Blackwater Falls State Park West Virginia

This is part three of a travel series to West Virginia.  To start at the beginning, go HERE!

One cannot visit West Virginia without a stop at Blackwater Falls State Park.   Blackwater Falls is featured in much of West Virginia tourism advertising.  I saw so many photos of these falls, and couldn't wait to see them in person, and I was not disappointed!  They are beautiful.  But first, let's talk about Elakala Trail.

Blackwater Falls

Elakala Trail

We are early risers, so we arrived at the park as soon as it opened.  The problem is in the spring, it is super cold in the morning, and this morning we even had a frost (as you will see in some of the photos);  but no worries as I have enough mountain hiking experience to know to always bring a winter jacket as mountain weather is unpredictable.  The one I'm wearing below is a packable winter jacket.  It is super thin, yet keeps you warm in temperatures as low as 20 degrees.  I love it for traveling. 

The Elakala Trail is a short 0.5 mile one way trail, but don't miss it as it's a beauty!  It's one of those trails that makes you feel like you're in a fairy land forest!  I love those kinda trails!

The trail is located behind the Blackwater Lodge, which also has a small gift shop and trail maps.  The falls are just a walk from the parking lot, and a lot of people just walk across the bridge to view the falls and leave.  I say "Keep going, and enjoy the rest of the trail!"

Falls of Elakala

The falls really are beautiful!  You can admire them from the bridge above as you see the people in the photos doing, or you can also walk over the bridge and along the trail to get these beautiful shots. 

Elakala Falls is only 35 feet tall, but the rock formations, the bridge above, and all the greenery make it look so beautiful.

We saw lots of little icicles forming on the rock since it got so bitter cold the night before.

The falls are known for its dark-stained color caused by natural tannins from the surrounding spruce and hemlock trees.

The trail doesn't lead down to the falls but just continues along the canyon rim.  We did a little rock scramble to get down there, it wasn't difficult.

Back on the trail we found this cool rock!

And we loved this little grove of Christmas Trees 😀. Good thing we are all slim as the over growth of the trees made the trail a narrow passage way.

Another cool rock, I can almost picture Mufasa from the Lion King perched at the end of it 😀

The trail ends at the main park road;  you can either return the way you came or walk the road back to the parking lot.  We chose to walk the road.

Blackwater Falls

Blackwater Falls is the highlight of the park.  At all the West Virginia main attractions there is a swing with the phrase "Almost Heaven" written above.  They are selfie stations and you can take a selfie and submit your photo to SWINGO where you can earn small prizes.  I think they are so much fun, and they provide a great memory keepsake.  There are 41 swings in the state!  That's a lot of swings.

Here's a great video on YouTube explaining more about the swings.

The Blackwater Falls Boardwalk Trail is a .25 one way trail.  It starts at the Trading Post parking area and leads to a stone patio and boardwalk more than 200 steps down to an observation beside Blackwater Falls.  This is the main viewing area for the falls.

I thought this park did a wonderful job making the viewing of the falls as accessible as possible for everyone.  No long, difficult hike here!  Don't like steps?  Take The Gentle Trail down to the Stone Patio and view the falls from a distance.  This is a short paved path that slopes gently down.

Blackwater Falls is twice as tall as Elakala Falls coming in at 62 feet.  It cascades into the Blackwater Canyon,

You have to listen to this minute long video just to hear how powerful the water is,

What a perfect spot for a photo!

Our son came with us on this vacation, but I didn't get that many photos of him as he was kinda camera-shy on this trip.

What an amazing boardwalk!  Kudos West Virginia!

We saw there was another observation deck on the other side of the canyon so we hopped back into our car to find it.  It was just a short walk from the parking lot and totally worth the view!

Lindy Point Overlook

Our final hike in Blackwater Falls State Park was Lindy Point.  This is a short 0.8 out-and-back trail that leads to panoramic views 3,000 feet above Blackwater Canyon.  

We were in West Virginia the wrong time of year to really enjoy this trail.  I can only imagine how gorgeous it is when the trees leaf in or in the fall when the trees change color.  Also, the trail passes through a rhododendron forest...I can only imagine what that would like once they were in bloom.  But we were there too early in the season to see the rhododendron blooms.

I read that this was a great trail to hike to see the sunset.  The parking lot is very small, so I'm sure it fills up  quickly in the fall or when the rhododendrons are in bloom.  Also, the road to get to this trail is super narrow.  Only one car can fit, so if two cars are trying to pass each other, one of the cars has to pull off the road.  I can't imagine having to deal with that on a crowded day, so maybe it's a good thing we were here early in the season.

I hope you enjoyed my post on Blackwater Falls State Park.  Because we were there so early in the morning, we had plenty of daylight left so where did we go next?  Come back next week to find out!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts from this travel series check these out:

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry

Old Town Winchester

 

How to Paint a Interchangeable Truck Wood Wall Decor

I purchased an Interchangeable Vintage Truck wooden wall decor from Hobby Lobby and I had so much painting it.  What I really loved about this fun truck was that it came with five different seasonal displays that can be changed out for each season/holiday.

I purchased my truck last year, but they still have it on their website.  Here is what it looked like "before".

Photo Credit

And here are some of the pieces before I painted them.

I used a combination of craft paint and markers to color my seasonal displays.  The markers worked best for the fine details.

                                          Flowers for spring

Beachy Theme for Summer

Pumpkins for Fall

Evergreens for Winter and Christmas

Stars and Stripes for the 4th of July and Memorial Day

And here are all my seasonal displays together.  Which one is your favorite?  I love the pumpkins and flowers the most.

I painted the truck red then outlined the details with a black marker.

At the top of the truck are two holes where you insert the seasonal display of your choice.

And here are some photos of the truck with the seasonal pieces inside the truck bed.

Pumpkins

Beach

Evergreens

Patriotic

Now, I just have to find the perfect place to put my truck 😃. The package shows the truck inside a wreath, which I love, but I don't hang wreaths on my door because I have glass doors.  Right now I just have it placed on a shelf above my potting bench, but that really isn't a good spot as no one sees it there.  Maybe once I start planting flowers I could insert it into one of the pots?  We will see.  Do you have any ideas of what I could do with it?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

Old Town Winchester Virginia

This is part three of a travel series to West Virginia.  To start at the beginning, go HERE!

After hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry we were exhausted, so spending 45 minutes in the car on the way to the town of Winchester where we would spend the night, felt wonderful.

After the refreshing car drive, we checked into our hotel then headed for Old Town Winchester where we would grab some dinner.

Old Town Winchester is a 250 year old marketplace, and my favorite part is it's pedestrian only!  I love it when I don't have to deal with traffic on a town's Main Street, plus I get great photos of the old buildings. 

Old Town Winchester is located within the heart of a 45-block National Register Historic District and is bursting with outdoor cafes, fun & specialty retail shops, historic attractions and family-oriented activities throughout the year.

The Loudoun Street Pedestrian Mall has earned a listing on the National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary.

This post will be heavy-laden with photos of these old buildings because I just loved them all.  Everywhere I looked was a feast for the eyes.

We chose to eat at Roma's Old Town Wood-Fired Pizzeria and it was delicious!  Somehow I forget to take a photo of the pizza;  that almost never happens.  We must have been hungry. 😋

This is the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum which sadly we didn't get to visit because it was closed.  The museum is housed in the historic Fredric County Courthouse.  It was built in 1840 and used as a hospital, prison, and barracks during the Civil War.  

I just loved the brick roads!

The Winchester Masonic Lodge 😟

The Taylor Hotel has a rich history of travelers and Civil War stories to tell.  

The varied styles of buildings in Old Town Winchester was so interesting,  This building looks more like an old house than a store front.

And look at that little grill building sandwiched between two tall buildings.

Quite the Post Office isn't it?

This beauty was a woman's clothing shop (men's clothes were a separate business in the basement).  I actually went inside this one, mostly because I wanted to see the interior of the building and it did not disappoint.  I just love shopping in old historic buildings;  although I must admit I tend to be more interested in the buildings than the items for sale in the buildings 😊

And would you believe this is their public library?  In all my life I have never seen a more extravagant public library, and it was built in 1913 to be the citie's library.  It wasn't like it was built for another purpose and then repurposed into a library.  I find it so fascinating that they would built such an amazing building for a library.

Thank goodness it was open and we could check it out.  There was a book in the foyer that explained all about the libraries origins.  Just look at that photo with the horse and carriage, wouldn't you just love to step back into that time period?

The dome was just gorgeous.  The design of the library was to resemble an open book with the dome representing the spine and the wings representing the covers.  I don't really see it, but hey, it's beautiful nevertheless.

Just look at these curved staircases!  Be still my heart!

Of course we had to climb those stairs!

The view from the second balcony.

They even had a spiral staircase!

After our library tour, we headed back to in the direction of our parked car as it was getting late.  This place looked interesting, but they were closing up as we were walking by.

I continued to "ooh" and "ahh" over the architecture;  it reminded me a lot of Savannah Georgia.

As I walked these historic streets it made me wonder about all the people who lived here and life way back then.

There was such a variety of buildings from brick, to stone, to wood...all unique and different.  Usually when you visit a historic town all the buildings seem similar, but not here.

I wish Old Town Winchester wasn't so far away.  I'd love to come back someday when the pedestrian mall was hustling and bustling.  But I doubt I'll ever get here again as there is so much else to see in the world and I don't have a lot of time left at 63 years old.

Isn't this a sweet building?  And look at the tiny little shop next to it...so cute!

A beautiful church basking in the setting sun.

They even have private homes on the pedestrian mall.  Isn't this one grand?

I think I love the cute little cottages as much as the big ornate buildings.

 I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Old Town Winchester  Virginia.  Next week I'll be back with a visit to Black Water State Park.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts from this travel series check these out:

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry