Beartown State Park West Virginia was on the list of our next adventure not far from the Wilson House. It is located on the eastern summit of Droop Mountain in West Virginia. We learned about this little gem by looking at some hiking forums of the top parks to visit in West Virigina. A hiker mentioned although it was a small park it was unique making it a must see. After seeing a few photographs on the web of Beartown State Park, we put it in our traveling adventure itinerary for our family vacation.
It was about a 1 hour and 20 minutes ride to get there. We passed through Marlinton WV which was where we had looked at doing a bike ride on the Green Brier Trail. It was a nice little town with neat little murals on a lot of their old buildings. The rain was chasing us yet again this day, but we would overcome once again Lord willing. We scooted in and out of the rain many times. I thought we might have to pull the truck over because at times it was so hard I couldn't see the road ahead. I wasn't sure if we would have a rain-free adventure today at Beartown State Park, but I checked our weather app on our phones (thanks to Wilson House Wi-Fi) and it showed we just might skirt the edge of the storms and get a half day of adventure out of it. One thing about shooting photographs after the rain is it keeps the dreaded blue haze out of your pictures making the color saturation richer.
We arrived on a week day and enjoyed the sites with the entire park to ourselves, just perfect by our standards. Beartown State Park was nothing like we had seen before with a boardwalk maze, paths through pillars of crazy rock formations interwoven with lush moss and trees. We were quite amazed at the of intricate construction of the boardwalk and what it must have taken for construction in the midst of such a remote place.
The park's namesake (Beartown State Park) came from the many cave-like openings in the rocks made ideal winter dens for the black bears of the area. Also, the many deep, narrow crevasses were formed in a somewhat regular criss-cross pattern and appear from above like the streets of a small town. Massive boulders, overhanging cliffs, and deep crevasses tower over you as your explore the winding paths throughout the park. The cliffs made of Pottsville and Sandstone are covered with hundreds of eroded pits, ranging from the size of marbles to others large enough to hold two grown men.
Beartown State Park is the perfect spot for an easy stroll with one of a kind scenery. Be sure to watch your step though as the boardwalk is slippery in places. We were able to navigate through in very little time and had enough room to walk with our umbrella while sprinkled on and off. Be sure to check out all the information posted a long the way where they explain facts and history like the tree that was struck by lightning twice. And yes, the Lord stopped the rain long enough for the sun to break through for several pictures and enjoy our picnic lunch.
