Lost River state park has so much to offer: Cranny Crow Overlook is 4 mile hike with the great views and worth the effort. Riding stables are great place to have a beginner get a first horseback riding experience. ($26/hour). Sulphuric spring is an interesting historic and wonder list place. The water spout is wonderful color due to water content. Cabins seems a great base for nearby fishing spots. Worth visiting for the reasons above. read more

Lost River State Park - View from the Cranny Crow Overlook - Parks Near Me - Mathias, West Virginia

My family has been coming here every summer for week-long vacations for many decades. We stay in the cabins and enjoy the tranquility of the park while having bonding experiences around a camp fire or on a hike. We have hiked every trail. I recommend the Loblolly trail for the beginners and Cranny Crow for the more adventurous. Also be sure to make reservations with Hidden Valley Stables for a horse ride. We like the two hours up to Cranny Crow - the view is amazing- and there's something magical about reaching the top on top of a horse- but for those less enthusiastic about riding, there are many shorter and less challenging options. They also offer 5 dollar rides for the little ones. As for cabin amenities, if you plan to truly cook meals, bring your favorite pans. While many are supplied, we prefer bringing our own knives, pans, and skillets. Also bring sufficient food supplies. There are a few restaurants in the area--- but they are at least twenty minutes or more away. Bring extra trash bags as well. The pool is crisp and clean but closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. There is a beautiful swimming spot at Trout Pond which is about thirty minutes away on a curvy curvy country road. But we find the clear cool lake water and white sand "beach" surrounded by mountains worth the drive and effort for a day trip, especially with younger ones. read more

Definitely a hidden gem!! Everyone here was so friendly and the cabin i rented was so nice. everything i could need (countless cooking utensils, plenty of towels, guides, and ice already in the trays) was provided. i cant tell you enough about the trails. my above all favorite is the white oak trail to cranny crow. cant beat the price, experience, or service. i'm returning in october. read more

Lost River State Park - cranny crow overlook - Parks Near Me - Mathias, West Virginia

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It's been over 10 years since we visited. 10 years too many! I had forgotten how lovely this park can be in the early fall. Having spent 4 glorious early October days here makes me want to take up permanent residence. After a couple days, sitting out on the front porch, rocking, watching leaves and pine needles gently fall, listening to the wind through the trees, the knock of woodpeckers in the distance...the scent of hardwood burning, one begins to relax and feel like part of it all. The park staff are very friendly, accommodating, and helpful..no worries if you're coming late after a long day of work-they leave the key to your cabin pinned to the office bulletin board for you. Most of the trails are do-able even for a couple of sedentary office types like us. We only had time to hike about 5 of 19 trails, and were quite satisfied. What's nice about the trails is the absence of trash. What little trash I encountered, I picked up to bring back. Our little terrier mix was in heaven, spotting chipmunks, and chasing leaves! And he lead the way each time with great enthusiasm! The cabin we stayed in, a "Legacy Cabin" was newly outfitted with a well-equipped and rather nicely done kitchen and bathroom-both immaculate and inviting, and certainly a LOT more than what one would expect to see in a cabin! The appliances are nicer than the ones we have at home and we felt like a couple of hayseeds trying to figure out how they worked! There's is plenty of seasoned firewood delivered by tractor to your own personal wood shed...and if you forgot how to start a fire, there's always Wi-Fi to download a YouTube video (not that I needed that, because I'm a natural outdoorsman, n stuff...ahem, um..). Our cabin also had a remote controlled heat source, which helped take off the chill in the mornings. We'll definitely not wait another 10 years to come back. It's a great solution to remotely distance and have a swell time, relax, and take in the fresh mountain air! Next time, I'll bring the banjo. read more

Lost River State Park - A blanket of autumnal pink scrub along Razor Ridge Trail. - Parks Near Me - Mathias, West Virginia

Beautiful park, cabins are fantastic. We stayed in one of the "legacy" cabins which were built almost 100 years ago and are totally comfortable and thoroughly modern inside despite their rustic appearance. read more

I've stayed at a lot of West Virginia parks through the years and this one to was wonderful. I stayed at one of the cabins and it was wonderful. Everything was updated. New appliances. Comfy beds. The bathroom is nice. It has a shower only no bathtub.Comes with a bundle of free firewood and 5 dollars per bundle after that. I would definitely stay again! read more

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Lost River State Park also has rustic cabins. This is one of the most beautiful, peaceful, places you will ever go. It is in the small town of Mathias, which has a fire station, a market with gas pumps and couple tiny restaurants. The drive there is beautiful and once you turn off onto the street for Lost River you will be in heaven. This is exactly what John Denver sung about. Once there, you can spend the day and hike, picnic, use the community pool or let you kids run while. But don't go for just a day. If you ever have the chance, turn this into a vacation of a few days. You will need to make reservations for the cabins well in advance. In the summer they book up to 6 months in advance, but be adventurous, go in the winter, if you are lucky you will get snowed in for a day. During the summer they have things for kids to do, they have the pool, you can rent a horse, you can hike easy or really hard trails. The restaurant is open during the summer and the food is very good. During the winter most of that is closed. But you will have peace and quiet. Your neighbor is many yards away, your cabin will attract beautiful deer and squirrels and other little animals. Each cabin has a wonderful porch. The cabins are spotless and all you need to cook is there--go to the market first--. There is a huge fireplace in each cabin and a heater. There is a new cabin which is very large and handicap accessible. Personally, I like the old ones. Someone will bring you more firewood then you will ever need. There is never an emergency, but if there was there is a ranger home on site and they live there all year round. Cell service is spotty, they have a pay phone at the check in building. You won't want your phone. There is no WiFi, there is no TV, there is no phone in the room. Some cabins are one bedroom and I think they go up to 3 bedrooms with the exception of the new one that can hold about 14 people if you wanted. Again, I love the old ones. You can hike some of the most beautiful trails and they are marked. The views are amazing. You can take a drive through the little streets outside the park where little houses line the streets with beautiful trees and people wave at you as you go by. When you are driving a local driver will wave--wave back. These people are so very kind and friendly. Leave the cabin the way you found it, clean. Trust me on this one, it is just a magical place. read more

@WVStateParks refused to let the Tusing family road access to the Tusing family graveyard 9/15! We were told to rent horses or walk. Including wheelchair bound and elderly people. WV Code §37-13A-1 through - 6 you violated law #justicefortusingfamily read more

If you are looking for a nice bucolic place to get away from the craziness that is DC, Lost River State Park is just over the VA/WV line and a good three hours driving out 66W. Even if the thought of venturing out on 66 for two hours makes you cringe, it is worth the drive. I came out here last weekend with my local bicycling team to have some "fun" on the "hills" of WV. There were about twenty five of us, and we booked the cabins that are just inside the State Park. Note to other cyclists: the cabins are along a hill, with some at the top, so save some energy to get back home. The cabins themselves are pretty nice for a State Park, They all had fully equipped kitchens (so bring your own food, but don't need any pots or utensils) and running water and electricity. I know it may seem like those things are all included, but you never know. If you are not into cycling, there are plenty of trails for hiking and there is horse back riding- although I didn't see anyone on horseback while i was there. Definintely come here if you want to get away from the Washingtonian bubble. There is no cell phone service- I think out of 25 ppl, we rep. all of the possible cell phone carriers to no avail. So be prepared to go off-grid for awhile. You could use your cell phone for a flashlight- as there is little light pollution. Also, this is a great place for stargazing. I was half expecting the staff from Parks and Recreation to stop by- but no such luck. I would have given the Park 5 stars if Aziz Ansari made an appearance. read more

This place is a gem! The cabins are adorable. Rustic yet very comfortable with most amenities needed in today's world. The view is spectacular. Lots of woods and trails, friendly staff, and just a wonderful place for the family. Highly recommend. read more

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We have stayed in two different Legacy cabins. These are the older cabins but have great kitchen amenities and modern bathrooms. This is the place to relax! We haven't used the pool but it looks great. The trails are very challenging. The staff are friendly and solved an issue we had in our cabin. BTW, Cabin 24 is at the highest elevation so the water pressure is very low, but usable. A small stack of firewood is provided so don't forget the stuff for smores, including long sticks. Only reason for 4/5 - could use a better cleaning job. We will come again. read more

Update: I increased the rating because the people in the park office and nature office were SO helpful! The other two trails we hiked were much better. My sister and I, along with our two dogs, decided to take a hike in the state park. We hiked on three separate trails. Coming from Virginia, we are used to semi-cleared trails. This was not the case at Lost River. There were downed trees on the trails and so much overgrowth that at points, we weren't sure we were still on the trail. When we had to walk around the fallen trees, we had trouble finding our way back to the blazed path. The path was barely wide enough for our large Lab, and we now have poison ivy on our legs thanks to the underbrush that was not cleared. The river itself is very nice and refreshing, but we won't be returning to hike. read more

We took our family of 4 for a "Black Friday" getaway, our third visit (and first in the past 6 years) to the Lost River State Park. While the park is not huge, it has a lot of hiking trails, some with significant altitude gains and scenic overlooks to reward the effort. We stayed in one of the "modern" cabins, which means heated and with basic amenities, such as an equipped kitchen, stone fireplace with free wood provided, enough furniture to accommodate us comfortably, and of course a bathroom with shower. Linens are provided, and there were 2 rollaway beds in the closets. They've recently added satellite TV to the cabins (which went unused) but there is no internet connectivity, nor cell phone coverage. You may be able to get texts out if you hike to one of the local summits. The cabin was very clean and there were no maintenance issues uncovered while we were there. We arrived Friday afternoon and as the office staff was not on premises, they had left our key on the board for us to pick up. The park seems well maintained overall, including that the roads and driveways had all been plowed and had ash put down to mitigate the effects of 18" of snow two days prior to our arrival. The park is quiet and wooded. We've yet to visit in hot weather months when additional more rustic cabins (built by the CCC in the '30's) are available, and there is a pool also built by CCC on site. We like the park for its calm, quiet, rustic feel, the plethora of hiking options, and the pleasant, low stress (your results may vary) easy 2.5 hour drive from Northern Va. There is pride in management of the park and it's a really scenic part of the state. Bring that stack of magazines you haven't had chance to read, build a fire, pour a whiskey and unwind for a while. There are a few dining options locally - one, the Lost River Grill, seems only to be listed in Yelp via its sister B&B heading but it is one of the best options if you want a glass of wine with dinner out. read more