We left the Outflow Campground about 8:30 headed for Big Bend Campground in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. The first thing I’ll say about the drive is that it was beautiful. The second thing is that there aren’t any straight, flat roads in western West Virginia!
Our drive took us due south through Maryland’s western tail and the Deep Creek Lake area. Then we got into the mountains … up, down, twist and turn was the name of the game. It was quite a dance and the camper’s brakes got a real workout.
There are almost no sizeable towns along the route and we went out of our way to stop in Petersburg, where they had an actual supermarket, for some groceries to feed ourselves for the next couple of days. From there we chose to avoid some of the mountains on our way to Big Bend by taking a “long cut” down the less hilly US-220. When we got to the turn that would take us to the campground we were stopped because the narrow, ten-mile road was being paved and they’d be working until at least 6:30 pm.
Google Maps helped us locate a very small, private campground, Smalltown Campsites, a few miles north of Franklin. The owners were at work but texted us the code to unlock the power and water for our site. The place is an open field along the South Branch of the Potomac River. Currently the campground has just six sites, all full-service. Owners, Dustin & Katie Snider stopped by after work to collect their camping fee and to talk. Nice folks, they plan to eventually further develop the campground, enlarging it and planting some trees, etc.
After it got very dark that evening we took Dustin & Katie’s advice and went outside, waited for our eyes to adjust and spent time looking up at the sky. There are no large towns nearby so this qualifies as a “dark sky” area. The sky was pretty clear and, in spite of a few local lights from a couple of nearby homes and campers, we could see a ton of stars and the faintest glimmer of the Milky Way. Pretty neat!
August 22, 2023 – Franklin to Big Bend Campground, WV
We left our overnight spot headed a few miles back north into the Monongahela National Forest and Big Bend Campground. The same “road closed” warning that we’d seen yesterday was still in place but the flagger said they were only paving a driveway and we’d be able to pass. The drive was convoluted but beautiful, down a narrow, mountainous valley. We saw a number of great blue herons flying along the river. There were occasional private homes, cabins and campers but it was pretty remote. Continuing along the one-and-half-lane road we passed the newly paved part and were soon on the four-mile packed gravel side road that lead to the campground. Dusty much?
This lovely campground is situated in an ox bow curve in the river, almost completely surrounded by water. It was almost completely vacant. The campsites are really nice and are mostly first-come-first-served except for the primo ones along the river. Those were reserved, alright, but not for the next couple of days. So we were took the nicest one and dropped our self-service payment of $29 for the next couple of days into the lock box. There are no services at the sites themselves but fresh water spigots, clean restrooms and showers, an RV dump station and dumpsters are all conveniently located.
A favorite pastime here is floating downstream on a tube from one end of the ox bow to the other and taking the short walk back to the put-in area. The river is quite low this season so it’s a bumpy ride down the mild rapids. Lacking tubes for even a bumpy ride, we rode our bikes four miles back down the gravel road to a small general store seeking a mid-day treat. But it was closed despite the sign that claimed it was open. They had a welcoming, shaded porch, however, and we made use of the comfortable rockers for a few minutes. We spotted a bald eagle along the ride back.
Back at the campground we carried our folding chairs down the path to the river and a wide gravel area known here as “The Beach”. Sandy waded a bit and we both settled down to read and enjoy the light breeze and sound of the water. We talked to a family group who floated by on their tubes.
20230822 Sandy Wades in River
20230822 While Bill Reads a Book
That evening we spoke to a couple camped in the next site who arrived while we were at the beach. They were here to rock climb on their summer break as teachers in Tokyo, Japan. He knew the area pretty well, recommending some other things to do while we are in the area.
August 23, 2023 – Big Bend Campground to Seneca Rocks, WV
20230823 Deer Stares us Down along Road through Big Bend Campground
This morning we broke camp and drove down the dusty gravel road from Big Bend Campground and headed north on the very scenic twisty, turny Smoke Caverns Road to WV-28. WV-28 follows the north-flowing, “imaginatively named” North Fork South Branch Potomac River upstream. We continued south to the tiny settlement of Seneca Rocks, named for the bizarre, completely bare rock formation near the top of the mountain that juts up from the lush forest that surrounds it. It is quite striking! We stopped at the Visitor Center but it was closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
So, we drove another mile and turned right into the Seneca Shadow Campground. Like Big Bend, it is operated by U.S. National Parks & Preserves and spreads across the side of a steep mountain. It consists of a series of lollypop campground loops, all with level, macadam drives for campers and cinder pads for tents. Like Big Bend, this campground is mostly first-come-first-served. It was amazing that none of the sites were occupied! On the one loop that has electrical service and reservable sites, about half had notices that they were reserved for the weekend but only two of the sites were occupied. It was hot so we paid the nightly $19 fee for a site with electric so we’d be able to run the AC.
Heading back down, we drove a mile north to the Seneca Rocks picnic area. There was a trailhead that lead to on observation point near the rocks. The two mile, 800 foot vertical switchback trail ended at a large wooden observation platform jutting out from the mountain side. It provided a spectacular view of the valley below and the mountains surrounding us. We had expected to be able to see the rock formation up close from the overview and were a bit disappointed that we could not.
20230823 View into Valley from Overlook
Back at the parking lot, however, we figured out why the picnic area was located where it was. There was a walled observation area next to the picnic pavilion that offered a spectacular view. We took our pictures but were pretty beat from our little hike. Back at the nearly deserted campground, we opted to try out the outdoor shower nozzle that came with the camper. Perfect!
Refreshed, we enjoyed a lazy evening and an early to bed. Yet another good day!
August 24, 2023 – Seneca Rocks to New Giver Gorge, WV
Departing Seneca Shadows Campground, our first stop was in Elkins for breakfast, groceries, car wash and an ATM. Missions accomplished, we headed south to New River Gorge National Park, one of the country’s newest. Southern West Virginia is home to three national parks, all of which preserve wild rivers. Bluestone National Scenic River preserves ten miles of the Bluestone River. Gauley River National Recreation Area protects 25 miles of the Gauley River plus some of the Meadow River and is renowned as a world-class destination for white water boaters.
The walls of our destination, the New River Gorge, average 1,000 feet above the river so it is quite a striking gorge. The park protects more than 50 miles of the river which, it turns out, isn’t so “new” after all. It is one of the oldest rivers in the world, predating even the Appalachian Mountains that it runs through.
After a short stop at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center we made the, yes, twisty turny drive south to Glade Creek Campground, the most remote and secluded campground in the park. Of course, the last six miles of the road was gravel so the car wash job earlier in the day was negated. The campground consists of six drive-in sites and six walk-in sites, all free and first-come-first-served. Amazingly, we got the last available campsite!
We walked the short road that fronts the drive-in section to a boat ramp and small parking area for walk-in campers. The walk-in sites were along the river while ours were in the woods. It was getting late so we decided to explore the park tomorrow. Instead, we read and made supper. Another camper walked by and we talked to him for a while. He’s been coming to this park, which used to be designated as a for more than 20 years and said that it’s become much busier since it was designated a National Park a couple of years ago.
August 25, 2023 – New River Gorge to Little Beaver Creek SP, WV
We woke to the sound of thunder deep in the gorge and were rewarded with a heavy thunderstorm about half an hour later. Rewarded because the area needed rain and the rain meant that we would not be driving six miles on a dusty gravel road, just six miles on a wet one. On our way out the gravel road we stopped to look over Grandview Sandbar campground. This location was a similar setup but not so wooded.
We were headed to Sandstone Visitor Center near the south end of the park to get some guidance on things to do. This is a big park and the roads are round about because of all the deep gorges. The drive was 33 miles and, yeah, twisty turny up and down! After looking over displays about the lumbering and mining past of the area, we struck out on our way.
We were headed to Sandstone Falls, just downstream and across the river from the Visitors Center, a mere 20 mile drive! First stops, though, were a couple of overlooks of the river and then an overview of Brooks Falls.
Sandstone is not a high waterfall. But it is very wide, convoluted and quite lovely. A long boardwalk leads the visitor past the western half of the falls characterized by heavily vegetated, marsh-like landscape above the falls. At the end of the boardwalk is the eastern half of the falls. It is a long, ragged line of horizontal breaks of falling water. Both sides were quite beautiful. We explored some of the exposed flat rock below the falls finding potholes worn long ago before the falls receded upstream. We also noticed a crayfish among the rocks.
Heading south we stopped upstream at a small, riverside restaurant, Kirks, for a lunch of stuffed, baked potatoes. While there we enjoyed the view from their porch over the river.
Then it was another 27 mile drive to Grandview Overlook, more twisty two lane roads. The main overlook is actually located directly above the Grandview Sandbar campground we stopped at earlier in the day, 1,400 feet above, that is. It is a spectacular view of a large gooseneck curve of the river. It was as spectacular as the one at Gooseneck SP in Utah! After admiring it we walked the half-mile, crazily rocky Tunnel Trail south of the overlook.
Then, just two miles further we stopped at Turkey Spur Overlook. Here you climb a crazy, long, 150 step stairway among towering rocks for another view of the river. Maybe not as magnificent as Grandview but beautiful. The question is, “Who in their right mind decided to build this stairway?” It was very cool but … really!?
Afterwards we headed back down Grandview Road and got one of the last campsites in Little Beaver State Park, a nice little park with a small lake and campsites with electric and water. But, $47 for one night? We’ve really been spoiled by the free or low cost Federal campgrounds we’ve stayed in to date.
August 26, 2023 – Little Beaver Creek SP to The Outpost, WV
We’re still exploring New River Gorge. Departing Little Beaver SP, we headed for the largely abandoned river town of Thurmond, once the heart of New River Gorge. The C&O Railroad line through the gorge was completed in 1873 and development of the town was begun that same year by Captain W. D. Thurmond. It soon became a major refueling stop for trains carrying coal and timber from mines and forests along the river. Hotels were built to house businessmen and tourists. By 1910, the town shipped more freight tonnage than Cincinnati, OH, and Richmond, VA, combined.
By the 1930s the country was switching from railroads to automobiles and improved roads for transportation. And, when the C&O exchanged their steam engines for diesel power in the 1940s, the need for Thurmond’s steam engine maintenance capabilities evaporated. Residents moved away to find jobs elsewhere and the town largely died.
The National Park Service later purchased many of the buildings in the town and, in 1995, restored the old train station as a visitor center. Today, it has acquired more of the buildings and has stabilized them structurally and cleaned up their exteriors with the intent to eventually open some of them to the public.
We walked the town along the railroad tracks that once was the real main street of the town. Today, the rails are quite active with freight and the town is still a flag stop for the thrice weekly Amtrak runs. We paid special attention to the old coaling tower under which steam engines stopped their coal tenders to have them refilled. It is a massive structure, still structurally sound and seemingly easily repaired to begin dispensing coal again.
Leaving Thurmond we headed to the Canyon Rim Visitor Center situated next to the New River Gorge Bridge. Completed in 1977, it replaced a narrow, switchback road and small bridge at the base of the gorge with a magnificent work of structural art. Today the bridge carries US-19 across the gorge. At 3,030 feet, it is the longest steel span in the western hemisphere and the third highest in the U.S. at 876 feet above the river. Its single steel arch spans 1,700 feet.
We walked the center’s boardwalk to view the top of the bridge and descended the 178 steps to view it from the side.
Then we drove the Fayette Station Road that is the old, one-way switchback road that the new bridge replaced. It was quite a drive and quite a sight. We even saw some bridge walkers taking the guided walk along the 24 inch wide steel catwalk under the bridge. There are, of course, handrails and walkers are harnessed and tethered to a safety rail. It must be quite a sight, one we’ll probably never see.
The old bridge at the bottom had been demolished when the new bridge was constructed. But the Park Service replaced it with a facsimile. Besides being a great place to see the bridge, the area serves as a small swimming beach and a put in and take out for kayakers and river rafters.
Driving back up the other side of the gorge, we were wondering where to camp that evening. Our question was answered when we came to the entrance of The Outpost campground. In its second year of business, it boasts cabins and tent platforms arrayed along a hillside and campsites for tents, campers and RVs. They were nearly full but assigned us a grassy, creek-side spot without services which suited us just fine. They had live music that evening but we opted for the use of their clean new showers and a late dinner instead.