Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021 - 70

VISIT SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA | BILLY BOWLING

DO
;; New River Gorge Bridge Walk
(Lansing) Walk a catwalk beneath the New
River Gorge Bridge (while safely roped
to the bridge) for the gorge view of a
lifetime. Learn the history and engineering
details from an accompanying guide. YR
(bridgewalk.com)
;; Exhibition Coal Mine/Youth

Museum of Southern West Virginia

(Beckley) Tour a vintage coal mine and learn

about the hard job of mining from a veteran
coal miner. Step back into an old-time
village on the grounds. Apr - Oct
(beckley.org)
;; Cranberry Glades/Cranberry

Mountain Nature Center (Richwood)

Particularly enticing during the May orchid
bloom, the glades features a boardwalk,
interactive displays, snake shows and
ranger tours. Apr-Oct (fs.fed.us/wildflowers/
regions/eastern/CranberryMountain)

;; Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory
(Gap Mills) Follow a 1.5-mile footpath along
the spine of Peters Mountain to the rustic
Hanging Rock Observatory for a 360-degree
view of hawk migrations and rural scenery.
YR (hangingrocktower.org)
;; Hawks Nest State Park (Ansted) With
a lodge perched on the rim of New River
Gorge, almost 10 miles of trails, tram and
jet boat rides, Hawks Nest offers options for
viewing nature's beauty. YR (wvstateparks.
com/hawksnest)
;; Kirkwood Winery/Isaiah Morgan
Distillery (Summersville) The family operation
features almost 30 wines - and the uniquely
WV ramp wine - as well as whisky and legal
moonshine. YR (kirkwoodwine.com)
;; Mystery Hole (Ansted) Gravity goes
berserk at this roadside attraction hidden in
a wildly painted Quonset hut with a VW bug
smashed into its side. Weekends May-Oct
(mysteryhole.com)

PHOTO COURTESY VISITWV.COM

;; Lost World Caverns (Lewisburg)
Adventure lies underground in both
lighted and wild caving tours. An aboveground natural history museum displays
everything from castings of triceratops
bones to petrified dinosaur poop. YR
(lostworldcaverns.com)
;; Smooth Ambler Spirits Distillery
(Maxwelton) Sip small-batch handcrafted
whiskies at a distillery named America's
best by USA Today. (smoothambler.com)
;; Sandstone Falls (Hinton) Get in the
spray zone of New River's pounding, 25-ft.
waterfall accessed by boardwalk to islands
below the falls. nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/
the-sandstone-falls.htm
;; Dinner Cruises on Summersville
Lake (Summersville) Dine on board a 40-ft
boat while viewing the sunset over West
Virginia's largest lake. Late May - early
Sept (sarges.net)
;; Tamarack, West Virginia's artisan
center (Beckley) See glassblowers at work;
listen to master fiddlers, and dine on
Greenbrier recipes in the quilt-theme food
court. YR (tamarackwv.com)

TOP: Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory, Gap Mills, provides a 1.5mile walk to a 360-degree view.
LEFT: Lost World Caverns, Lewisburg, offers both lighted and wild
caving adventures.

70

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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021

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