The Mountain State may be known for its rugged summits that offer panoramic views of the surrounding scenery, but some of West Virginia's best and most interesting attractions are actually hidden just below the Earth's surface. Thanks to the incredibly water-soluble limestone in the region, the state is home to several cave systems that twist and wind just below its signature mountains and forests. The caves hold all kinds of rock formations, ancient fossils, and history that make them all well worth visit. Grab a sweater and some sturdy shoes and head to three of the state's underground caverns!
Organ Cave* is another subterranean adventure. They feature walking tours and spelunking excursions where you'll learn all about how Robert E. Lee mined saltpetre from the cavern to use for his army's guns. Also, you might even meet a few of the cave's friendly bat residents! They also offer a really cool fossil-hunting tour-- even though you aren't able to take your finds home with you, you'll be given full credit for your discovery, and you can feel awesome knowing that Thomas Jefferson owned fossils from this cave. You can see a recreation of his three-toed sloth skeleton from Organ Cave in the gift shop (the actual sloth now resides in the Science Museum of Philadelphia). You have the chance to find bones from bison, sharks, bears, and even humans from ages ago. So crazy!
*Organ Cave’s tours are based on Creationist Christian theology.
And if you find that you're enchanted by the mysterious rock formations in the caves, don't miss out on Lost World Caverns. 120 feet underground, you can marvel at some of Mother Nature's craziest sculptures, like the Snowy Chandelier, one of the country's largest compound stalactites, as well as the glittering Bridal Veil column of sparkling white calcite, and the War Club, where a Guinness World Record was set when a man sat atop the stone formation for 16 days straight! You'll also explore the Glitter Pits, the Hall of the Mountain King and other quirkily named features that make adventuring through the cave system extra fun!
Take a hike through Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park! The site of the last major battle of the Civil War is now a peaceful retreat into nature, where you can climb a historic lookout tower or see actual Civil War trenches.
One of the most popular attractions to visit near Lewisburg is The Greenbrier. The award-winning luxury hotel has been around in its current form since 1913, and the original hotel was built back in 1853. It's played host to 26 presidents and other celebs and dignitaries from Bing Crosby and the Kennedy family to Princess Grace of Monaco and the Duke of Windsor. It's got a casino, a golf course, a spa, laser tag, bowling, restaurants and bars, a movie theater, and more. Whew! If you just stop by for a visit without booking a stay, you can check out the museum dedicated to the Presidents who have spent the night, or tour their formerly-top secret nuclear fallout bunker. Kept a closely guarded secret for three decades and only revealed to the public in 1992, the emergency Cold War fallout bunker was built to house the entirety of Congress. The fully staffed and operational bunker had a power plant and water purification system, a hospital, a laboratory, a pharmacy, a TV production room, and dorms that could house 1,000 government officials. Today, you can tour the bunker and explore all of the once-classified underground rooms!
Dozens of Americans have moved across the country to live in the off-the-grid town of Green Bank, West Virginia, which has purportedly banned WiFi and cellphones. Why? Because West Bank is located in what's known as the "National Radio Quiet Zone." What this means is that ALL electromagnetic signals are banned, including, of course, WiFi and cellphones. So, why would people want to live in a non-electromagnetic small town? Because they believe the electomagnetic signals that emanate from cell phones has been making them sick.
Okay, but why is the town smack dab in the middle of the National Radio Quiet Zone?
Well, because the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope is housed in the area. So, the Quiet Zone was established to protect the telescope from electronic interference of all kinds. Nestled within the West Virginia mountains, the town of Green Bank, home to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, welcomes newcomers seeking to get away from "modern life."
The limestone that makes up Seneca Caverns is 460 million years old, and the cave itself is about 4.5 million years old, but it wasn't until the 1400's that humans first discovered these underground tunnels. The cave gets its name from the Seneca tribe that used the caverns as a shelter, storage space, ceremonial spot, and trading route. A German immigrant was the next to stumble across the caves in 1742 (think about it: America wasn't even a country at this point!) and his family owned the land until the 1920's. Today, it’s a popular destination. A romantic local legend centers around the rocks just outside caverns: Chief Bald Eagle declared that whoever could reach the top of Seneca Rocks above the caverns first could marry his daughter, Snow Bird; luckily, the man with whom she was in love won, and the happy couple was married. Beyond the history of Seneca Caves, your tour will take you past all kinds of pools, stalactites, and the state's largest flowstone formation, all of which you can see on the hour-long tour as you descend 165 feet underground.
