2024-04-18 15:32
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice has announced the allocation of funds for 61 outdoor recreation projects across West Virginia, banking on recreation efforts in 34 counties, includ… Read More
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West Virginia Explorer is a guide to news and information regarding travel and recreation in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Established in 1999, the Wordpress-based guide includes more than 2,000 pages of information written by journalists, historians, and tourism-industry experts to help guarantee reliability. The guide is funded largely by advertising and contributions from state and local government agencies. The guide also features the work of photographers and photojournalists, the works of which are employed to complement its editorial and advertising content.
2024-04-15 20:14
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — An open house for historians and history buffs will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the historic Level Tavern on US-219 at Organ Cave near Lewisbu… Read More
2024-04-11 16:18
PIPESTEM, W.Va. — Almost all of the thousands of people named "Farley" in the New River valley region in southern West Virginia come from one early settler, Drewry Farley. He and his w… Read More
2024-04-05 16:07
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Sightseers in search of a view of the world-famous New River Gorge Bridge — though without the challenges of whitewater rafting — can board a speciali… Read More
2024-04-04 22:08
OAK HILL, W.Va. — Historians in West Virginia say they're baffled by a strange arrangement of monuments in a cemetery near the New River Gorge. They hope to discover why the graves are… Read More
2024-04-02 21:31
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Enthusiasm for attending ramp festivals in West Virginia is growing along with tourism, says the publisher of the state's leading travel publications. More than eve… Read More
2024-04-01 13:55
MARLINTON, W.Va. — Traveling through a windswept landscape of spruce and cranberry, a scenic parkway that explores some of the highest elevations in West Virginia is attracting more vi… Read More
2024-04-01 01:25
SUTTON, W.Va. — Sharp-eyed travelers visiting the historic district in downtown Sutton may observe two streams tumbling out of the hills to join the Elk River there. The uppermost stre… Read More
2024-03-27 02:00
MARLINTON, W.Va. — When spring is in the air in West Virginia, black bears come out of hibernation and begin a desperate search for food. Because bears become more active during this t… Read More
2024-03-26 03:25
HARTFORD CITY, W.Va. — Old-timers still tell of the ghosts that are said to haunt Sliding Hill in Mason County, though only the very oldest now recall it. But a historian who hopes to… Read More
2024-03-20 17:30
HINTON, W.Va. — Blossoming across the eastern U.S. in spring, redbud trees were notably important during the settlement of the Appalachian Mountains, where they indicated the presence… Read More
2024-03-19 11:15
SANDYVILLE, W.Va. — Seasons can come and go in the temperate regions of the world with many false starts, but in the Appalachian Mountains, folks know spring has arrived when the tiny… Read More
2024-03-18 19:26
TWIN FALLS STATE PARK, W.Va. — Registration has opened for the "Becoming An Outdoors Woman" spring workshop at Twin Falls Resort State Park on May 3–5, 2024. According to Ashley… Read More
2024-03-15 04:41
THURMOND, W.Va. — Programming through a preservation organization in West Virginia will support leasing in this historic town where the National Park Service had considered demolishing… Read More
2024-03-15 00:58
ELKINS, W.Va. — To help educate the public about the value and stability of historic stone walls, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has declared those in historic districts ac… Read More
2024-03-14 03:20
WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. — As interest in kayaking on the Ohio River in West Virginia increases, officials advise paddlers to be especially attentive to safety. While the river may seem a s… Read More
2024-03-12 18:26
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Surprising as it might seem, the iconic image of Chef Boyardee that adorns so many food packages worldwide is that of a genuine person. Moreover, Ettore… Read More
2024-03-12 14:33
SUTTON, W.Va. — Locals know there's a Bigfoot, or several of the creatures, living in the forests of central West Virginia, according to the curator of the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum… Read More
2024-03-12 02:55
CENTRALIA, W.Va. — The ghost town of Centralia, with no more than a dozen houses and a country store, might seem one of the most isolated communities in West Virginia (though it's a dr… Read More
2024-03-10 03:00
SAULSVILLE, W.Va. — Perhaps no other form of architecture is more strongly associated with West Virginia than the old-fashioned log cabin. New England has saltboxes, and the South has… Read More
2024-03-09 18:50
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — While the interior of West Virginia remained a virtual wilderness through the late 1800s, wharves along the Ohio River bustled with commerce. Communities such as W… Read More
2024-03-06 04:30
BURNT HOUSE, W.Va. — Motorists traveling WV-47 between Weston and Parkersburg are sure to have noticed the sign for the village of Burnt House and wondered about the name. Like every g… Read More
2024-03-04 03:40
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Prehistoric West Virginia was not an uninhabited hunting ground, according to an archaeologist who says the idea is one of several popular fallacies she's encounter… Read More
2024-03-01 04:30
FLAT TOP, W.Va. — Worms are already making their presence known in the upper layers of the soil in early March, says a West Virginia permaculturist who can attest to the lore of the Wo… Read More
2024-03-01 02:18
BECKLEY, W.Va. — The fantastic recreational opportunities in the New River Gorge in West Virginia are no longer a secret. Since becoming one of America’s newest national parks, t… Read More
2024-02-27 02:45
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Only the most sharp-eyed outdoor enthusiasts may have spotted this remarkable one-leafed orchid hiding in the West Virginia woodlands in winter. While most plants… Read More
2024-02-26 16:55
Glen Jean, W.Va. — According to park officials, visitation increased across the board at all three national park sites in southern West Virginia in 2023. Visitation remains high and co… Read More
2024-02-26 01:40
WHEELING, W.Va. — West Virginia may best be known for its vast mountain forests, but its northern panhandle was once a grassland clipped low by sheep. Part of the vast Ohio market area… Read More
2024-02-24 21:10
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Once counted among the most gracious homes in the Greenbrier Valley, the historic Level Tavern on scenic US-219 is being rediscovered, thanks to its recent introduct… Read More
2024-02-24 17:10
SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — A monument raised in memory of an escaped nanny goat is attracting the attention of motorists on US-19 in central West Virginia. The roadside curiosity stands alo… Read More
2024-02-23 14:40
SILVER VALLEY, W.Va. — Is there silver in the hills of West Virginia? Parts of what's now western West Virginia enjoyed a kind of silver rush in the late 1800s, and many prospectors op… Read More
2024-02-23 04:10
PAX, W.Va. — Few motorists traveling the West Virginia Turnpike between Beckley and Charleston may know that one of the state's most beautiful trout streams lies hidden in the mountain… Read More
2024-02-19 03:16
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The legend of a now well-publicized West Virginia monster known regionally as the "White Thing" may have first been documented by a student of folklore from Kanawha… Read More
2024-02-17 14:16
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A stone's throw from one of the busiest traffic centers in West Virginia, a spring house and one-room cabin are all that remains of a farm that was long a favorite sto… Read More
2024-02-13 19:06
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A West Virginia University urban forester is developing a method, with the help of artificial intelligence, to identify trees at risk of falling on power lines and… Read More
2024-02-12 02:20
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tucked away in a wooded gorge near the West Virginia Capitol, one of the highest waterfalls in the region long powered one of its first mills, but much of its histo… Read More
2024-02-11 16:20
WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. — Hidden in plain sight, the islands in the Ohio River in West Virginia are a Noah's Ark for wildlife that has managed to escape development elsewhere. As the Ohio… Read More
2024-02-10 06:50
WHEELING, W.Va. — There was a time when Wheeling was being proposed as the location for a new capital of the U.S., though the idea never attracted much interest. Situated at the juncti… Read More
2024-02-07 01:16
BEAVER, W.Va. — Spring ramp festivals are drawing more attention than ever, thanks to a renewed interest in West Virginia and Appalachia, says the publisher of West Virginia Explorer M… Read More
2024-02-06 15:02
KENOVA, W.Va. — Every summer for nearly a century, people have flocked to Dreamland Pool in the small city of Kenova, West Virginia. On US-60 in Wayne County, it's the first landmark d… Read More
2024-02-04 19:30
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Possibly because of a resurgence of ideas about chivalry and codes of conduct, dueling surged in popularity in the U.S. in the late 1700s, especially in the Deep So… Read More
2024-02-02 18:00
GEORGE TOWN, W.Va. — Finding the monument on a map is difficult enough. Finding it in the steep woodlands is even more challenging. But on a remote hillside at the southeast corner of… Read More
2024-02-02 06:10
GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. — Occasionally, you might hear old-timers speak of a time when herds of wild hogs were hunted in the West Virginia hills. Chances are, they never witnessed such a hu… Read More
2024-01-30 14:50
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Whitewater rafting in the New River Gorge in West Virginia has been named one of National Geographic magazine’s “Best of the World” Top 20 Trave… Read More
2024-01-29 14:50
FRAZIER'S BOTTOM, W.Va. — One of the most scenic pastoral landscapes in the eastern U.S., the valley of the lower Kanawha River in West Virginia is attracting the attention of tourists… Read More
2024-01-28 22:40
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Questions may always surround a mysterious boulder in southern West Virginia inscribed with the characters "S. Ferguson F. County 1814." Long known simply as Ferguson'… Read More
2024-01-25 16:26
A West Virginia University plant pathology professor emeritus who has spent more than 70 years developing hearty tomato varieties for home gardeners has created his fourth and final tomato … Read More
2024-01-24 00:00
PRUNTYTOWN, W.Va. — If you were an unruly boy growing up in West Virginia before the 1980s, there's a chance your misbehaviors were met with the threat of banishment to "Pruntytown." P… Read More
2024-01-22 23:00
HUNDRED, W.Va. — There was a time soon after the completion of the B&O Railroad when passengers would clamber to the car windows to catch a glimpse of "Old Hundred." He was a marve… Read More
2024-01-21 22:20
WITCHER CREEK, W.Va — It's likely that few English speakers who have observed the "Witchers Creek" road sign on US-60 have done so without considering the association with the word "wi… Read More
2024-01-18 21:25
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Far from the city lights that shimmer about its mouth at the Golden Triangle at Pittsburgh, the Monongahela River rises more than 200 miles away in some of the most r… Read More
2024-01-18 14:30
SLATYFORK, W.Va. — Snowshoe Mountain in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia has been ranked among the most affordable ski resorts in the U.S. by The Discoverer. In additio… Read More
2024-01-17 17:30
DROOP, W.Va. — Among the smallest state parks in West Virginia, 110-acre Beartown State Park is nevertheless among its most fascinating. For decades, it's inspired visitors as a natura… Read More
2024-01-16 02:17
CANVAS, W.Va. — Mountainous and often remote, West Virginia may enjoy more than its fair share of strange stories. Still, the tale of the woman whose feet never touched the ground is u… Read More
2024-01-15 03:20
RICHWOOD, W.Va. — The word "hillbilly" was a term of endearment in the southern Appalachian Mountains region in the early 1800s, though it later developed negative connotations. The fo… Read More
2024-01-14 03:10
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Some of the most chilling tales of hauntings in West Virginia are based on actual events, and one of the most horrific is that of the Screaming Lady of Mason Co… Read More
2024-01-12 18:29
LOGAN, W.Va. — The W.Va. Division of Natural Resources is reviewing bids for constructing an elk viewing tower and visitor center to be built in the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area in… Read More
2024-01-12 18:12
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The W.Va. Division of Natural Resources will introduce 40 new elk to the Mountain State’s growing herd in 2024 and create a visitors center and observation to… Read More
2024-01-12 15:33
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council announced $22 million in funding for sewer and water projects around the state. Kanawha Public Service… Read More
2024-01-12 03:10
WHEELING, W.Va. — After more than 100 years, a West Virginia-based glassware manufacturer is carrying on the legacy inherent in a more-than-century-old pattern—the Moon & Sta… Read More
2024-01-11 18:10
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — There's little doubt that the world's first teddy bear was crafted by toymaker Morris Michtom, who was inspired by a 1902 panel cartoon that teased Presi… Read More
2024-01-10 14:00
BULLTOWN, W.Va. — During the first years of the U.S. Civil War, marauding bands of guerillas roamed the hills in what's now central West Virginia. Most were loyal to the Confederacy, t… Read More
2024-01-09 21:07
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There is perhaps no more extraordinary place of honor for a statue in West Virginia than in the plaza in front of its state Capitol. And perhaps there is no better… Read More
2024-01-09 04:18
LESTER, W.Va. — Railroad companies in the early 1900s bored six tunnels through Guyandotte Mountain to extract coal from the last undeveloped coalfield in the state. By far the most fa… Read More
2024-01-07 00:55
FRAZIER'S BOTTOM, W.Va. — How did a great-nephew of George Washington come to be buried in a virtually forgotten graveyard in the Kanawha Valley near Winfield, West Virginia—more… Read More
2024-01-06 19:15
TAMS, W.Va. — Most folks who come across the New Salem Baptist Church in southern West Virginia believe it to be abandoned. In cosmetic disrepair and seemingly far from any habitation… Read More
2024-01-06 01:15
BIRCH RIVER, W.Va. — Each day, more than 10,000 motorists pass the turn-offs onto Polemic Run Road in central West Virginia, but few leave the US-19 expressway and wander into the wood… Read More
2024-01-05 01:48
TAMS, W.Va. — Most folks who come across the New Salem Baptist Church in southern West Virginia believe it to be abandoned. In cosmetic disrepair and seemingly far from any habitation… Read More
2024-01-03 04:05
LANSING, W.Va. — The Endless Wall Trail has again been ranked one of the best hiking trails in the U.S. However, officials with the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve say hiker… Read More
2024-01-02 19:11
NEOLA, W.Va. — Officials with the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia are soliciting applications from people interested in operating and maintaining the boat rental facilitie… Read More
2024-01-01 21:06
BURLINGTON, W.Va. — Railroads in West Virginia are most often associated with the export of coal and timber, but at least one small railway in the state's eastern panhandle was built f… Read More
2023-12-31 08:10
NEW MANCHESTER, W.Va. — Some say that the ghost of Judge John Hoke Reddick still haunts his grave, and that's not hard to believe, given its remarkable nature. The judge had himself bu… Read More
2023-12-31 01:40
QUIET DELL, W.Va. — On the morning of March 18, 1932, Harry Powers plummeted through the gallows at the West Virginia Penitentiary and dangled for 11 minutes before being pronounced de… Read More
2023-12-30 11:30
THOMAS, W.Va. — The Allegheny Mountains in eastern West Virginia grow treacherous in winter—and hardly more so than along the western front of that range, which bears the brunt o… Read More
2023-12-30 03:45
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Hiking in West Virginia in winter can prove a transcendent experience. Nothing compares to a stroll through a wonderland of snow and frozen waterfalls. Even in lo… Read More
2023-12-29 16:00
RICH MOUNTAIN, W.Va. — Every summer, thousands of Civil War buffs travel to the summit of Rich Mountain near Beverly, West Virginia, in Randolph County, to explore the remains of the s… Read More
2023-12-28 20:23
MARLINTON, W.Va. — Located entirely within the Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia includes some of the darkest regions of the night sky in the eastern U.S. While regions near its lar… Read More
2023-12-28 15:07
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Guided hikes in nine state parks and natural areas in West Virginia are being hosted on January 1, 2024, as part of a nationwide outdoor recreation initiative insti… Read More
2023-12-27 16:27
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — What makes for a good arts community? Good arts communities are those in which affordable housing, entrepreneurial spirit, and the availability of arts venues&mdash&hell…Read More
2023-12-26 20:20
SAINT ALBANS, W.Va. — Might Edgar Allen Poe have written his poem "The Raven" while visiting the Kanawha Valley? Though nothing's been proven, the mansion in which Poe might have lodge… Read More
2023-12-25 20:30
DAVIS, W.Va. — Nothing beats an old-fashioned ride on a sled, and one of the nation's longest sled runs, at Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia, is confirmed to be the largest… Read More
2023-12-25 01:09
CAMP CREEK, W.Va. — Only a few local historians may remember the obscure and chilling tale of Charles Anderson Mills, more infamously known in the neighborhood of Nubbins Ridge in Merc… Read More
2023-12-23 16:50
BEMIS, W.Va. — I’ve done many crazy things to get to a waterfall. Most involved hiking perilously up their rocky flanks. They often involved falling flat on my kiester or bucklin… Read More
2023-12-23 03:30
MASONTOWN, W.Va. — The strange story of "the day they knocked a hole in the Cheat River" has been passed down for more than a century and is one of northern West Virginia's obscure but… Read More
2023-12-22 17:05
PADEN CITY, W.Va. — Able to produce upwards of a million marbles a day, Marble King has been a staple of industry in northern West Virginia since it was formed in 1949, and it remains… Read More
2023-12-22 00:10
GALLIPOLIS FERRY, W.Va. — For the fourth year in a row, the West Virginia state record for the largest blue catfish by weight has been broken. According to the W.Va. Division of Nation… Read More
2023-12-21 23:27
OAK HILL, W.Va. — West Virginians may need to turn to Congress to rescue historic landmarks that the National Park Service has slated for demolition in America's newest national park… Read More
2023-12-21 04:05
LIBERTY, W.Va.—Eighteenmile Creek wanders quietly through the hill country of northern Putnam County, revealing not in the least any potential for tragedy along its banks. Yet, tragedy… Read More
2023-12-20 22:07
WHITESVILLE, W.Va. — A new recreational trail in an isolated valley in southern West Virginia has piqued the curiosity of hikers, bikers, and residents wondering about its impact. The… Read More
2023-12-19 22:20
COTTAGEVILLE, W.Va. — Tales of legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyon might seem far removed from West Virginia, but it turns out there's a long-established link between the folk hero of the… Read More
2023-12-19 00:40
HURRICANE, W.Va. — Early research on a Civil War engagement in West Virginia at Hurricane Bridge underestimated the number of soldiers involved. This led historians to mislabel the "ba… Read More
2023-12-18 02:52
BECKLEY, W.Va. — After a five-year pause, the outdoor drama "Honey in the Rock" is returning to the stage at the Cliffside Amphitheatre at Grandview as part of an initiative to reach n… Read More
2023-12-17 18:40
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some of the most common requests fielded by the Council for West Virginia Archaeology come from members of the public who have found what may or may not be an archa… Read More
2023-12-16 23:36
GLEN JEAN, W.Va. – Unable to secure funds to sustain them, the National Park Service has announced plans to demolish more than 30 structures and ruins, including more than 20 listed on… Read More
2023-12-16 15:15
COWEN, W.Va. — Cowen today is a sleepy town of 500, perhaps best known for its location near a quiet lake. It was hardly so in 1900 when railroads were first being extended into the da… Read More
2023-12-15 00:00
CEREDO, W.Va. — On the south side of Main Street in the Town of Ceredo, West Virginia, a small community along the Ohio River in Wayne County, the Ceredo Historical Society Museum is h… Read More
2023-12-14 12:50
CRANBERRY, W.Va. — Wolves in North America typically run in packs of around eight, according to most sources, though packs as large as 30 have been documented. However, packs far large… Read More
2023-12-13 21:40
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — For pioneers in western Virginia, life was complicated enough without talk of "witches." Any interruption in the business of avoiding hunger and disease might prove… Read More
2023-12-13 16:32
CEDAR GROVE, W.Va. — West Virginians are renowned for their helpfulness, a generosity that is perhaps most evident in their devotion to helping stranded motorists. When pulled over alo… Read More
2023-12-13 01:50
SCARY, W.Va. — Though nothing remains on the battlefield along the Kanawha River today, the Battle of Scary Creek was one of the most significant engagements in what's now West Virgini… Read More
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