Most of West Virginia's early history is shared with Virginia until it broke off into its own state in 1863. Today, travelers booking flights to West Virginia can explore the state’s individual history and take part in some of the state’s historic retreats.
The most famous raid in American history took place at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and helped plan West Virginia's independence from Virginia in 1863. West Virginia visitors can relive the state’s history or hike through the Appalachian Trail Conference in Harpers Ferry. Water lovers can brave the rapids on a rafting trip in River Gorge National River Recreation Area. After working your muscles to the core, take a trip to The Greenbrier, one of the country’s most famous resorts and home to the historic spa of Berkeley Springs. Find cheap flights to West Virginia and spend the excess cash on spa treatments and relaxation services. It was good enough for our Founding Fathers…
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West Virginia has four seasons and very diverse climates. In the valleys, western regions of the state, and Eastern Panhandle, winters are mild and summers warm. In the central, more mountainous areas, winters are quite cold, with greater amounts of snow, but summers are pleasant and mild. Annual rainfall ranges from about 30 inches in the Shenandoah Valley to over 60 inches in the southwestern mountains.
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Fall presents a nice alternative for visiting West Virginia as the mountains display lovely fall colors.
Peak Season:
Summer and winter are the peak seasons in West Virginia and when most visitors book West Virginia flights and tours. The annual State Fair of West Virginia is held in mid-August in Lewisburg and features livestock exhibits, a carnival, concerts, food, and other fun. On West Virginia Day, commemorating the date the state was granted admittance to the Union (June 20, 1863), celebrations, concerts, parades, and fireworks are staged in various cities all over the state.
Winter brings the skiers and advance reservations on West Virginia flights and at local hotels are a good idea.
Off Season:
Many visitors prefer planning their trips during the marginally less crowded and expensive spring off-season.It's easy to find cheap flights to West Virginia and discounted hotel rates during the off season.
Fall presents a nice alternative for visiting West Virginia as the mountains display lovely fall colors.
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To get around the state and travel its narrow, winding roads, you need a car, bicycle, or motorcycle. There is some bus and train service, but it is limited.
The old town section of Harpers Ferry has very little parking, and there are shuttle buses from the visitor center to the old town. Harpers Ferry is serviced by trains from Maryland and Washington, D.C.
West Virginia flights to Maryland and Washington, DC, are always available.
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- The Gothic-style West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville is on the National Register of Historic Places. The mighty fortress, complete with turrets and battlements and electric chair (Old Sparky), opened in 1876, built by convicts. It is said to be haunted, and visitors on ghost tours claim to have heard voices, footsteps and experienced cold spots.
- The small town of Harper's Ferry, in the northeast, is situated beautifully on the banks of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, the meeting point of three states: Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It is famous for the 1859 raid by John Brown, the abolitionist, who captured an arsenal there. Surrounding the town is the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park with hiking and biking trails, historical tours, museums and restored 19th-century streets.
- Cathedral State Park, in Preston County, is hemlock forest, one of the last remaining tracts of virgin timber in West Virginia. Trees soar up to 90 feet in height. In the shade of the old trees, there are hiking trails and plenty of picnicking spots.
- Spanning the New River, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world’s longest steel-arch bridge for many years. Every October, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce has a "Bridge Day" when about 200,000 people tour the gorge and some BASE jump from the bridge.
- Ride an old lumber train to the summit of Bald Knob. The journey takes five hours and the views from the 4,842-feet mountain are breathtaking.
- West Virginia is coal-mining land. The Coal Heritage Trail links Beckley and Bluefield, through four southern West Virginia counties - Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, and Raleigh - and there are walking tours of Pocahontas, the town that was the start of the area’s coal boom, that takes in the Silver Dollar Saloon, Old Company Store and the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine and Museum.
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