Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2014 - 32

WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / STEVEN SHALUTA JR.

19.

18.

18 & 20. Blackwater Falls State Park is home to both a 54-room lodge
and the 60-foot waterfalls of the same name.

lamb chops at The Forks, as well as popcorn-crusted trout, lobster macaroni and
stuffed mushrooms. Trevor Stalnaker and
his brother, Drew, started this restaurant in
Elkins with their uncle, Eric Stalnaker, a
former chef at The Greenbrier. The brothers
also do all work - from mowing the lawn to
hiking nearby mountains for ramps to add
to their creative cuisine.
"We wanted to bring some young influence back into the community," says Drew
Stalnaker, 31.
The handsome dining room of The
Forks incorporates recycled materials like a
door from an old school and what was once
a bed frame.
Outside, 70 chairs overlook the curvy
contour of U.S. 33 and the picturesque
Bickle Knob, a forested peak topped with a
tower that affords a 360-degree view inside
the national forest.
Pat Highley, of Centreville, Va., spent a
warm Monday evening climbing that observation tower with her family. This grandmother also praised the Potomac Highlands.
"It's peaceful and calm," she says. "And
everybody is so friendly."
32 | BlueRidgeCountry.com

JOE TENNIS

20.

19. Smoke Hole Caverns was once home to 20 moonshine stills.

BELOW GROUND, IT'S ALWAYS COOL on
the tour inside the Smoke Hole Caverns of
Grant County. This attraction drops deep
into a hole, just down the road from Seneca
Caverns, near Seneca Rocks.
Above ground, in Pocahontas County, I
take a turn down a scenic road to find
Beartown State Park. And what a delight:
Beartown's boardwalk is like a cavern with
the roof cut out. You slip beside big boulders, caked with green moss. And, comically, one rock appears to be a prehistoric
beast that has turned to stone - with eyes, a
nose and a mouth plus hair made of ferns.
From Beartown to Blackwater Falls and
east to Lost River, state parks of the Potomac
Highlands bear distinct personalities. And
what about visiting Canaan Valley Resort
State Park? Well, count on this: It is cool to
get cozy.
In 2013, Canaan Valley added 160 guest
rooms dressed in brilliant colors - all just
steps from the park's salt-water swimming
pool, golf course, hiking trails and a newly
built center for sporting clays and snowtubing. "Most people who come here are
active," says David Herscher, the resort's

general manager.
From October to April, it stays snowy in
Tucker County's Canaan Valley.
"We have a hot August," says Sandy
Burky, the passenger services director for
the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
at nearby Elkins. "It's just so much cooler
and fresher. Everything seems to cool down,
way down, at night and in the mornings."
O n e t h i n g a b o u t t h e Po t o m a c
Highlands: It is a cool place to be - in more
ways than one.
"Low humidity. Great temperatures. No
bugs," says Ron Cvetican, the owner of the
Golden Anchor Restaurant, where stuffed
oysters, trout dip and salmon are on the
menu at Dryfork. "No self respecting mosquito wants to be here after we have a winter
of minus-15 degrees." 
THERE'S MORE ON LINE

See blueridgecountry.com/Potomac
Video - Take flight above the Potomac Highlands
Video - Visit Beverly
Video - Hear Blackwater Falls
Video - Watch the Falls of Hill Creek

http://www.blueridgecountry.com/Potomac http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com

Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2014