Run 'n Ride!

I like trail running.  Maybe it's just because there is no pavement. Maybe I don't particularly like running in circles.  Maybe all of the above. So when the kids were old enough and relatively stable on their bikes we started running while they ride.  This works great on running trails.  No cars or crosswalks to worry about. And the terrain challenges the kiddos enough so we can keep up with them.  I don't expect this to last forever, though.  As they get bigger and better, they tend to get too far ahead. 

Today it worked perfect.  The kids wanted to ride bikes today.  My son even said, without being prompted, that he wanted to ride on a trail. It was a perfect chance to see how the kids manage the walking trails at Barboursville City Park on bikes.  The the inclines are mild and the trails are wide enough in total, but the actual walking surface is a gravel covered single track that runs down the middle.  The rest of the trail surface is mowed natural grass.  The grass is a little tough for kiddos to pedal through, so they have to stick to the single track.  Either way, it still tends to slow the kiddos down a little.  No biggie, since the two easier trails are loops, making it less likely for them to get out of range or lost.  This was particularly helpful today as my other half is out of town, and it was just me and the kiddos. I actually had to wait for them a few times at the inclines, but otherwise they did great.  And it was short enough to keep them entertained.  The weather was also perfect.  Sunny, dry, 75 degrees.  I make no assumption that this is normal for late September in WV, but I'm not complaining, either. 

For a workout it was a little short (about 25 minutes), so we drove to the running path around the little lake.  I ran a few laps while the kids played on the playground.  Then we drove to Frostop in Huntington.  They are known for their root beer, and we hadn't tried it yet.  It turned out to be great.  My daughter loves their burgers, and my son loves the corndogs.  I like their onion rings...a little too much.  It's an original drive-in with tables outside.  Couldn't pick a better day for it.

Hiking in Our Backyard! (almost)

Barboursville City Park was a selling point for me. The park not only has excellent facilities, a large group and team sports complex, and plenty of picnic amenities, but it has TONS of trails, suitable for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.  The park encompasses over 900 acres of developed and undeveloped green space.  There are wide open soccer fields, and heavily wooded hill sides.  The family has hiked and mountain biked on a number of different trails in the month and a half we have lived nearby. This post will focus on the set of nicely kept and well-established walking trails.  The more rugged trails I will save for a later post.

We walked all of the walking trails in about an hour and a half.  They range from about .2 mile to .6 mile loop or up-and-back.  To get to them from the main entrance of the park in Barboursville, follow the park road to the top of the hill, and make a right. Pass by the parking lot and picnic shelter on the right, and follow the road as it veers off to the left (Overlook Road).  Park near the vehicle barrier.  A short walk on the road will take you to this sign.  The trails are flat and well-kept.  The Radio Tower Road trail has some inclines.  Each trail has tons of single tracks leading off from them along the way.  I plan to go back and scout some of them on a bike, and then bring the family up for more mountain biking. The trails have some great lookout points, as well.  The picture is from Farm View Trail, as one might guess.

We seem to find something new every time we visit this park, and this little trip was no exception.  We are getting to know the area better now, which will help us plan for longer and more challenging hikes and bike outings in the future.  I just might return tomorrow after work to bike the trails, and try out some of the singletracks.  Later!

Carter Caves State Resort Park, KY

OK. So not exactly in WV, but very close by. We live in the Tri-State area, and Carter Caves is about a 45 minute drive from our house in Huntington. Kentucky State Parks are legendary for their beauty, facilities, and low cost (free!). Carter Cave certainly lives up to the repuation. The park has a number of caves to explore, along with a myriad of hiking trails, camping, canoeing, and group naturalist/recreation programs. A few of the caves have guided tours. Currently, due to the native bat population at risk of White Nose Syndrome, only two caves are open to the public, and are by guided tour only. These are X-Cave and Cascade Cave. We went on the Cascade Cave tour, because it boasts an underground waterfall. The tour guide gave a good overview of history, and flash photography and flashlights were allowed. I don't know how I feel about that last point. Apparently, the policy is merely to not shine lights directly at bats, because it causes them to defecate. Well, you can guess whether or not that stopped people from doing it anyway (ahh, Kentucky). The tour is about an hour, and we got some shots of this column and the underground waterfall.


You have to drive about three miles the opposite way from the visitors' center to get to the parking lot for Cascade Cave. The trail head for the Box Canyon Trail is also near the parking lot, and since it was a gorgeous afternoon, we decided to stay right there after the tour and do the hike. The hike is a 3/4 mile loop trail that goes to the Cascade Natural bridge and passes a number of interesting geologic formations. Despite it's short length, the trail is relatively rugged and hilly. The park also has a series of caches on the trails with history and trivia questions about the area. They were easy to find without any GPS, but they are not meant to have stuff left or taken from them. After the hike we drove back to the visitor's center to find out more about the area. We had just enough time that afternoon for another short hike, so we walked the the Natural Bridge Trail, which starts at the visitors' center. It's an easy 1/2 mile walk that leads to the bridge. The bridge is completely natural, yet supports a paved 2-lane highway, and is considered unique to Kentucky. There are lots of other trails to do, anywhere from a quick jaunt to 10 miles. The camping facilities looked great, and we will consider returning to this park for an extended stay. It would be the only way to take in a good portion of all this park has to offer!

Hawk's Nest

Close to Beckley, WV is the New River Gorge National River area. I hope to post many trips in this area, because there is so much to do. Activities in the area include whitewater rafting, boat tours, hiking, biking, wildlife observation, zip-line tours... You get the picture. We ventured to Hawk's Nest State Park to do a little hiking and see the sights. Our aim was to find a trail or two that would give us a good introduction to the area.

Hawk's Nest encompasses a portion of the gorge. The park has a number of lookouts over the river, and an aerial tramway that starts at the lodge. We opted to take the tram down to the Nature Center next to the river, and hike on a portion of the rail trail that is managed by the town of Ansted. Not without stopping at the Nature Center, first, though. It has some great hands-on activities for kids, and we found out a lot of information about the area, activities, and restaurants in nearby Fayetteville. The town of Fayetteville, as it turns out, is right next to the famous New River Gorge bridge, which I will save for a later post.

As the name suggests, the trail is a converted railway, well suited for hiking and biking. It is 1.8 miles one way, and passes by trestles and waterfalls. Also along the trail are remnants of coal mining activity. I was amazed that this mine entrance was not locked!

We weren't sure we found a waterfall or not, however. The trestles in the picture is where the old railway went over a dry creek leading to the main tributary that connects with the river near the Nature Center. We supposed during a wet season it could be a waterfall. The main tributary does have smaller falls. We did not hike the entire 1.8 miles, so it's possible we did not go far enough to see bigger falls. It was a little late in the afternoon and we needed to head back. Regardless, we were enamored by what we saw along the way on our introduction to the New River Gorge area. We definitely will be coming back!

We took the tram back up, and took a side trip to Fayetteville and the New River Gorge bridge. Spectacular, is probably the best word for it. We ended up eating a pizza dinner in Fayetteville at the Pies and Pints, which was great. The pictures we took of the bridge did not come out very well. I encourage readers to link on the information for the bridge. There are lots of activities to do around the bridge area, so I plan to post something at a later date after we go back. White water rafting? Zip line? Hiking? Who knows...

Welcome. This blog will focus on outdoor activities in and around West Virginia that our family has done, or plans to do. I will post reviews of the places and activities. While the focus is on family-oriented activities, the activities themselves need not be geared specifically toward families, per se. In fact, I plan on at least some of the posts to be on activities that one may not think is family-oriented, but we tackle it anyway as a family. Mountain biking, for example, is very popular among adults. However, I rarely see or hear of families going mountain biking. Well, West Virginia has some incredible mountain biking, with a good amount right down the road from us. I will soon post about mountain biking at Barboursville Park. So stay tuned.

We moved to West Virginia only recently, and have already been on some great hikes and sight-seeing adventures. The first reviews will be on these trips. Please follow along our adventures, make comments, and ask questions. :)