And one picture from Canaan Valley

I’d actually wanted to hike yesterday, but forgot there is always more snow at Coopers Rock than there is in Morgantown, so I didn’t think to grab snowshoes (in my defense, we haven’t been able to use them since we bought them).

We walked around for awhile, but walking through the deep snow ended up making my foot ache, so we left without a nice long hike, and went for a scenic drive instead, stopping at Valley Falls.

We did walk completely around the reservoir.

Valley Falls we just wandered around and avoided the three other small groups who were there (on group was a HS senior photo shoot, which: good for her!

Forgot to post these pictures from the first weekend we had our car back.

We went to Davis and decided to take the Blackwater River Trail at Canaan, and a trail we hadn’t walked before at Blackwater Falls.

Canaan Valley Start Park, Blackwater River Trail

Blackwater Falls State Park, River Road Trail, Yellow Birch Trail

We left town early (skipping the Farmers Market) to try and beat some of the crowds. We did ok at Babcock, since it wasn’t bad when we arrived but starting to get crazy by the time we left.

A debate was had over whether or not this was a beaver.

The water wheel was turning!

With rain forecast across the state, we decided to head to the Eastern panhandle to hit an orchard, and then see where we ended up.

An accident that stopped traffic led us to seek an alternate route, and that led us to visit two new places.

We literally did a three-point turn in the road upon seeing the sign for Sleepy Creek Lake after we ended up driving through the Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management Area.

We had no idea what to expect, and were quite shocked to discover that Sleepy Creek WMA is huge (22,928 acres). Despite the sky being overcast, it was a gorgeous drive.

Since it’s hunting season, we didn’t even attempt a hike (since we had no safety gear) but did walk across the dam.

The WV Tourism site claimed that Valley Falls State Park would be good to visit for leaf color, so we took an extra scenic route and made a quick stop at Valle Falls Saturday morning.

The color was a little disappointing, but the drive along 310 was quite lovely.

Wednesday we took the afternoon often and headed out to Coopers Rock to see the leaves and for a midweek hike.

We walked to the overlook, then hiked the Rhododendron and Mont Chateau trails (my favorites).

A fair amount of color, but it was really dry.

At the Overlook.

Even middle of the day on a Wednesday there were quite a few people there.

Normally this spot is inaccessible unless you’re willing to get wet up to your knees, and you still have to be careful because the water rushes through this spot. Instead there was a still pool and just a trickle of water.

Despite the forecast of cloudy and rain, we headed to Canaan on Saturday.

Since the area is pretty much at peak leaf color, this was an excellent choice.

We (of course) walked the Blackwater River Trail.

I discovered my smaller tripod was, in fact, in the trunk, so I hauled it out and took a bunch of pictures.

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You can clearly see here where the woods end and the river / bog area begins.

Despite the skies being gray (and getting some rain, it was absolutely gorgeous color.

Although I wasn’t certain how good the light would be, we decided to stop at Canaan. I’m so very glad we did.

I didn’t even try to go near the main falls, but instead spent time around Pendleton Point, including some wandering around Pendleton Creek.

We decided to take a long holiday weekend, and get into the woods for some much needed downtime.

Friday was mostly rain, so it was more a series of short walks than a hike, but we did do my favorite trail.

Location: Canaan Valley State Park
Trail: Blackwater River Trail
Distance: 0.9 miles
Elevation: 3208-3260 feet

Then we mostly drove around and took short walks when it wasn’t raining.

Of course we stopped by Blackwater Falls, where the river was running quite high

Here’s the stream crossing at Canaan Loop Road just past Lindy Point.

I’m not sure what kind of vehicle could have driven across on this day, but it was comforting to watch and listen to the water.

Looked at the weather Friday and discovered the Eastern Panhandle was out only option without a high chance of rain.

So off to Cacapon State Park we went.

Location: Cacapon State Park
Trail: Overlook Trail (partial)
Distance: 5.9 miles
Elevation: 2100-2289 feet

At Cacapon we drove up the mountain and did the Overlook trail. Unfortunately, we didn’t hike anywhere near as long as I had hoped, because my ankle was bothering me. But it was still lovely to be in the woods.

This is from the overlook.

You’re hiking along the ridgeline for a bit, but there is never a clearing to get a good view of the valley below.

We also stopped just outside of Berkeley Springs, at the top of the mountain where you have this lovely view of the Potomac.

It was rain all over the state Saturday, so since the orchard people haven’t been at the Morgantown Farmers Market, we decided to find a WV orchard and get our peaches from there.

It was a scenic drive, with a stop at Berkeley Springs and the Pawpaw Tunnel.

I realized we’d never been to Berkeley Springs during the summer when the pool was open–there were a lot of people in the area.

But it was lovely, and I was mostly able to avoid people.

And the Pawpaw tunnel.