West Virginia Weekend Getaway Itinerary
Let’s be honest, sometimes we all need a mountain escape for a weekend. We’ve always heard people compare West Virginia to heaven and after visiting we quickly found out why it’s nicknamed Almost Heaven!
Home to the newest National Park in the U.S., West Virginia is known for its scenic mountains, world-class outdoor opportunities and warm welcoming people. With so many things to do, we wanted to create the best West Virginia weekend itinerary to help you plan your trip.
So if you’re looking for fun, free, adventurous and affordable things to do when you visit West Virginia, keep reading because this blog is for you!
HOW TO GET THERE
With West Virginia being a day’s drive for 2/3 of US population, being close to a lot of major cities, it’s so easy to make a trip to visit!
Most of our itinerary is based in Fayetteville, WV. so if you plan on flying in, we suggest flying into Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV. It’s only about a hour drive to Fayetteville, WV and the New River Gorge National Park!
Once you land, the best way to get around during your trip will be renting a car. Yeager Airport has plenty of rental car options and the rental car pick up is located just a short walk after departing the plane!
WHEN TO VISIT
West Virginia is the third most forested state in the country, making it one of the top destinations for vibrant fall colors! We highly recommend planning your trip for October around peak foliage.
Every year, https://wvtourism.com has a “Live Leaf Map’ to stay up to date with the changing of the leaves when planning your trip! We visited during the last week of October and we may have missed peak by just a few days but there was still plenty of gorgeous fall colors everywhere.
WHERE TO STAY
Cozy up in Country Road Cabins
Tucked away in the heart of the tranquil New River Gorge region, Country Road Cabins is only minutes away from Fayetteville and the New River National Park.
One of our favorite parts during our trip was staying in the Tuscany Treehouse! It comes with everything you need for a cozy cabin stay immersed in the outdoors.
Comfy Queen Bed (Cabin sleeps 4)
Queen Sleeper Sofa
Private Hot Tub
Wifi
Kitchenette
Amazing views
Country Road Cabins offers 20+ unique and luxurious accommodations like log cabins, treehouses, tents, domes, and more to make your trip to West Virginia a truly unforgettable experience. They have options perfect for all types of travelers, everyone from solo, couples, and families.
Our first morning, we were greeted with deer in our driveway and the owner says you can spot black bears too! We can’t recommend this experience enough.
To book your next getaway at Country Road Cabins, check our their availability at wvcabins.com!
WHAT TO DO
Rejuvenate in an underground salt cave at Pomona Salt Cave and Spa
What better way to wind down after your getaway then relaxing in an underground Himalayan salt cave in the West Virginia mountains!
Pomona Salt Cave was truly one of the most unique spas we’ve been been too. It looked like something straight out of The Lord of the Rings movies! The air in the salt cave is rich in negative ions, which help reduce stress, boost the immune system and more to help you relax after all of your adventures. It was so peaceful, we both almost fell asleep!
They also offer a wide variety of services to pamper the mind, body and soul, like tranquil sound baths, transformative massages, full body treatments, facials and more!
If you get hungry, stop by The Spa Garden Cafe just steps away from the salt cave for lunch or a light snack and grab some delicious coffee. They offer a wide variety of mouth watering options all made with fresh local ingredients!
For an even more unforgettable wellness experience, don’t forget to check out their luxury lodging options and the new Salt Lodge. Imagine sleeping in luxury comfort surrounded by the ancient serenity of a salt cave in your own room!
Hiking in New River Gorge National Park
You can’t just visit New River Gorge National Park without exploring inside the park! With over 40 trails to choose from, with difficulties ranging from flat and smooth walks to steep and challenging, there’s a hike for everyone.
The Endless Wall trail at sunset is a MUST! When we heard it was voted “The Best National Park Hike” by USA Readers, we knew we had to do it.
We have done a lot of hikes this year and we understand why people love it so much. It’s a 3.2 mile loop with only 318 ft. elevation gain making it an easy to moderate hike. It passes through rich forest before opening up to stunning views overlooking the New River Gorge bridge and the New River. Even though it’s popular, there’s so many different overlooks you can find all to yourself, making it a special place to watch the sunset or sunrise!
Tip: Make sure to download the offline trail on AllTrails before heading out because you may lose phone service! And BE CAREFUL AROUND THE CLIFFS!
Another popular, easy hike with more breathtaking views of the New River and New River Gorge Bridge, is Long Point Trail!
Check out the Best Trails in West Virginia list on AllTrails for more hikes!
Walk under the New River Gorge Bridge
One of the coolest things we’ve done at a National Park was the New River Gorge Bridge Walk!
The bridge walk is a 2-3 hour guided tour that crosses under the 3rd highest and longest single span bridge in the US. This unforgettable experience was like a gorgeous hike, beautiful viewpoint, and thrilling adventure all in one!
As you walk the 24” catwalk under the bridge, you experience panoramic views and a special perspective of the river and gorge. You can even bring your phone, making it a great place to take your souvenir photos!
Every third Saturday of October, 1000’s of people gather on the New River Gorge Bridge for Bridge Day, to watch base jumpers parachute from the bridge! Bridge Day is West Virginia's largest single-day festival and you can even book to walk under the bridge during Bridge Day while people jump.
Ride down the gorge with New River Jet Boats
We are always looking for new and thrilling experiences, especially when visiting National Parks. New River Jet Boats tour is the ideal combination of adventure and beauty! Starting in Hawks Nest State Park, the boat ride lasts about 36 minutes as you take a scenic ride upstream through the New River Gorge. Before you reach a jaw dropping view of the New River Bridge, you’re surrounded by dense forest, making it a great opportunity to do some leaf peeping!
Stop by the Canyon Rim Visitor Center
The Canyon Rim Visitor Center is a must stop while visiting the New River Gorge!
Just a short walk from the entrance, take the boardwalk that descends into the gorge to observation decks with clear views of the New River Bridge, making it a perfect stop for those wanting views without a long hike.
A great tradition to start when visiting a National Park is grabbing some souvenirs from a visitor center! You can pick up a free park map, or purchase postcards, magnets, and a souvenir patch for memories like we did.
Scenic drive Fayette Station Road
Just imagine, going back in time and traveling across the New River Gorge before the bridge was built!
Fayette Station Road is an over 100 year old, 8 mile, scenic road and is the original way people had to cross the gorge before the construction of the New River Bridge!
Even though it’s a scenic drive, don’t worry, there are plenty of pull offs to explore and take more souvenir photos!
We highly recommend doing this after visiting the Canyon Rim Visitor Center as it’s just a few minutes down the road.
Visit Babcock State Park
Even though it’s only 15 minutes away from the New River Gorge National Park, Babcock State Park holds its own with its natural beauty and stunning scenery!
You will quickly realize why it’s one of West Virginia’s most iconic locations and why the state is nicknamed Almost Heaven.
With its serene, picturesque backdrops of the forest, and adventurous outdoor activities like biking, fishing, camping and more, we get how this place is a nature lover’s dream!
Babcock State Park is also home to the Glade Creek Grist Mill, one of the most photographed mills in the world. This is another picture perfect spot to take your West Virginia souvenir photos.
Tip: The Babcock State Park website has a live updated webcam of the Grist Mill to stay up-to-date on the conditions of the park before you visit to help plan your trip.
WHERE TO EAT
Cathedral Cafe
This heart-warming cafe has been a local favorite gathering spot for almost 25 years. They’re best known for their welcoming atmosphere and mouth-watering food made with local and seasonal ingredients. As you walk through the doors of the former church, you instantly notice the charming decor and towering elegant stained glass windows.
We enjoyed the breakfast burrito, fluffy buttermilk pancakes with banana and blueberries and a warm housemade cinnamon roll as we watched all the locals make their morning pit stop at the cafe.
We highly recommend stopping by for a tasty breakfast and coffee! They also serve lunch and dinner!
Wood Iron Eatery
This is a chef owned, local favorite cafe that serves breakfast, lunch and baked goods, and dinner on Friday and Saturday.
This quaint coffee shop has tons of seating inside or their outside patios. We even stuck around and worked from our laptops after enjoying our food and coffee!
The food was delicious and their coffee drinks were so good, we ordered another to go!
We recommend ordering the AM Handheld and Pumpkin Dirty Chai Latte and enjoying it on the outside patio!
The Overlook Restaurant
There’s so many things we loved about The Overlook Restaurant. We understand how they have been in business for over 40 years!
The chef curated menu at an amazing price with jaw dropping views you would expect from a 5 star hotel blew us away.
The restaurant is located inside the Hawks Nest Visitor Center which is also the shuttle meeting point for New River Jet Boats making it a convenient, delicious stop for lunch before or after your adventure!
Secret Sandwich Society
Secret Sandwich Society was highly recommend to us and has been a local favorite restaurant and hotspot for the local music scene for years. It will be hard to find something here that isn’t made in house, which always a good sign of great food.
With the motto, thoughtfully sourced foods, crafted with passion, they are taking sandwiches to another level! Also serving other options like delicious burgers, hot wings, salads as well as gluten free, and vegetarian options, there’s something for everyone.
Southside Junction Tap House
Known as Fayetteville’s coolest Tap House, located in the heart of the historic downtown district, Southside Junction Tap House offers a variety of heavenly craft beers, live music, award winning burgers and more!
They were awarded Top 5 Burger in New River in 2024, and they did not disappoint. It was one of the best burgers we’ve ever had and their Fried Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese Bites were so good too!
The Dish
We had no idea our trip would be filled with so much amazing food and restaurants!
The Dish Cafe is a casual to fine dining restaurant that made Yelp’s 100 places to eat in the U.S 2024.
It’s another great option that offers a wide variety menu like steaks, locally sourced fish, hot wings, weeknight specials and Sunday brunch.
We loved everything we ordered! Our server suggested the wings as an appetizer and they were soooo delicious. Hands down some of the best wings ever!
Hope you enjoyed this West virginia weekend getaway itinerary!
Crazy to believe there once was a time when had never been to West Virginia and now we can’t wait to go back! We hope this itinerary helps make your trip as unforgettable as ours. Have you been to West Virginia before? Let us know if we missed something and so we can add it to our itinerary!