Make memories with this Pocahontas County Bucket List

Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer

Growing up in Pocahontas County is kind of like growing up in Disney World. There are so many fun and unique things to do and special places to visit that some locals may not know all these places exist.

Inspired by the West Virginia Tourism Bucket List sweepstakes – and my fond memories –  I decided to make a bucket list of places I think everyone should visit at least once while in Pocahontas County.

Beartown State Park

Beartown is by far my favorite place. It’s like stepping into another world. If you’re a Star Wars fan, it might remind you of the planet Endor. Or, if you’re more of Tolkien fan, you might think a hobbit or two will pop around a corner.

For me, it’s a peaceful place that looks like it could be from any era in time. The large moss-covered boulders could be hiding a clutch of dinosaur eggs. The small crevices in the rocks could be fairy homes.

The entire place ignites the fantasy part of your brain and all you want to do is explore its secrets. And there’s a lot to explore. The half-mile boardwalk winds through the 110-acre natural area.

Instead of cutting trees out of the way of the boardwalk, the boardwalk is cut to let trees and some of the large boulders stay in their natural place.

The park does not allow climbing on the rocks which makes one of most vivid memories a bit scandalous.

I remember going to Beartown with my parents, brother and aunt and uncle. As we were walking down the boardwalk, we noticed a soda can was tucked into one of the rock crevices.

My uncle broke the rules for a good reason and climbed up the rocks to retrieve the can for disposal. I was a bit awe-struck at how swiftly he traversed the rocks and was back by our sides in an instant.

Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park Tower

History buffs will love visiting Droop Mountain Battlefield. It holds a lot of important history for the state of West Virginia. It was the site of a Civil War battle and is the first state park, formed in 1928.

The sprawling park, which has a museum filled with Civil War artifacts, a Confederate cemetery, cannons, playground and lookout tower was transformed during the Great Depression by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps – CCCs.

The CCC boys built the structures at the park, including the lookout tower, which gives a fantastic 180 degree view of the town of Hillsboro.

Unlike Beartown, the tower is definitely something you want to climb. Through the decades, names, initials, hearts and other symbols have been carved into the spiral staircase railings, which, in an odd way, adds to the allure of the old tower.

It’s a place for special moments and incredible panoramic photos.

Last year, a West Virginia selfie swing was added to the park and is near the tower.

Cranberry Glades Botanical Area

Let’s get the first two questions out of the way… No, there are no cranberries growing at Cranberry Glades Botanical Area and no, it should not be in West Virginia.

The first fact disappointed a younger me when we took a school field trip to the glades. I thought for sure there would be cranberry bogs. Nope.

The second fact still fascinates me.

This incredible bog should not be this far south. A bog is an acidic wetland that is more commonly found in the northern areas of the United States and in Canada.

I remember learning that the bog was created by a melting glacier thousands of years ago. Research shows that the 750 acre area has been here for 12,200 years.

Instead of finding cranberries there, you will find a boardwalk that is like a magic carpet through the lush peat-laden area that is host to plants such as like carnivorous and insect-eating plants that are not commonly found in West Virginia.

The glades are also known for the variety of orchids that grow there.

It’s another one of those out-of-this-world locations that could be from a fantasy world and it’s right here in Pocahontas County.

The Falls at Hills Creek

Okay, so this one is a bit of a different memory for me. I’ve been there once in my life and that was as an adult. I was working at The Inter-Mountain, and I brought a co-worker/friend over who wanted to do a few articles on the attractions in the area.

I can’t remember all the places we went that day, but I’ll never forget going to the falls.

There’s a series of three falls and, at that time, there was a boardwalk and metal steps that led part of the way down, while the rest was gravel, dirt and river rock. The waterfalls cascade from 20 feet, 45 feet and 65 feet, making the last of the falls one of the highest in West Virginia.

The walk down to the falls wasn’t bad at all. It was stunning. Again, you are surrounded by a lush forest and the sounds of cascading water. I couldn’t stop taking pictures it was so beautiful.

I remember leaning pretty far over the railing to get a few different angles and I thought for sure that would be when my clumsiness would work against me. But no. That didn’t happen until we made the trek back to the car.

I slipped on some river rock and sprained my ankle. It took us some time, but we got out of there in one piece and I learned a very valuable lesson that day. Never wear flip flops on a hike to see waterfalls.

Pearl S. Buck Birthplace

This is another location that I didn’t really experience until I was an adult. I do remember going on a field trip to the birthplace when I was younger, but the only thing that stands out to me is the story about how young Chinese women would bind their toes in order to make their feet look smaller.

As a young girl with big feet, I was horrified.

Then as an adult, after I moved back home, I became a member of the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation board and that is when I really discovered my love for the place.

To some people, the birthplace is only relevant to fans of Pearl S. Buck’s writing, but it is so much more than that to me. It’s a living history of the perseverance of immigrants who moved to West Virginia to make a new life for themselves.

The Birthplace was built by the Stulting family. The bricks were made on site. The timber was harvested nearby. Every inch of the house is a testament to the craftsmanship and ability of the Stulting family.

Then, there’s the fact that Pearl was born there. True, she spent most of her life in China with her missionary parents as a child and went back as often as she could when she was an adult, but she had Pocahontas County roots.

She became a world renowned author of more than 100 books, hundreds of short stories and magazine articles during her career. She was the first American woman to win both the Pulizter Prize – in 1932 for The Good Earth; and the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1938.

In 1974, the Birthplace became a museum and has served as a place to honor Pearl’s life and work, as well as the lives of her family, for the past 50 years.

The Sydenstricker family cabin – her father’s home – was moved onto the site and it is used for special programs and events.

Pearl herself always carried an affinity for the birthplace, which she called “My Mother’s House.” She wanted to see the house restored and preserved as a museum. It was her goal to have the home belong to everyone and now, it does.

Seneca State Forest

One of two state forests in Pocahontas County, Seneca State Forest is the oldest and largest state forest in West Virginia.

The forest has been an almost daily sight in my life since I was 13 years old. I rode with my parents – both teachers – to Pocahontas County High School every day and passed through the tunnel of trees of the forest to get there.

Now, I drive through it every day to go to work. That’s just a small portion of Seneca though. Beyond all those trees are cabins, a lake and fire tower on one side of the road and on the other is a picnic area and playground.

When I was in Earth Science in high school, the teacher just so happened to be my favorite. It was the best class ever. There were maybe six or seven of us in the class and, back then, we could easily jump into her car and go exploring for the day’s lesson.

One day in particular, there were only two of us in class and we rode over to the lake at Seneca State Forest to see what critters we could find. We hopped in a canoe and immediately found a spider. 

I’m still surprised I didn’t fall in the water after the way I reacted.

Although I didn’t conquer a fear that day, I did conquer one years later when I made myself climb the Thorny Mountain Fire Tower. I was doing an article about how the tower was available to rent for weekend getaways, and I had to get pictures.

It took some time and I paused for a few deep breaths as I climbed the tower, but I made it and the view is spectacular. It’s much higher than the Droop Tower and I don’t think anyone could ever convince me to spend the night up there, but I’m glad I got to experience the view.

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

You can’t visit Pocahontas County and not at least check out the town of Cass and the trains. But once you do, you’re going to want to go for a train ride up the mountain or to Durbin.

This is another location for the history buffs. The town of Cass was founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company to serve as a company town for employees. 

The company was in the business of harvesting trees and, at the time, business was good. The men who worked in the woods were woodhicks and they risked their lives every day to harvest the hardwoods in the mountains.

Unlike most of the timber towns in Pocahontas County, Cass didn’t become a ghost town after all the timber was cut.

A lot of families stuck around and called the place home. In 1963, the railroad became a state park and in 1977, the town was added as part of the park.

Now the former company homes are available for visitors to rent, the company store is still a store and has a restaurant inside as well.

While the trains are awesome and I have ridden them countless times – to Bald Knob, to Whittaker and even to Durbin – that’s not my most memorable part of the park.

It’s the museum. When I was younger, you always knew when the museum was open because a large stuffed black bear was propping open the door, welcoming visitors inside.

As if being greeted by a bear wasn’t enough to make a kid nervous, then you looked up as you entered and saw a large, very large saw that was hanging from the ceiling. The large teeth gleaming in the light, as if they were ready to take a bite out of you.

The saw’s flexibility was on display as well because it was in a U-shape above your head.

Lots more artifacts from the town’s history are on display in the museum, including tools used by the woodhicks and items that were commonly owned by the families that lived there. It’s a great look into the past of one of the largest industries that helped shape West Virginia.

Green Bank Observatory

Of course I have to include the observatory, it’s in my backyard. Well, technically, it would be more like my front yard. 

Growing up in Green Bank, the observatory was always just right there. Back then, there weren’t as many community oriented activities there, but we still weren’t strangers to the place.

In elementary and middle school, we walked the trails of the observatory, in the shadow of the telescope, and learned about the astronomy done there. We didn’t know what the National Radio Quiet Zone was and it didn’t matter.

I remember when the 300-foot telescope collapsed. It was big news and everyone wanted to see it. My aunt and uncle from my Beartown story came in and we all walked down to see the telescope laying on top of its observation building.

It was wild to think that it was there one minute and the next, it collapsed in on itself.

In addition to using the trails, we also loved going to the recreation area at the observatory, especially in the summer.

I leaned two things at the swimming pool as a youngster. One, I was in fact, a mermaid; and two, I can do a handstand as long as I’m in water.

Those summers were the best. My friends and I would swim for hours and then afterward, go check out putters and balls and play on the putt putt course over by the picnic pavilions and playground.

I can still hear the squishing of our wet feet in flip flops as we all tried to get a hole in one.

The top of Cheat Mountain

So this one is a little different than all the others. It’s not an attraction or state park. It’s simply a little stretch of road at the top of the mountain.

It’s where Pocahontas and Randolph counties meet. There’s an overlook on one side and old building on the other. My mom remembers there being a restaurant in that building at one time, but I don’t.

I have driven and been driven on this part of the road thousands of times in my life. In fact, this is the road my parents took when they went to Elkins for my birth. It’s also the road we took to come home.

This portion of the road is very special to me and not just because the overlook offers a beautiful spot from which to see the rolling mountains, especially in the fall when all the leaves have changed to a kaleidoscope of colors.

It’s important to me because, when I was driving home from Morgantown when I was at West Virginia University and when I was driving home from Elkins when I lived there, this was the spot where I knew I was home.

It was the moment I entered Pocahontas County. The tension in my shoulders would disappear, and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

To most people, it’s a section of road where they can stop for a quick break or take a selfie with the mountains in the background, but to me, it will always be the entrance to my county.

My place.

My home.