Shae and I recently spent four weeks in West Virginia while on our 50 state road trip. We’d driven through West Virginia many times in the past when visiting friends in Ohio, but had never spent any time there.
The reason we picked the fall to head there wasn’t just because of all the beautiful colors, but so we could attend Bridge Day – something we’d wanted to attend for the last 10 years since we first heard about it.
While West Virginia wasn’t my favorite state so far on our road trip, it did have a lot to like about it. So here’s a look back at some of our favorite – and not so favorite – things from our time in West Virginia.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – Although I enjoyed the TownePlace Suites Bridgeport Clarksburg, my favorite place was the Airbnb we stayed at in Davis. It was nice having a place to ourselves for a week and a half, it was spacious and was in beautiful surroundings.
Shae – I really liked all of our accommodation for various reasons. I loved the proximity to town in our first Airbnb, I loved the staff at the TownePlace Suites and I loved the setting for our final Airbnb.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – This is a tossup between the burrito I had at Hellbender Burritos in Davis and the donuts at Byrd’s House of Donuts in Elkins.
Shae – While Hellbender Burritos was delicious, my favorite has to be the donuts at Byrd’s House of Donuts. They were tasty, soft and mine was filled with chocolate cream!
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – I’m afraid to say it was Canaan Valley BBQ. It wasn’t terrible, but the bun of my pulled pork sandwich was dry, Shae’s cornbread was dry, some of her chicken was still pink inside and their green beans were flavorless.
Shae – It wasn’t really a “meal” but trying the pepperoni roll. I didn’t get one from “the” place to get one, but mine wasn’t that great when I tried it at Bridge Day.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – While I enjoyed Bridge Day, I don’t know if I can truly count it as free seeing as it costs $3 for a round trip journey from the parking lot to the bridge on a school bus. Instead, I’ll go for the day after where we toured the New River Gorge area with Shae’s parents.
Shae – We had a lot of great free activities in West Virginia. I think my favorite was also the day we drove around the New River Gorge National River area. I got to take tons of pictures and we took it easy seeing all the fall foliage.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – Seeing as I didn’t choose Bridge Day for the free activity, I’ll choose Bridge Day as my paid activity. Not only because it cost $3 but also because we paid to do a Bridge Walk.
Shae – I loved Bridge Day and the Bridge Walk so I’m glad we paid for it. I also really enjoyed my horseback ride in Davis, but I really learned so much at the Green Bank Observatory that it makes my list.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – One of the many hikes we went on there – probably Coopers Rock State Forest.
Shae – My favorite pet-friendly activity was going to the Howl-o-ween Doggy Trick-or-Treat at the West Virginia Botanic Garden.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – Probably the four floor tour of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. While there was some interesting stuff, that particular tour wasn’t worth $30 per person.
Shae – We didn’t write about it, but my least favorite activity was going to The Bunker at The Greenbrier. It was really expensive for what it was and because it’s still a storage facility for encrypted software you can’t take any pictures on the tour, hence no blog post about it.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – Coopers Rock State Forest – we visited at the perfect time for all the fall colors.
Shae – Coopers Rock was beautiful, but I think I enjoyed the hike at Dolly Sods even more. The creek in the middle was a magical place to stop and rest.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – I think going to an event to celebrate a bridge is pretty quirky. Possibly even more quirky than that was the dog Halloween party at West Virginia Botanic Garden.
Shae – I’m not sure if it counts as quirky, but I’d say that seeing the World’s Largest Steerable Telescope at Green Bank Observatory is pretty quirky.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Seeing BASE jumpers be literally catapulted over the side of the New River Gorge Bridge.
Shae – Seeing our friends Patty and Ed was really wonderful as they made the drive in for Bridge Day. But also meeting new people like Connie and Andy in Lewisburg and Cookie and Roger at Stumptown Brewing in Davis. I also have a shout-out memory to the staff (Hey Billy!) at the ACLU WV who let this stranger come to their office without notice to buy a shirt from Bridge Day – I super love my shirt!
Funniest Moment
Stephen – The owner of our Airbnb thinking we were Doomsday Preppers because we have a bumper sticker from the Dr Pepper museum that says “I’m a Pepper”.
Honorable mention goes to this breaking news. My commiserations go to all the people who’d arranged their lives around the previous schedule as the new potato soup schedule has the potential to cause some serious disruption.
Shae – I think seeing the Everything Beagle with Cream Cheese was my funniest moment.
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Doing the four floor tour of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
Shae – Going to do the Bunker and the four-floor tour at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – I’d like to go back to Dolly Sods Wilderness earlier in the fall when there’d be more color. We hiked there in November, so it was a little too late to see the colors by that point.
Shae – We have it on the list to go back when we’re in Pennsylvania, but I’m sad we missed out on the West Virginia Penitentiary. I would also like to do Bridge Day again from the bottom of the New River Gorge and go whitewater rafting on the New River. I’m really sad that we missed seeing the Capitol building without scaffolding – we’ve seen it previously but it was a let down this time since it was all blocked off inside and out.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How long it takes to get everywhere. Due to all the mountains, there are a lot of winding roads which inevitably means your journey takes longer.
Shae – How much I enjoyed my horseback ride. I’m a little wary of horses, even though I love to pet them and we spent six weeks doing all the horse things in KY. I really had a great time.
My West Virginia Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink every time you see a farm animal by the side of the road and I don’t just mean cows in a field. One time there were chickens right by the side of the road, while another time there was a goat right next to a main road, just wandering around.
Shae – Take a drink whenever you see WV University branded items. EVERYONE wears it – I’m not even sure they’ve all actually been to WVU!
Summary Of West Virginia In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – There’s some great hiking; definitely worth visiting in the fall.
Shae – Worth the trip for Bridge Day but try in spring.
West Virginia Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Davis, Rainelle, Bridgeport. Davis was easily my favorite, while Rainelle and Bridgeport could easily switch places.
Shae – Rainelle, Davis and Bridgeport.
We are going to spend a couple of days at the New River Gorge. We appreciate your information
Great! I hope the fall colors are there when you visit as that’s a beautiful time of year.