These West Virginia towns are small, but they have BIG tourist attractions! Which one is your favorite?
- Seneca Rocks
Dion Hinchcliffe /flcklr This small community in Pendleton County boasts the rock formation that’s the only “true peak” on the East Coast, making it a huge tourist attraction for climbers.
- Moundsville
Malepheasant Moundsville is home to a retired state penitentiary, which is now a training facility and tourist attraction.
Marx Toy Museum/Facebook Moundsville is also home to the Marx Toy Museum, which is a museum of Louis Marx & Company, a toy manufacturer.
Lee Paxton And while you’re in Moundsville, check out Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. The palace was intended in 1972 to be a home for A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, but he died before it was finished. CNN called it one of the 8 religious wonders to see in the United States.
- White Sulphur Springs
The Greenbrier/Facebook White Sulphur Springs has fewer than 2500 people, but it also boasts one of the most iconic tourist attractions in the state: The Greenbrier resort.
- Ronceverte
Valerius Tygart While you’re in Greenbrier County to see the resort, head on over to the little town of Ronceverte, where Organ Cave is. It’s the third-largest cave system in the state and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Fayetteville
John Worst/Flickr Fayetteville is home to the New River Gorge bridge. Not only is the bridge one of the state’s most photographed structures, each fall it brings in thousands of tourists for Bridge Day, the only day of the year when it’s legal to BASE jump from it.
Karen Y/Tripadvisor Fayetteville is also known for its rafting opportunities on the New River, some of the best white water in the region.
6.New Cumberland
Mountaineer Casino/Facebook New Cumberland, a city with a population of about 1,100, is the site of the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, where guests can gamble, enjoy a nice dinner and even golf.
- Snowshoe
Marvin Kuo This unincorporated community in Pocahontas County has arguably the best skiing in the state at Snowshoe Mountain ski resort.
- Green Bank
NRAO/AUI Also in Pocahontas County is Green Bank, which had a population of 143 in the 2010 census. The Green Bank Telescope is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope and has most recently been involved with a project that seeks out alien life in space.
- Cass
Ron Cogswell And while you’re in the area for Snowshoe and the telescope, check out the Cass Scenic Railroad, also in Pocahontas County. Take a train ride through the historic company town of Cass and to Bald Knob, the highest point on Back Allegheny Mountain. The town of Cass had 52 people according to the 2010 census.
- French Creek
bobistraveling/flickr French Creek, an unincorporated place in Upshur County, is home to the West Virginia Wildlife Center, a zoological park that displays 29 different species of West Virginia mammals, birds, and reptiles. It receives about 50,000 visitors a year.
- Harpers Ferry
MamaGeek Step back into time at Harpers Ferry’s historic district, which is made up of about 100 historic buildings. The district preserves the 1900-century town that played an important role in the Civil War.
- Nitro’s Marti Gras Casino
Marti Gras Casino/Yelp This casino and resort in the little town of Nitro is 60,000 square feet full of gaming and entertainment, according to its website.
- Kenova
Jennifer Pauley/Flickr Kenova is a pumpkin lover’s dream. Each year homeowner Ric Griffith and an army of volunteers carve thousands of pumpkins and decorate his house with them. People come from all over to see it.
Did I miss any small towns with big tourist attractions? Let me know in the comments!
Dion Hinchcliffe /flcklr
This small community in Pendleton County boasts the rock formation that’s the only “true peak” on the East Coast, making it a huge tourist attraction for climbers.
Malepheasant
Moundsville is home to a retired state penitentiary, which is now a training facility and tourist attraction.
Marx Toy Museum/Facebook
Moundsville is also home to the Marx Toy Museum, which is a museum of Louis Marx & Company, a toy manufacturer.
Lee Paxton
And while you’re in Moundsville, check out Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. The palace was intended in 1972 to be a home for A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, but he died before it was finished. CNN called it one of the 8 religious wonders to see in the United States.
The Greenbrier/Facebook
White Sulphur Springs has fewer than 2500 people, but it also boasts one of the most iconic tourist attractions in the state: The Greenbrier resort.
Valerius Tygart
While you’re in Greenbrier County to see the resort, head on over to the little town of Ronceverte, where Organ Cave is. It’s the third-largest cave system in the state and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
John Worst/Flickr
Fayetteville is home to the New River Gorge bridge. Not only is the bridge one of the state’s most photographed structures, each fall it brings in thousands of tourists for Bridge Day, the only day of the year when it’s legal to BASE jump from it.
Karen Y/Tripadvisor
Fayetteville is also known for its rafting opportunities on the New River, some of the best white water in the region.
Mountaineer Casino/Facebook
New Cumberland, a city with a population of about 1,100, is the site of the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, where guests can gamble, enjoy a nice dinner and even golf.
Marvin Kuo
This unincorporated community in Pocahontas County has arguably the best skiing in the state at Snowshoe Mountain ski resort.
NRAO/AUI
Also in Pocahontas County is Green Bank, which had a population of 143 in the 2010 census. The Green Bank Telescope is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope and has most recently been involved with a project that seeks out alien life in space.
Ron Cogswell
And while you’re in the area for Snowshoe and the telescope, check out the Cass Scenic Railroad, also in Pocahontas County. Take a train ride through the historic company town of Cass and to Bald Knob, the highest point on Back Allegheny Mountain. The town of Cass had 52 people according to the 2010 census.
bobistraveling/flickr
French Creek, an unincorporated place in Upshur County, is home to the West Virginia Wildlife Center, a zoological park that displays 29 different species of West Virginia mammals, birds, and reptiles. It receives about 50,000 visitors a year.
MamaGeek
Step back into time at Harpers Ferry’s historic district, which is made up of about 100 historic buildings. The district preserves the 1900-century town that played an important role in the Civil War.
Marti Gras Casino/Yelp
This casino and resort in the little town of Nitro is 60,000 square feet full of gaming and entertainment, according to its website.
Jennifer Pauley/Flickr
Kenova is a pumpkin lover’s dream. Each year homeowner Ric Griffith and an army of volunteers carve thousands of pumpkins and decorate his house with them. People come from all over to see it.
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