Dawn breaks over Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue. View the full issue here.
In West Virginia, you can go to any wedding, anniversary party or graduation – really any celebration of any kind, it seems – and someone is bound to start singing the John Denver classic, Country Roads.
It’s a thing.
West Virginians love their state and with good reason. It really is almost heaven.
A key area during the American Civil War, West Virginia has a rich, fascinating if often heartbreaking history. Visit Harpers Ferry and let a well-versed tour guide tell you the story of that small town, where the legendary John Brown bravely raided the Confederate munitions factory with the hope of arming slaves escaping northward to freedom. Though he was captured and executed six weeks later, that raid and his courage remain one of the most memorable stories of the period.
Immersive Historical Stays and Ghostly Tales
If you’re eager to immerse yourself in that era, book a stay at the Light Horse Inn, a lovingly maintained Grand Dame of a place, where the history is palpable (but the beds are updated and so are the bathrooms). The innkeepers provide a delicious hot breakfast every morning and create the feeling that you’re staying at your grandparents’ home – especially if you have grandparents who really care about making the kids comfortable.
Nearby Shepherdstown also has Civil War tales to tell, and the best place to hear them is on a ghost walk tour that begins at dusk. A guide in period costume leads you along the old streets, past homes that survived switching from Union to Confederate hands again and again, occupied and re-occupied eight times during the conflict. Each time, regardless of their political stripes, the beleaguered residents were asked to care for the wounded and dying that sometimes were so numerous that they were simply laid in rows on the streets, for lack of beds and shelter.
It’s no wonder so many ghosts are said to haunt the three graveyards you visit on your tour and equally unsurprising that the guide fully believes that she’s surrounded by spirits at every step. It’s hard not to look at the windows of the old homes that line the streets to see if any spectral faces are peering out at you.
Adventure in the Treetops
If you’d like a different type of thrill, grab your hiking shoes and head to River Riders Adventure Center for an adventure in the trees.
Though designed to challenge even the most agile climber, this obstacle course starts low and slow, with relatively easy challenges. Climb up a wooden ladder to a height of about 15 feet, then walk across a 20-foot bridge made of small logs. Piece of cake – except those logs are attached by ropes and swing each time you try to take a step.
No worries. You’re wearing a helmet and a harness with cables that attach by carabiners to overhead wires so should you slip, they’ll hold you. They’re tested to withstand several thousand pounds of weight so you needn’t worry about the burger and fries you had for lunch.
Finished the seven or eight challenges in the first level? Good for you! Levels two and three await. They’re higher and tougher and they include ziplines to send you soaring above the ground as well as rope swings that challenge you to step into thin air – always clipped to those overhead wires by your carabiners of course. (Did I mention how important it is to check and double check your carabiners?)
By the time you finish all three levels, you’ll be 50 feet above the forest floor, scrambling like a squirrel around the wooden platform with a combination of exhilaration and relief.
Outdoor Activities and Souvenirs
A great family activity, the tree obstacle course is just one of the excellent adventures you can have at River Riders. Maybe you’ll wrap up the day by going white water rafting or hiking. At the very least, you can grab a gift shop t-shirt to commemorate the moment.
If you’re thinking that nightlife in small West Virginia towns might be dull, you’d be wrong. Everywhere you look, you’ll find live music.
One evening, we caught a performance of the Brother Brothers (No, that’s not a typo. Brother is their family name and they’re twins.) Well-known in the Americana folk music scene, these two regularly fly from LA and New York to meet in small town West Virginia to sing and reconnect with their roots. Their harmonies are as sweet as the ice cream you can have while you listen to them. When was the last time you sat in a bar and had a cone instead of a Corona?
Authentic Local Experiences and Community Spirit
If you stay at the Light Horse Inn, check out the Barn next door – and you’ll find it’s an actual barn. If all the other patrons are locals, all the better, they’ll make you feel welcome as you get your own beer at the bar. You’ll soon be into music that features fiddles, banjos, mandolins, piano and guitars.
The talent is great and it’s local. The night we were there, the lead singer coaxed a teenage girl out of the audience and up to the stage where she knocked us all dead with an impromptu piano performance, then sang harmony with the band.
While she sang, three or four large dogs wandered among the tables, looking for pats. A couple of small children giggled as they darted through the old barn – no need for any parental worry. This was home for them, and for everyone else as well. That’s the kind of place it is.
After a while, the lead singer noticed our table of out-of-towners, offered a welcome that felt as authentic as the music, and asked if we had any requests. The choice was obvious and soon the whole place was singing along with the band …
Country roads, take me home,
To the place where I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads.
Next time you’re thinking about a vacation, it might just be time to go home to West Virginia.
You’ll find all the info you need to plan your West Virginia getaway at wvtourism.com
This article originally appeared within the Summer 2024 issue. View the full issue here, or browse all back issues in theCRACKYL Library.
