This Place in the West Virginia Mountains Has Turn out to be a Shopping and Dining Location

Pocohontas County, West Virginia, is acknowledged for exhilarating outside experience and arrives with a aspect of Appalachian hospitality, stargazing, and the ideal maple syrup all over.

Driving Distance: 4 hours

Keep In this article: Snowshoe Mountain is a calendar year-round vacation resort neighborhood dedicated to the enjoy of the terrific outdoors. Positioned on top rated of the eponymous peak at an elevation of 4,848 ft, this alpine village will get dumped with additional snow than any other mid-Atlantic vacation resort. Though you can try out working day or night snowboarding, tubing, and snowmobiling into late March, the warmer months are also an great time to check out. Snowshoe gives heart-pounding RZR four-wheeler excursions, starter mountain bicycle trails, and an inflatable impediment program on the lake that kids really like. Lodging assortment from Black Bear Crossing’s affordable townhomes to the Sanctuary’s luxurious mountain households to spacious condominiums at Eagle Lodge to the Corduroy Inn, a new boutique resort with free of charge breakfast. Being at a Snowshoe property entitles each individual visitor to a working day go, which implies you can check out out the recreational pursuits without paying extra funds. From $150 for each night time 10 Snowshoe Dr., Snowshoe

Working day 1

Early morning: The drive to Pocahontas County winds by means of the George Washington Countrywide Forest, nicknamed Tiny Switzerland, alongside the Highland Scenic Freeway. Be expecting to navigate switchbacks and be rewarded with breathtaking overlooks. It is a significantly-flung desired destination, consisting of 940 sq. miles, and sits at the greatest average elevation of any county east of the Mississippi. Additionally, there is nominal connectivity. Start out unplugging at Environmentally friendly Lender Observatory, wherever, along with the enjoyable experiments at the Science Center, you are going to obtain the largest steerable telescope in the world. Simply because it’s situated within the Nationwide Radio Silent Zone, really do not count on GPS to get you here—download or print out a map forward of time. Grab a bite at the onsite Starlight Café.

AFTERNOON: Cease by the Eco-friendly Financial institution Art Heart, where by a selection of juried artists from the towns of Cass and Marlinton offer Appalachian crafts. Highlights consist of whimsical pottery, sheep’s wool, leather-based baggage, and the geometric quilt squares that, if you seem close to, you will see plastered on barns throughout the area. Mothers and fathers can love a cup of free of charge coffee in advance of heading to Snowshoe Mountain.

Evening: Soon after examining into your lodging, pick informal fare at Cheat Mountain Pizza, or choose for good eating at Appalachia Kitchen, exactly where even the kids’ menu (mini filet mignon) is initial-amount. Right after meal, bundle up for Galactic Tubing on Snowshoe’s slopes, or consider a nighttime snowmobile tour on the resort’s backcountry trails.

Day 2

Early morning: If your accommodations don’t consist of breakfast, select up provides at Snowshoe’s Wildcat Grocery. Then pack for a working day of outdoor fun, commencing with a two-hour ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad. When you get there at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park—a logging town preserved from the 1900s—you’ll hear the locomotive’s whistle. Time to climb aboard the open-air steam engine for the 8-mile roundtrip from Cass to Whittaker Station. All through the journey, interpreters offer historical data when you gape at the magnificent views of Cheat Mountain and Leatherbark Creek.

AFTERNOON: Enjoy lunch at the Previous Run Restaurant and Soda Fountain. This old-time tavern is acknowledged for region cooking, precisely all-working day buckwheat hotcakes with domestically harvested maple syrup. Maple is a staple in these pieces, and you are going to come across it glazing every thing from salmon to ham. Immediately after lunch, tour Cass Historical Theater and Museum, and store for educate memorabilia at the Enterprise Store.

Night: On the way back again to Snowshoe, quit at Previous Spruce Brewing, in which mom and dad can sample craft beers on tap, and children can buy tasty tacos. If all people is up for it, splash all over in Snowshoe’s heated pools. Anticipate to rest perfectly immediately after this hectic day.

Day 3

Morning: Ahead of leaving Snowshoe, cease slope-facet for a sweet deal with at its Waffle Cabin. Travel to the charming city of Marlinton to see the frontier-design architecture, and consider a look inside Pocahontas County’s Artisans Co-op. Head to the Dirtbean cafe and bicycle shop to hire a two-wheeler and pedal the Greenbrier River Trail. This 78-mile rails-to-trails route borders the sparkling-clean up Greenbrier River.

AFTERNOON: After your ride, return the bikes to Dirtbean, grab a hearty flatbread pizza, and purchase materials for the very long travel household. Up for one particular final cease? Droop Mountain Battlefield Point out Park is on the way and is the scene of the past main West Virginia battle of the Civil War. Droop Mountain has quite a few quick trails, like the Ignore Path showcasing rocky cliffs, a bear den, and Civil War trenches.

This tale initially ran in our March situation. For far more tales like this, subscribe to our month to month magazine.