Tony and I went for a nice hike today at Valley Falls State Park in Fairmont WV…read more The Park is lovely and the Park is free to enjoy with plenty of picnic tables, restrooms, grills, playground, and the gorgeous waterfalls

Valley Falls State Park. Fairmont, WV. My husband and I visited this scenic West Virginia State…read morePark in Sept, 2025. Its highlight is a series of four cascading WATERFALLS on the Tygart Valley River that are easily accessible by a short path from the parking lot. There are large flat rocks right next to the falls, allowing for scenic photographs but no swimming. (Fishing with license and whitewater kayaking are allowed). Fun Fact: this is one of the sites for West Virginia's "Almost Heaven" swings, installed by the state's Department of Tourism across the state for photo opps. This particular swing has the falls in the background. (As of late 2025, there are 51 swings in the state). We had a unique experience at the park in that we were approached by a park volunteer in an ATV offering us a ride down to the falls, and then continuing along some park paths with his commentary about the history of the site as a 19th-century mill town, and pointing out some gristmills. Both park admission and the ATV ride were free although we did give the volunteer a tip. There are 18 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking, ranging from easy to difficult. We didn't do any hiking on this visit, but did eat our picnic lunch at one of the conveniently located picnic table. There is a gift shop on-site, as well as clean restrooms. It's also a site on WV's Waterfalls Trail, wherein you can earn prizes for checking it at specific WV waterfalls. Note that this is a day-use park, so no camping is allowed. Wi-Fi connectivity is low to non-existent. We approached the park from the south, near Pruntytown, WV, and while the distance was short (about 12 miles), it took us about 25 minutes to reach because of curvy roads. On our return, we went to Tygart Lake State Park, via Grafton, where we camped for the night.

Yesterday after Joshua and I had a great lunch, we decided to check out the Edith B. Barill…read moreRiverfront Park & Trail in Star City area of Morgantown. The park is free to enjoy. There is plenty of parking. Some decking style docks along river to stroll, a gazebo, a few shelters & picnic tables (no grills) there is a very nice bathroom facility near the oversized Children's fabulous playground with swings. Plenty of signage depicting the history with photos along with name plaques for the trees. Some beautiful wildflowers and wildlife including plenty of ducks with babies. Definitely a great little place to enjoy some fresh air. There is also a shaved ice truck and you can rent paddle bikes for the river. Several nice memorials including one of President JFK

Dilapidated and dangerous playground facilities. This playground needs to be torn down. The…read morebathrooms along the rail trail are nice.

Nice paths, old-growth trees, waterfalls, slow waters, wild birds, dragonflies!…read more Swallow Falls State Park near Deep Creek Lake, MD, is a nice park with well-marked paths and plenty of parking. We hiked half-a-day (Jun 2026) from the parking lot to scenic waterfalls in forests where Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone camped-in 1921. We saw some of the 37-acres of 360-year-old eastern hemlock and white pine trees, the largest of the few areas in Maryland that have never been logged, bypassed during the eastern-US logging boom of the the late 1800s and early 1900s. They tended to look a little scraggly around the base, i suppose from living an un-trimmed life in the un-tamed weather and climate. We were thrilled to read that, on June 16, 2026, the removal of old-growth forests that were threatened by bridge construction on Swallow Falls Road was blocked by the courts. Thank-you to the folks of Garrett County and the Chesapeake Legal Alliance!!! We love these old trees :-) We heard twittering birds, possibly blackburnian warblers, chickadees, nuthatches, and kinglets. We followed a rising rumbling sound, and found ourselves at a tall waterfall that roars and mists. We were careful to avoid rushing waters, and found that wading and crossing were pleasantly refreshing and not too slippery. We saw kayakers, and one paused to explain they liked these calmer waters for beginners and for staying in condition in less challenging settings. We loved the gold and black "black-shouldered spinylegs" dragonflies, we and may have glimpsed a rare all-black "sable clubtail" dragonfly, who flitted about but didnt wait for a photo or an entomology app. Let's say we saw one :-). It was a lovely cooler half-day deep in nature in a not-too-challenging environment in rare-these-days old-growth forests.

What a wonderful afternoon out in nature! The falls were beautiful and the hike was pretty easy. We…read morewere visiting some friends up in deep creek and we decided to take it outside and enjoy this beautiful day. So glad we did, it was one of the first "nice" days of spring when we attended. It was pretty crowded, but we still had no issues parking and even enjoyed the scenic drive to the park.

One of my favorite parks in West Virginia, but they could do a little better at keeping their…read morebathrooms clean and make sure the soap and hand sanitizer is always full. I've been here a lot over the years to ride the rail trail from here to Morgantown and back and it's beautiful. I've did the tours and they are great and very insightful. It has beautiful grounds in general plus a nice gift shop. I really enjoy riding the rail trail towards Fairmont too even though it's short it's paved and the tunnel is nice and cool on a warm day. It's a great place with tons of history. Check it out and make sure to bring your bike to enjoy the rail trail and a cooler to have a nice picnic. Enjoy :D

On the way back from Morgantown yesterday Tony and I decided to stop at pricket's fort State Park…read morein Fairmont we had never been here before this was going to be a nice little afternoon adventure. The weather was lovely it was a very mild low 80° sun was Shining, flowers blooming , bees a buzzing....feels like summer finally! You found the park rather easily even though they don't have a lot of signage once you get off the interstate. The park is free to enjoy and walk around there's a couple of hiking trails and a very old cemetery. There is a really nice bathroom area near the museum and the museum is free to enjoy. There is also a gift shop. Now if you want to tour the actual fort which is a reconstructive for it which also includes the family job pricket brick house or Mansion whatever you want to call it there's a fee of $8. And seniors are six I believe. They also offer bike rental which I found to be very nice even though we were not riding bikes this day. The fort is a self-guided tour and they have people in costume to talk to show you around and answer any questions you may have. But they do not currently have a blacksmith. The job house is scheduled with a scheduled tour three times a day 11, 1 and 2:30. Since we missed the tour for the house we decided not to purchase the ticket for the fort, because the fee covers both. So our plans are to go back soon and plan our day so that way we can enjoy both the fort and the house. The staff that is working there is very friendly and will answer any questions you may have. The museum has quite a few artifacts in it and a 20 minute film talking about the fort, how it was used, and how it was very important to the frontier home life in that area at the time. I definitely highly recommend you going if you're in the area. I know Tony and I are definitely going back again. There's a lot of great things to see there, a lot of family historical information for the area, and some really neat things in the gift shop. Hope you go and hope you enjoy your day at the fort and the park.

Playground, splash pad, and cure of the river. A great time for the kids. There are picnic tables…read morefor the adults and the stage is near by where they host bands and concerts.

Great view of the Mon River with boat ramps and a kayak launch. The park hosts free concerts all…read moresummer with great area talent. They also have a farmers market with plenty of parking. The splash pad is very nice.

It's a great place for families to be active and still have some fun! Took my girlfriend and…read morestepkid over and we had a blast!

I attended the soft opening of the aquatics center today. It's a beautiful facility and the event…read morewas well attended. This will be the go to place for swimming, diving, indoor and outdoor water park, a place for fabulous birthday parties, training and wellness. Lots of activities are planned. What great community and university collaboration!

Great walking trails in this park. Located at the top of the hill with free parking near the round…read morestadium where they play WVU basketball. I have placed this place every day in my past and never knew it was there. The parking lot is FREE and its great to stop here and take a quick little hike. This is a four seasons hiking park which is very nice. The trails are nice and the scenery is lovely. I wish I had found this place sooner, cause I would have definitely spent more time hiking in this lovely park. It is so peaceful and so quiet with different flowers and trees to love. The traffic is crazy sometimes trying to get out of the parking lot, but other than that..definitely worth it. Definitely worth the quick 30 minutes hike.

This green space rides a fairly steep hill. A small parking lot is at the top, or one can walk in…read morethrough various trails. The university's marching band was audible from across the road. Due to the steep elevation it is a bit of a tough area, but it is geologically interesting and quite a pleasant green space. Crossing the paved trail at the bottom leads to some fairly modest views of the river, which is mostly obscured by thick greenery (at least in summer).

Peaceful 170-acre park in the Morgantown hills not too far off the beaten path. White Park consists…read moremostly of unpaved walking trails and several adult and youth-sized baseball fields. Supposedly the entire park encompasses five miles of trails. Everything I saw was pretty easy walking with gentle inclines. I was able to park (for free) in an enlarged shoulder of the road just off of Mississippi St and access the trails right away, but there aren't clear trailhead markers or maps to let you know where you are. In fact, maintenance seems to be pretty hands off. Watch your step right after the rains as things can get muddy and slippery! I didn't see much by the way of wildlife while walking around, but the Cobun Creek Reservoir is a nice backdrop for the fall foliage. There were wooden benches every now and then for resting and enjoying the scene. Ran into a few other locals walking their dogs, trail running, or just enjoying a mid-day stroll.

We're in the area to visit Ohiopyle and were looking for some places close by to take our golden…read moreretriever swimming and while eating breakfast this morning at Yum Yums one of the owners recommended this place. After hubby and I toured Kentuck Knob we stopped by our hotel to get our golden and headed straight here. I was worried that being Father's Day that the place would be insanely crowded but there weren't many people there and since there are so many areas to park everyone that was there was pretty well spaced out. We stopped at the boat ramp area so our golden could jump off the 2 floating docks and he absolutely loved it. The water is really clean and hubby even saw a huge fish jump out of the water while our dog was retrieving his ball. This area has benches and a walkway around the lake and there are also bathrooms, pavilions and picnic tables and seems to be quite popular with the local fisherman plus it was so clean and pristine, my only regret is that we didn't find this place sooner because we would have been bringing our pup here every morning and evening. Great place for fishing, family get togethers or for a nice walk around the lake, we're actually getting ready to head back up there now.

I love this placemy fiancé and I along with our daughter enjoyed this beach thoroughly. We started…read moreoff with a kayak where you actually pull off from the beach area in you in at the beach. It's a little steep from the top to the bottom but otherwise great location really nice if you just want to come sit out get some sun and watch her kids play in water that it's very shallow To front desk people are very helpful and explained that the beach is completely free and it's swim at your own risk they also tell you the rules of what you canning cannot take down there the only complaint I have is that everything where you can eat and grill is at the top of the heel you have a lot of stairs to walk down so you have to be extremely careful if carrying a cooler chairs and things like that so just be aware of that when you have a chair or chairs or cooler maybe put everything in a backpack or give everyone in your party one thing to carry. The area to swim is very shallow and roped off so you really do not have to worry about your child going to far out as they really can't!Great place for the summer we will definitely be back

not very disability accessible. wasn't aware that there was no ramp until we already got our…read morewristbands. had to take our wagon down the MANY many steps and walk my autistic sister down with it while making sure she didn't breakdown. the rest was fine though! would've appreciated a heads up on that though LOL