Blackwater Falls

I had been wanting to visit Blackwater Falls. I had visited years ago when I lived in West Virginia; in other words, a long time ago. Ty and I made the 2.5 hour trip to Davis, West Virginia. Blackwater Falls State Park is located in the Allegany Mountains in Tucker County. Blackwater Falls is the centerpiece of the park, the largest falls in West Virginia and one of the most photographed natural sites in the state. 

Cascading falls

Farther away

The cascading falls drop about 62 feet at the head of Blackwater Canyon. The black in Blackwater Falls refers to the tannic acid from hemlock and red spruce needles that darkens the water, giving it a tea-like color.

Blue cloudy skies

Big Rock

There is a boardwalk trail to the falls overlook. It is about a half a mile out and back. The views were breathtaking. I would love to see the falls when they are frozen over or in the fall with the colorful foliage. Perhaps, another visit will be in store. I'm sure Ty would be up for it.

Almost Heaven

More than 200 steps

Me and Ty

A big splash

Downstream

There was an accessible "gentle" trail that led to another viewing point. The falls could be viewed from a distance.

From farther away

Elakala Trail

I had a hard time finding the trailhead for the Elakala Trail in Blackwater Falls State Park. It wasn't very well marked. The trail was 0.8 mile out-and-back. It was a reasonably pleasant walk through the woods that ended at a bridge above the falls. I never couldn't get a good view of the falls for picture-taking. The falls weren't very impressive. Not much water.  There was a shorter hike to the bridge, but I wasn't sure where that one started. I was able to park not too far from the trailhead. The views from the parking area were quite picturesque. 

Overlook near trail

Through the crooked branch

The trail 

A glimpse of the falls through the trees

Looking down from the bridge

Longing to go in the water

North Fork of the Black River

Thomas is a former coal mining town in Tucker County, West Virginia. Elevation 3,035 feet. It is located on the North Fork of the Black River. After visiting nearby Blackwater Falls (in Davis), Ty and I ventured to Thomas to see some more waterfalls (and some other stuff).

The first thing of interest we saw was a two story red brick (office) building. It had served as the headquarters for the Davis Coal and Coke Company from 1900 to 1950. It was later used by the Western Maryland Railroad until it was closed in 1982. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It didn't look like there was anything inside.

Historic office building

To reach the waterfalls, we had to travel road, full of potholes. Along the way, there were remnants of the Davis WV coke ovens. These historic beehive coke ovens were used to process the region's low sulfur coal for steel production. The cook ovens became obsolete and abandoned around 1915.

Remnants of old coke ovens

Albert Falls is the first in a series of waterfalls on the North Fork of the Black River. It was close tot he road. It's the only one of the waterfalls I got a good look at and was able to take relatively unobstructed pictures of. I wanted to take Ty down to the water, but I thought it was best not to. The path was iffy and we were by ourselves. Not another soul around.

Albert Falls

Pony Bridge

After crossing the pony bridge (iffy), I parked the car. There was a large parking area. Another vehicle was there. Ty and I started hiking. Douglas Falls was mostly obstructed by tree branches. I couldn't get any decent pictures. It would have been nice to go down to the bank of the falls, but for the same reason as before, we didn't.

The falls were hard to see behind all the vegetation.

Douglas Falls

Sandstone Falls

I love waterfalls. Ty loves the water. Sandstone Falls was our first stop in New River Gorge National Park (in West Virginia). It is the largest waterfall on the New River. It drops 10 to 25 feet and spans 1500 feet across the river. There was a boardwalk that offered excellent views of the falls from various vantage points. Ty and I walked down to the water at one place. He was able to go in the water, but didn't go too far because of large stones.

Largest waterfall in the park

Appalachian riverside

With Ty

Without Ty

A short clip of the falls

There was another place to view the falls. It was high up so you could see the entire falls from above. Not much of a walk, so Ty stayed in the car. 

A series of smaller waterfalls

Along the river

Grandview Overlook

The third place we visited in New River Gorge National Park was Grandview. The Grandview Overlook is 1400 feet above the river. The views were spectacular. The horseshoe reminded me of the one in Arizona that is on my bucket list.

Grandview Overlook

Horseshoe Bend

The New River

Near the overlook, Ty and I hiked the Tunnel Trail, a short (0.5 mile) moderate hike that featured some interesting rock formations. It was pleasant cool hiking through lush vegetation, lots of places to Ty to pee. At one point, the trail opened to a baseball field and I learned the relevance of baseball to coal mining communities. If coalminers were busy playing baseball, they were too busy to unionize. 

Tunnel Trail

Along the trail

Unique rock formations

New River Gorge Bridge

New River Gorge Bridge is iconic. It is to New River Gorge National Park what the Delicate Arch is to Arches National Park (in Utah). The bridge is the most recognizable symbol in the park's almost 73,000 acres. It is one of the most photographed places in West Virginia. 

Newest National Park

The New River Gorge Bridge is the longest steel span in the Western Hemisphere. It is also the third highest bridge in the US at 876 feet. The bridge was completed in 1977.  It solved a travel challenging, reducing a 40-minute drive to less than 1 minute. The bridge was listed on the Natural Register of Historic Places in 2013.

New River Gorge Bridge

The bridge is accessible from the Canyon's Rim Visitor Center. There are steps that take you to the bridge's observation area. 178 steps down, 178 steps up. Good exercise, both ways. Ty enjoyed it.

178 steps

New River Gorge Rim

The New River Gorge Bridge is a highway (US highway 19), not a pedestrian bridge. Much like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, you can only walk across it on "Bridge Day."

Birch River and Summersville Lake

The drive continued to be scenic after leaving New River Gorge National Park. Birch River offered beautiful mountain vistas while Summersville Lake is famously called the "Bahamas of the East" for its turquoise waters. 

Scenic overlook near Birth River

Roadside

Historical sign

Ty at Birch River

Summersville Lake, West Virginia's largest, is formed by a rock-fill dam on the Gauley River. Summersville Lake is definitely a place I'd like to go back to. Wish it was closer.

Summersville Lake

Summersville dam

This was something to do with the dam.

The last stop of our trip to Virginia/West Virginia was the rest stop in Friendsville (Maryland). It was dusk. The fog made the night sky especially picturesque.

Foggy

Dusk