I grew up in Parkersburg, WV. While Parkersburg is one of the bigger towns in the beautiful state of West Virginia, growing up there, it always seemed so small. My family lived on the south side of town, which is the more rural part.
I can remember running out my basement, down the hill and into the woods. There was a train track down by the river; it was always a race with my siblings and I of who could reach these track first. We'd follow the tracks until we'd reach a little pond with a gazebo. Only to find out that if we followed the trail up the hill from the gazebo, we would end up at my grandparents house.
These trails came full circle.
West Virginia offers a lot of opportunities for outdoor recreation; often times it can be the very woods (or streams) in your backyard. For more planned outdoor adventures, the state offers rock climbing, white water rafting, camping and mountain biking.
Hiking has always been one of my favorites because it can easily plan-able or spontaneous. Especially now, living in Morgantown, W.V.
When it comes to hiking, you don't always have to make it such an extreme activity. Sure, I can easily take a drive to Coopers Rock State Park and walk the trials. They have the overlook, where you can sit on a giant rock, stare unconsciously into the mountains valley and let your mind wonder aimlessly. But there are hiking adventures to be had even closer to town: you can find adventure in your own backyard.
There are several places in Morgantown to go, if you just want to get away and hike some trails for an hour.
This includes: White Park, Falling Run Greenspace, the WV Botanic Garden, Dorsey's Knob (one of my favorites), Core Arboretum, Decker's Creek Nature Trail and Park, Krepps Park and more. Depending where you live in Morgantown, you may not need a car to get to most of these places.
One of my favorite parts of Morgantown, is that you can forget about the aggravating traffic from the busy streets, and find yourself lost in nature. I did just this on a recent sunny, Sunday afternoon.
My Adventure:
I recently found my own backyard adventure. March 1st, it was a sunny Sunday afternoon, which was much needed after the snowfall two days before. I decided to take advantage of this nice day, because living in this area the weather can be so unpredictable.
My boyfriend and I took his cousin's dog, Zues, for a walk through the woods. These woods weren't anywhere special, they were only trails we wondered upon behind his house. These spontaneous adventures are my favorite though, because you can just let all your troubles in your mind go, and let the surroundings of nature reel you in. During our walk, we took a bag of pretzels, because every good adventure needs a delicious snack. This is also how we kept Zues around us, and got him to listen.
Roaming through trees, we were able to find some pretty interesting things. I found a tire, that looked like it had been sitting there for quite some time, considering the moss filling the inside. There also was a treehouse styled fort. The fort had a container full of little BB pellets, so I figured someone in the neighborhood had their own 'air-soft wars' in these woods. If you're ever in desperate need of the whistling calls of birds or the peaceful sounds of trees, take yourself on your own adventure. If you're a college student, like me, you may not have a car on campus. If that's the case, or if you just don't want to drive to find nature, create your own adventure. Take a walk and you might just happen to stumble upon a small burst of nature you didn't know was there.
You can find more hiking in Morgantown, WV, along with other outdoor recreational activities here.
