Although the winter weather and snow tend to put a bit of a damper on traveling and sight seeing, I had a great time visiting a couple of my favorite spots around the state over the last couple of weekends. Last weekend, I went to Hawks Nest and Babcock State Park and this weekend I visited Blackwater Falls State Park.
Babcock State Park is one of the most photographed spots in the state of West Virginia. Located in the New River Gorge area, around 15 miles from the intersection of US Rte 60 and US Rte 19, it is in one of the most scenic areas of the state. The park features an old grist mill along a moutain stream. This grist mill makes for beautiful photographs any time of the year, but I was blown away by the scene we found on this snowy February day. With the grist mill, trees, and rocks all covered in snow, it made for a wintery view that could easily adorn a Christmas card. This was my first visit to Babcock in the snow, but, I will certainly make a point to return again.
On this same trip, we went to Hawks Nest State Park (located on Rte 60 east of Rte 19). Hawks Nest features an overlook of the New River Gorge. A few miles down the road from the overlook is the lodge. The lodge overlooks the gorge as well, and has a tram that runs from the top of the gorge to the bottom where you can go for a ride on an jet boat or rent a paddle boat. Of course, being in the winter, the tram wasn't running and the boats weren't open at the bottom. While the view from the overlook is always worth the drive, it was a bit of a dissappointment on this trip. The snow hadn't recently fallen and wasn't sticking to the trees, so the view was a bit dull and not as white as we had hoped. Still great to see, though. I would like to go back again after a fresh snow to see the mountain view with the trees covered.
