[Beckley, WV / New River Gorge National Park / Hawks Nest State Park, Apr 12, 2025]

As forecasted, temps dipped into the mid 30s overnight! It was cold! I decided to spend the morning doing indoor touristy things in Beckley while waiting for the temps to rise in the afternoon.

My first stop was the Exhibition Coal Mine. The mine opened about 1889 and operated until 1953, when the property sold to the City of Beckley. It re-opened as the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine in 1962 and it was the first historic site wholly dedicated to educating the public about coal mining. It consists of 1,500 feet of restored passageways and entries with 3,000 feet of vintage track.

Daily tours into the mine run seasonally, roughly from early April till early November. Our guide was a veteran miner. His first-hand experience working in the mine was mind-blowing. One of the things that surprised me the most about the mine was how low the tunnels were. You could not stand up straight; they were at most 3 ft high. This meant the miners worked on their hands and knees the whole time. The other crazy thing was the lack of light. Our guide described the various contraptions that served as lamps over the years. I can’t imagine doing this back-breaking work one’s entire life.

The coal mine also has period coal camp buildings on the ground. I toured the bachelor shanty, which was just big enough for a single bed, a small table and a stove.

The contrast between that and the superintendent’s house could not have been more stark. That residence was over 2,000 square feet! It made me that much more angry about the poor working conditions in the mine.

The mine was a cool 58F, which was actually warm compared to the outside temperature. Still, I wanted to warm up a little more so I ducked in the the youth museum. A very nice lady at the door pointed me to the brain teasers, which she said should be fun for an adult. I looked at them a little more closely and I saw that they come from OMSI – the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland! Who would have thought I’d find a piece of the PNW in Beckley, WV!

Finally, I toured the Mountain Homestead. These original log cabins dated from the late 19th century and were moved here for preservation. One of the cabins contained everyday items that I recognized! My grandmother, who lived in the Bulgarian countryside, had one of these coal irons well into the 1990s.

The bed was just a simple wood frame with ropes in between. The lady that was sitting there explained to me that several expressions we use today come from these types of beds. “Sleep tight” refers to the fact that you had to tighten the ropes before going to sleep every night because they would sag as you slept.

I had way more fun at the coal mine than I expected, and I highly recommend a visit if you have some extra time!

Next, I stopped for lunch at Tamarack Marketplace. Today, Tamarack consists of a warmly decorated retail store, working studios for resident artisans, a fine art gallery, a theater, a food court, and the Tamarack Conference Center. But it all began as a way to connect WV Turnpike travelers with artisans using the rest areas of the turnpike. In 1989, the Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority issued a $143 million bond to begin what eventually became Tamarack. Celia Burge, the state director of economic development and tourism, scouted for artists. The Charleston-based architecture firm of Clint Bryan, Doug Bastian, and John Harris did the architectural design. Ground broke in 1994 and the marketplace opened 1996, with the conference center coming later.

I loved the woodwork and the pottery but sadly, had no room in my luggage for any of it. I did enjoy the food though! The trout was amazing!

Temps had inched into the 40s. It was still too cold for my liking, but I headed to the park anyway. The main area of the park is around the New River Gorge bridge. There is a visitor center here, a boardwalk with views of the bridge and a scenic drive that takes you all the way down to the river and over to the other side.

The New River Gorge bridge is the longest steel span in the western hemisphere and the 3rd highest bridge in the United States. Its completion in 1977 solved a travel challenge. What is now the scenic drive down to the river and back up used to be the only route across the New River. The bridge reduced a 40-minute journey to just 30 seconds. I couldn’t believe the bridge was so recent – built almost in my lifetime! The bridge is 3,000 ft (1 km) long and sits almost 900 ft high above the river.

On the third Saturday of October, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce hosts “Bridge Day.” On this one day a year, the famous New River Gorge Bridge is open to pedestrians. Visitors experience great views, vendors, BASE jumping, rappelling, music, and more. The only other way to experience the bridge as a pedestrian is the Bridge Walk. I saw the sign for the trail down to the bridge as well as the ramp that leads to the catwalk underneath. I had signed up for the bridge walk the next morning and I couldn’t wait to do it!

Next, I drove the Fayette Station Road scenic drive. The 8-mile long road is over 100 years old. It was built when the Cheseapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) built a rail line to this area to transport the coal out of the gorge. By 1905, 13 towns sprang up between Fayette Station Road and Thurmond 15 miles upstream. The section of Fayette Station road along the river runs between the remnants of two of the towns.

It took me about 30 minutes to complete the drive. I especially loved seeing the New River Gorge bridge from below and crossing the river of the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge at the bottom. It was so tiny compared to the new bridge towering above it!

I decided to leave all hiking for the following day, when it was finally supposed to really warm up. So, with the rest of my time that day, I decided to take a drive to Hawks Nest State Park. Both this state park and nearby Babcock State Park are excellent. Babcock is located southeast of New River Gorge National Park and makes more sense to combine with Sandstone Falls and Grandview.

My first stop was Cathedral Falls. This roadside waterfall drops 60 feet over a rocky ledge of shale and sandstone. It’s one of the tallest waterfalls in West Virginia. You can see the sweatshirt I borrowed from my friend on display here.

I then backtracked to the Hawk’s Nest visitor center, where I picked up a rather old and outdated map and realized there isn’t much hiking to do around here. But the overlook across the street had great views of the New River and the Hawk’s Nest Dam. For the first time that day, the sun peeked behind the clouds for a few minutes.

I then passed the Hawk’s Nest Lodge and couldn’t help to stop and take a look. The views were great and there was an aerial tramway under renovation, but I don’t think I’d choose to stay here if I’m in the area.

I had leftovers from Tamarack, so I had those for dinner when I got back to my hotel. The next day was going to be busy, as I was hoping to fit in the rest of my itinerary on what was going to be the best weather day on the trip.