southern West Virginia in September 2015 after trading cars with my dad in Kentucky. I chatted with the ranger there for a bit about state parks to visit and how beautiful it was on I-64. I returned again in April of 2016 to look for more hikes around, and the ranger remembered me from September (and I was taken aback and surprised!). She told me about a National Trails Day 10 mile hike along the Bluestone River in West Virginia and I decided to go. June comes along and she arrives at the hike and smiles huge “you came!” and we talked a bit along the way and I had a great time all around.

About three weeks ago, I remember, it’s the first weekend in June coming up (National Trails Day, first weekend in June!), so I call the visitor center to see if they’re doing the hike again. Ranger Abby answers the call, tells me she’s leading it again, and says, “I remember your voice! You’re the guy in DC that runs marathons right?” I just had to go hike again right?!

I took off from Washington, DC on Friday morning (with a brief driving visit through Rock Creek Park, the National Mall, and over the George Washington Memorial Parkway) and headed out to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

The drive along Interstate 64 is just spectacular after heading west from Lexington, VA. The West Virginia portion quiets down a lot, and it’s just the rolling hills and you for some parts. I recently picked up a West Virginia book that listed all of their historical markers and made a stop over at Sam Black Church to take in the story for the Greenbrier Ghost. That last line is a thinker.

Continuing along I-64, I made my way back to the Sandstone visitor center and arrived to a cheerful “Marc! You’re here!” from Ranger Abby. We caught up a bit, and talked over what I should do with my afternoon, since I arrived at about 1 PM. I’m also a member of the West Virginia State Parks VIPP program that allows you to get a patch and gift card for visiting state parks, so she suggested a loop with Babcock State Park and the Nuttallburg site in the New River Gorge. She told me I had to go see the Whipple Company Store sometime too, but sadly, not enough time this year.

I headed north to Babcock State Park which features one of the most photographed spots in WV: a grist mill along a river. It’s as charming as I thought it would be, with some heavy suggestion you take pictures and share them. As a side note, I’ve found every WV park to have friendly staff and memorable experiences and views. If you are going through to find the NPS sites, the WV state parks are worth it too, and they don’t charge admission!

Babcock State Park also has overlooks that were just stunning. For more than a few moments, I pondered whether I should go back home at the end of the trip on this bench

But there was more to see! I pressed on to Nuttallburg, which is a very harrowing drive in a four door sedan with DC plates. I could see everyone in the small towns I passed look twice at my car. There were more than a few signs saying the road was closed, but I’ve found that those signs can come down a little late after a road has opened back up, so through some very heavy potholes, gravel, and some low tree trunks, I made it to the abandoned town of Nuttallburg. Nuttallburg is worth a stop to see coal communities as they once were. The tipple and coal conveyor are still in tact and loom over the area. There are foundations of houses that used to be around the community and the foundation of a bridge that used to cross the New River. The railroad still passes by, and the Amtrak Cardinal travels through the New River Gorge on it’s way to Chicago from Washington, DC & NYC.

I walked around alone for about an hour before moving on from Nuttallburg. By the time I made it back to US 60, it was after 5, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get into the visitor center at the rim, so I decided to just keep moving. I enjoyed the view from the arch bridge as I passed by at 50 mph, which always reminds me of the Blue Ridge Parkway “Enjoy the View, Watch the Road!” I kept going south towards Beckley and the West Virginia Turnpike until the Bluestone River crossing to get a sneak peek at the gorge I’d be spending all day Saturday with.

I made it to Pipestem State Park in time for dinner. The Friday night special is a seafood buffet. Ignoring several warnings and “I wouldn’t do that’s…” from friends, I went in for the buffet, and got about 5 plates of food, looking over the Bluestone River Gorge and thinking about how much I enjoyed the day.

I went for a walk along the park road to an overlook to take in the late June sunset, and it did not disappoint.

After sunset, I went back to my room, and looked down at 2 raccoons staring at each person on their balcony looking for some handouts. I enjoyed seeing stars again for an evening, and noticed fireflies dancing around in the forest. I left the blinds open so I’d wake up to catch some morning views, as I recalled seeing a fogged in gorge last year, and once again, I got lucky for a beautiful view from my bed at 6:30 AM:

I got about another 90 min of snoozing in before I headed out to grab a sandwich and supplies for the hike. The hike itself started at the base of a tram that takes you down into the gorge. There’s a lodge and a dining room for guests that want to stay next to the river. It’s a tiny little gondola carriage ride to the valley, but it has some great views too! The ride down is free, the ticket back up is $7. Luckily, the hike ends at another state park where a bus will be waiting to take us back to Pipestem.

The hike began at 10 AM with some introductions and a little info about the area, and then we were off for 10 miles along the Bluestone NSR! The trail is mostly flat, with some ups and downs, and the occasional muddy patch. They’ve had a lot of rain recently, and all the river pictures are at 3.5 feet depth. In the past weeks they hit 9 feet, with trees along the trail showing signs of mud up to our chests. The state park portion through Pipestem was a little overgrown, but the ranger had called in for her maintenance guys to clear the path. Thankfully they came in and cleared off the NPS managed areas making the remaining 7 miles much easier to hike through. The hike stops at a group of rocks for lunch, and goes to the lost town of Lily, where the only road access to the Bluestone is. Lily was named after the Lily family and the town was relocated due to the Bluestone dam that was being built upstream. The river did not end up flooding where Lily was, but the only remains are one stone foundation. Today, there’s a restroom and some trash bins maintained by the NPS.

About 30 of us finished the hike and ended up at Bluestone State Park where a river rafting school bus was waiting for us with cold water and a smile. I was able to get 2-3 miles to chat with Ranger Abby and Joseph, talking about their previous ranger posts, and what they liked about WV. I’m working on pronouncing the Kanawha River correctly as well (CAN-aw). I told Ranger Abby that the National Park Service actually retweeted my last week when I participated in a Twitter chat about National Outdoors Month plans (About 20,000 people viewed the tweet!) Being tradition now, we took another photo for 2017, and then I was off on a 5 hour drive back home.