Summersville 2020 - 22

EXPLORE
NICHOLAS COUNTY
APPALACHIAN SCENIC
HIGHWAY ROUTE 39

The byway stretches across five counties
in West Virginia and Virginia, and offers
many great stops along the way, including geocaching opportunities, museums,
nature centers, recreational areas and Civil
War History.

NICHOLAS COUNTY

GEOCACHING

The newest "treasure hunt" activity that,
according to www.geocaching.com, has
over three million active geocachers
involved in the hunt. And yes, Nicholas
County has "caches" to be found.

GOLF
Try your luck at the Nicholas Memorial
Golf Course (304-872-9850), a ninehole course located north of Summersville on Rt. 19 near the Nicholas County
Veterans Memorial Park or play nine
holes of golf in the scenic mountains of
Richwood at Cherry Hill Country Club
(304-846-9876).

MOVIE THEATER

The Marquee Cinemas Nicholas Showplace is the perfect place to go on a rainy
or winter snowy day and who doesn't
crave movie popcorn? The theater is
located at 300 Merchants Walk Plaza in
Summersville. 304-872-2470.

SUMMERSVILLE DAM

Summersville Dam is located on the
Gauley River near the town of Summersville in Nicholas County, West Virginia.
Summersville Lake is the largest lake in
West Virginia at 2,790 acres with 60 miles
of shoreline and controls 803 square miles
of drainage area. A rock-fill type earth

CRANBERRY NATURE CENTER

dam gives the impression that nature, not
man, planned and placed it. The dam is
390 feet high and 2,280 feet long making it the second largest dam of this type
in the eastern United States. The water
is released through a 1,555-foot long, 29
foot diameter tunnel controlled at the
lower end by three 9-foot diameter valves.
In 2001 an 80 megawatt Hydropower
plant was added to the below dam area.
The Dam construction began in 1960
and was completed in 1966 at a cost of
48 million dollars. By the end of 1974,
it had paid for itself by preventing flood
damages in the Gauley and Kanawha river
basins areas at almost 67 million dollars.
Today, that figure has grown to over $743
million. Summerville Lake is a major
recreation destination, attracting nearly 1
million visitors annually. The Lake offers
many recreational opportunities including a campground, beach, picnic shelters,
playgrounds, boat launch, marina, hiking
trails, rock climbing, fishing and hunting
opportunities and some of the most scenic
views in the country.

22 SUMMERSVILLE VISITORS GUIDE | SUMMERSVILLECVB.COM

http://www.geocaching.com http://www.SUMMERSVILLECVB.COM

Summersville 2020

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