West Virginia Travel Guide 2009 - (Page 43) wild & wonderful You can do all of this! At right: A horseback trail ride at Tygart Lake State Park . e No matter what your interest, West Virginia’s parks have something fun in store. Bring this handy list with you and check off each adventure or activity as you complete it. Attend an old-time music concert Bird watch Bungee jump Buy authentic arts and crafts Camp in a tent or RV Celebrate Easter with an egg hunt Climb rocks Enjoy a weekend of romance Explore a cranberry bog Geocaching Get a massage Go rafting Hear liars and storytellers spin tales Ice skate Learn about astronomy or geology Learn about Native Americans Learn to spin, dye or weave cloth Listen to campfire tales Make a quilt Marvel at colorful autumn leaves Mountain bike Navigate a paddle boat Parachute off a bridge Pig out at a pig roast Play sports Practice Appalachian dancing Rappel Reenact a Civil War battle Ride a horse Ride an aerial tram Run a marathon See Civil War history come to life Sleep on a houseboat Stay in a cabin or lodge Snowshoe Snow tube Solve a murder mystery Square dance Sweat it out in a sauna Swim in a lake or stream Take a ride on a steam-driven locomotive Take a wildflower, bird or butterfly hike Taste wines Tour an 18th-century mansion Visit a Christmas market Watch a play Watch a sheep-shearing demonstration Watch the sun rise or set www.WVTOURISM.com Something A Little Different The state’s diverse parks also offer plenty of non-traditional activities, too. Did you know you can listen to local musicians pickin’ their guitars, banjos or fiddles at Chief Logan State Park, or that North Bend State Park has special weekends for quilters or that you can learn to clog at Holly River State Park? There’s also the Greenbrier River Trail and North Bend Rail Trail, two state park properties between 70 and 80 miles long – but only a few feet wide – that cross bridges and cut through tunnels along scenic paths, making them favorite spots among hikers and bikers? New in 2009 Several West Virginia State Parks also have new programs in store for 2009: » Cacapon Resort State Park now offers a 3-D archery course for expert and beginner hunting and shooting enthusiasts. The new course offers a “simulated” hunting experience that includes more than 20 targets replicating many of the wildlife species native to West Virginia. To learn more, visit www.cacaponresort.com. » Tu-Endie-Wei State Park will mark the 100th anniversary of the Point Pleasant Battle Monument in October with a series of interpretive walks and historical presentations. For more information, visit www.tu-endie-weistatepark.com. » American Indian and European cultures fought six wars west of the Allegheny Mountains in what later became West Virginia, shaping the future of Trans-Allegheny culture. Several parks are offering guests an opportunity to share their experiences through “Trans-Allegheny Clash of Cultures – Special Series.” Participating parks include Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park (July 4), Hawks Nest State Park (July 18) and Droop Mountain Battlefield (Aug. 29). NO CHILD LEF T INSIDE There’s no better way to support this national movement – designed to instill an appreciation of the outdoors in children – than to get your kids off the couch and take them outside to play. And there’s no better place to do that than at a West Virginia State Park. There’s something outdoorsy on the list on the right for every kid and kid-at-heart, but visit www.wvstateparks.com for even more inspiration. IF YOU GO: For more information: » West Virginia State Parks and Forests, www.wvstateparks.com. » West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, www.wvdnr.gov. » National Parks in West Virginia, home.nps.gov. » National Forests in West Virginia, ww.fs.fed.us 43 http://www.cacaponresort.com http://www.tu-endie-weistatepark.com http://www.wvstateparks.com http://www.wvdnr.gov http://home.nps.gov http://www.wvstateparks.com http://ww.fs.fed.us http://www.WVTOURISM.com
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