Retired Nomads - Part 2 : Blackwater Falls State Park

Blackwater Falls State Park – Davis, WV June 23

Blackwater Falls State Park is one of the most famous tourist attractions in West Virginia. The park is named for the amber waters of Blackwater Falls, a 57-foot cascade tinted by the tannic acid of fallen hemlock and red spruce needles. Website: www.blackwaterfalls.com

We drove about an hour and a half to visit Blackwater Falls State Park. The navigator once again had a slight issue and had us turn down a very small windy road (which was a pretty diversion) and wanted us to turn when we were under the overpass of the road we were supposed to be on. We backtracked and got on the right road and we drove a bit on the Appalachian Highway. Another lovely scenic drive with tree covered hills and mountains.

our out of the way drive

We stopped first at the Blackwater Falls Boardwalk trail. It was a fairly short trek (around 200 steps) to get there with several different viewing areas along the way.

first glimpse of Blackwater Falls from the top of the boardwalk

We continued on in the car to Pendleton Point Overlook. It was a beautiful view of the deep gorge and we could see the restaurant where we were going to have lunch.

Pendleton Point Overlook

restaurant & lodge across the canyon

Back in the car we drove to Lindy Point Trail. The trail is at 3,000 feet overlooking the Blackwater Canyon. The trail was muddy in many spots and there were many tree roots and rocks to avoid or just walk on. A small section had a boardwalk and I saw a pretty grey snake with a yellow ring around its neck. (Ring-necked Snake) It led to an awesome view with some huge rocks amongst the background of trees. There were some people there having a church service of sorts and they were singing. Quite surreal to hear it before seeing them as we hiked closer. There were many wild Rhododendrons in bloom along the trails.

wild rhododendrons

the trail

Greg ahead on the trail

Ring-necked snake (no photo of the head it was on the move)

Lindy Point Overlook

It was time for lunch, so we went to the Smokehouse Restaurant located in the Blackwater Falls Lodge. We ordered a rib basket and a beef brisket sandwich and spilt them both. They came with home-made potato chips. Everything was very good.

Blackwater Falls Lodge - Smokehouse Restaurant

Beef Brisket Sandwich

Rib Basket

After lunch we went on the Elakala Trail. The upper section had a lovely view of Elakala Falls. It meanders along the canyon rim and eventually comes out to the road. You can backtrack back or take the road back to the parking lot. We walked to a scenic overlook before walking back to the car.

Cedar Waxwing

Elakala Trail

scenic overlook - you could see the falls way in the distance

walking back to the car along the road

the water was very colorful with the tannic acid

There are lots of trails here geared to all levels of hikers. It truly was a beautiful park and not that crowded despite being on a weekend.

It was time to drive back to Cumberland and we stopped for a DQ Blizzard part way back in Keyser (sorry Jim) We also saw 3 small White-tailed Deer. (we saw a dead one on the drive there this morning)

Here is a cute sign on a business….. Honeymooners Gun Shop in Keyser

We passed North Branch Correctional Institute – Cresaptown, MD. Wow, this is where the BAD Boys due their time. The layers of razor wire is just the tip of the iceberg of the security measures in place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Branch_Correctional_Institution