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.
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| 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:
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