Review of Blackwater Falls State Park: A must see attraction in West Virginia

 

Blackwater Falls, WV

During the month of October (2021), we stayed a month in West Virginia, in a ski resort called Snowshoe Mountain Resort.  It was during this time that we learned of Blackwater Falls State Park from a travel brochure we had picked up at Seneca Rocks Discovery Center.

On one of the county travel brochures, Blackwater Falls State Park was featured on the cover.  It was such a mesmerizing and a beautiful photo of the falls and boardwalk, that we needed to plan a day trip to check it out.

The drive from Snowshoe Mountain Resort to Blackwater Falls State Park is around 90 miles, and it would take us over 2 hours, driving up and over many mountains, and traversing over hairpin turns.  As I’ve mentioned multiple times previously, I fell in love with West Virginia roads, with its incredible scenery and never ending excitement of turning left, only to turn a quick right the instant the previous turn is completed.

Our Pomeranian Toby, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy the roads like I did.  Because there are so many turns, my wife had to hold him in the front seat, as he was visibly shaking at times, the hairier the turns got.

Toby usually doesn’t enjoy car rides, but he does enjoy the destination once we get there.  Oh, well.  You can’t have everything…

Blackwater Falls State Park is located in the Allegheny Mountains of Tucker County, West Virginia.  It is named after Blackwater Falls, which is a 57 foot cascade, and is one of the most photographed places in all of West Virginia.  The park has over 20 miles of hiking trails and is home to the longest sledding magic carpet on the East Coast during the winter months.

We arrived at the park and we briefly stopped our car to figure out where we should visit first.  We took a left turn from Route 29 (Blackwater Falls Road) to check out the Smokehouse at Blackwater Falls.  We figured it would have a visitor center/restroom.

We had guessed right.  Even though the Smokehouse, which is a lodge/restaurant, was closed for renovations, the visitor center was in operation and so were the restrooms.

We parked then let Toby out for a quick walk.  We also stopped by the visitor center for a map of the park and for a pit stop.

After finishing our prepared lunches, we decided to check out the Elakala Falls.  We didn’t see a sign to get to the fall, so we asked a friendly ranger who was passing by for some directions.  She pointed the trail leading to the Elakala Falls is just next to the Smokehouse.

We thanked her, then headed towards the trail.  The weather was a crisp and a nippy kind of day in the mountains, and we were glad we brought our light jackets.  Toby, on the other hand, didn’t mind the chilly air, as he has double coat.  He sniffed the air, then looked at us for confirmation as to where the pack was heading.

We got on the Elakala Trail, which starts out at a boulder field, interspersed with plenty of trees.  Air was incredibly fragrant from all the oxygen they were spewing out.  We took deep breaths savoring the crisp air, and just enjoying the moment.

We navigated the short trail leading up to the Elakala Falls, and stopped to enjoy the bridge that sits over the top of the falls.  The trail got noticeably rougher once we crossed the bridge.  All of a sudden, the trail disappeared.

We were briefly halted by the lack of a visible trail marker, so we asked some of the hikers who were coming up from the falls how they got there.  They answered they just took whichever path was least dangerous.

The drop was fairly steep to get down to the falls, but we managed to find what we considered the easiest path down to the falls.  I picked up Toby as we made our way down the trail.  Trail was bit slippery around the tree roots, so we took our time.

The hike was certainly worth it!  We arrived at the Elakala Falls and took our time taking in the surroundings.  The day trip was going real well!

Elakala Falls
Visitors enjoying the falls
Other side of the falls

After several minutes, we headed back up to continue our journey.  We went back the same Blackwater Lodge Road/Blackwater Falls Road which we had came in from, then followed the signs to the Blackwater Falls.  

The drive was than 5 minutes to get to the parking lot for Blackwater Falls.  We sawed the parking lot was almost full by that time of the day, but we found a spot near the top of the trailhead.

The gravel trail immediately descends until the beginning of the boardwalk area.  We stopped there for some photos.

View from the first stop near the boardwalk 
Big old rock!

We headed towards the boardwalk and made several stops along different observation decks for varying vantage points of the falls.  We met several people visiting from different states and we briefly chatted while taking short breaks.

Blackwater Falls did not disappoint!  It looked just like the cover photo used in the travel brochure.  

Blackwater Falls 

Closer view of the falls
One last view of the falls

We saw several photographers and people taking videos of the falls.  I don’t blame them!  I did the same thing, thanks to the amazing scenery.

There were people quickly filling up the observation deck and we knew we had to move out of there to accommodate others. We started to head back up the boardwalk and noticed the boardwalk also got real busy and crowded by that time of the day. 

Slightly winded by the time we had reached the top of the boardwalk where we had started with Toby in my arms, we decided to take a break by the bench near the big boulder that was in the middle of the road.  

We saw kids giddily climbing the boulder and we saw large dogs doing the same.  We watched the scene unfold with merriment.  It was one of those moments that stay with you when traveling…

We walked back up the trail, back to the parking lot to make our way back home.  We enjoyed our drive back home to Snowshoe, already reminiscing about our day spent at Blackwater Falls State Park.  It was a great day filled with great scenery, beautiful waterfalls, and epic drives.  

Thank you all for reading!


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 


Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Ocean City, Maryland’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Bushkill Falls and Grey Towers.’

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 natural attractions in Las Vegas’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Zion National Park’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Vdara Hotel’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Chateau at Coindre Hall’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Oyster Bay’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Ocean Casino Resort’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Wildwood Park and Fort Hunter Mansion’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Ottawa’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Fiore Suite and classic room at the Borgata’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 places with awesome views near Harrisburg, PA’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Quebec City, Canada’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 quintessential places to visit in New York City’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Ricketts Glen State Park, PA’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Beaufort, NC’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Vernon, NJ’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Harrisburg, PA’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Montreal, Canada’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area, Wake Forest, NC’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 parks to visit in Bogue Banks, North Carolina’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Niagara Falls State Park’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Claysburg, PA’.




Popular posts from this blog

AirBNB horror story: How we got a refund from AirBNB due to a noisy neighbor…

Image
  Letchworth State Park, NY My wife and I (and our Pomeranian Toby) have been slow traveling since our early retirement last August.  We rely on AirBnB or Vrbo when we travel, and this past April was no exception. We chose a monthly rental via AirBNB in the month of April, in a town called Claysburg, Pennsylvania.  The rental was a studio unit that has a bed, a futon, full kitchen and a private bath. On the day of our arrival (April 1st), we were greeted by snow falling at the condo.  It was a beautiful sight to behold! We checked in with no problems and slowly settled in.  The next three days were uneventful.  We did our usual unpacking, then we went shopping for food from a nearby supermarket the following day.  We enjoyed the sights nearby and were having a good time at a new location. By Monday of the following week, our luck had changed for the worse.  The neighbor upstairs did what sounded like to us, either deep cleaning and renovating! We ...
Read more

Review of Fiore Suite and classic room at the Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ (New Jersey)

Image
  Classic Room at the Borgata, Atlantic City My wife and I have been going to the Borgata hotel and casino since its opening 18 years ago thanks to my dad.  My dad had a loyalty/player’s card which allowed free hotel stays (comped rooms).  We couldn’t resist free hotel rooms when my dad asked if we wanted to go! Fast forward to now. I now have a loyalty/player’s card that I use to take my parents to the same hotel for free.  Funny how roles switch...My dad used to treat us to free rooms, so now I’m treating him...Favor returned! Borgata Hotel & Casino was built in 2003 to huge fanfare when it opened.  Costing then $1.1 billion, it rivaled the best hotels in Las Vegas and New York City.  It features 2000 rooms, outdoor / indoor pools, a spa, a buffet, 3000+ slot machines, and many high end restaurants. Since its opening, it added the Water Club (a boutique hotel) in 2008 at a cost of $400 million, which added another 800 rooms to the available room capa...
Read more

Review of Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area, Wake Forest, North Carolina

Image
  Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area, Wake Forest, NC After my wife and I sold our home at the end of August 2020, we headed down to Wake Forest, North Carolina.  This would mark the beginning of our early retirement.  We wanted to spend time with my brother in law and his family, who we haven’t seen in over a year.  It was during this visit that we discovered this fantastic recreation area. Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area is a man made reservoir located in the upper portion of the Neuse River Basin, nestled near North Carolina’s bustling Triangle Area.  The reservoir covers nearly 12,500 acres of water and is surrounded by 25,500 acres of public land.   The lake stretches 22 miles upstream to the confluence of three rivers: Eno, Flat, and Little Rivers. Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area boasts hiking trails, fishing, water sports, biking, wildlife viewing, etc. See my notes below when visiting the Recreation Area: The main entrance to the Recreation Area is access...
Read more