The Family-Run West Virginia Italian Gem Even Some Locals Have Missed Is Known For Its Signature Spaghetti Sauce
One Italian restaurant in West Virginia makes a spaghetti sauce so beloved that it sells the sauce for you to take home. That detail alone tells you how seriously this family treats...
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Holl’s Handcrafted Swiss Chocolates Brings A Longtime West Virginia Chocolate Tradition To Charleston
Every chocolate in this shop wears a number. You stroll around glass pillar cases, jot down your picks, and hand over your list at the counter like a sweet little treasure map.
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Book Lovers In West Virginia Browse Shelves, Sip Coffee And Savor Tiramisu Under One Roof At This Shop
The dessert that steals the spotlight at one West Virginia bookstore isn't a cookie or a muffin. It's tiramisu, and some fans won't leave the building without a slice.
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8 Small-Town West Virginia Theaters That Have Shown Movies For Over 80 Years
One little movie house in West Virginia started selling tickets in 1911. That was years before movies even had sound. And the...
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This Cozy West Virginia Diner Serves Fried Bologna Sandwiches And Bakes Its Own Bread From Scratch
The bun on your cheeseburger might come out of an oven just a few feet from your seat. At one small diner in West Virginia, the owner is also the chef, and he bakes the bread himself.
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Long Before Snowshoe, Skiers Rode A Rope Tow Up This Old West Virginia Slope
A day of skiing once reportedly cost a single dollar here, and that was the club member rate. Non-members paid a whopping dollar fifty.
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7 West Virginia Sewing Shops Where A Quick Errand Turns Into An Afternoon
One quilt shop in West Virginia prints some of its own sewable vinyl. I did not know a fabric store could also be a tiny print shop, and now I can't stop thinking about it.
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Spruce Mountain Near Riverton Holds West Virginia’s Highest Point, And You Can Drive Almost To The Top
The highest spot in West Virginia sits at 4,863 feet, and you can park just a short stroll from the top. No ropes, no multi-day trek, no blistered heels required.
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Over 60 Years Of Racing Have Roared Around This Paved Track In Ona, West Virginia
Richard Petty once won on a little oval in the West Virginia hills, and you can still buy a ticket to watch racing there today. Kids twelve and under even get in free.
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Seven West Virginia Drive-Ins Where Your Grandparents Probably Parked On A Saturday Night
Somewhere in West Virginia, you can still hook a clunky metal speaker onto your car window and watch a brand-new movie. That detail alone made me grin.
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This Fill-A-Bag West Virginia Creative Reuse Shop Is A Treasure Trove For Makers
A whole drawer of googly eyes and sequins once waited in a back room where you could stuff a bag with art supplies. That detail alone made me sit up.
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The Family-Run West Virginia Country Market Where Bulk Baking Supplies And Bargain Deli Meats Draw Early Lines
Bologna sticks in garlic, hot, and cheese flavors share a counter with five different kinds of Swiss. That alone made me sit up straight.
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8 Little West Virginia Delis Most Out-Of-Towners Drive Right Past Without Knowing
One little sandwich shop in West Virginia smokes its own meats and cheeses over hickory, right on site. Smoked cheese. On your...
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The Oldest Oil Field Town In West Virginia Once Had A Bank Built For Overnight Millionaires
In 1898, a sleepy river town of about 600 people suddenly had roughly 7,000. Oil had gushed from a nearby hollow, and fortunes reportedly showed up faster than the mail.
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9 West Virginia Spots Where Pinto Beans And Coffee Still Feel Like 1965
Ask for pinto beans in a lot of West Virginia diners, and the menu may call them brown beans instead. Same humble bean, different name, and folks here know exactly what you mean.
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This Quiet Mountaintop Camp In Clifftop Was Where West Virginia’s Black Families Finally Had A Place To Swim And Picnic
Some places hide their stories behind a quiet gravel road and a stand of tall trees. You pull in expecting a nice picnic spot, and you leave feeling like you just walked through...
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Six West Virginia Mountain Restaurants Where Ramps Still Taste Like A Grandma’s Spring Supper
Some springs, you can smell the ramps before you ever see the sign out front. In West Virginia, that sharp, garlicky scent has meant warmer days and full supper tables for generations.
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Families Ride Into An Old Coal Seam At Tamarack’s Neighbor, The Bluestone Gorge Tram
Some of the best family days in West Virginia start with a simple plan that turns into a story the kids still tell years later. You pull into a quiet mountain park expecting a...
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Six West Virginia Farm Stores Where You Can Buy Fresh Eggs
Crack a farm egg into a hot skillet and you will see the difference right away, with a yolk so orange it almost glows. Here in West Virginia, some of the best eggs are not sitting...
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Five West Virginia Old Buildings Where Locals Swear Footsteps Still Echo After Dark
Some old buildings in West Virginia seem to hold their breath once the sun goes down. You walk in thinking it is just brick, stone, and creaky boards, and you leave with a story...
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Stand On The Bridge Where Two Rivers And Three States Meet At Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
I only stopped to stretch my legs and maybe find a sandwich, but a short walk downhill changed my whole afternoon. There, at the tip of a skinny strip of land in West Virginia,...
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Hikers Are Surprised That A Whole Town Sank Under This West Virginia Lake When The Dam Went In
You can stand on a quiet cliff in West Virginia, look down at water so clear it seems fake, and never guess what sits below. Folks who grew up here know the story, but plenty of...
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How Did A Tiny Town Become Home To West Virginia’s Oldest Continuously Running Fair
Some places sneak up on you, and the smell of warm cinnamon rolls drifting past a cattle barn is usually the first clue. Tucked into a quiet valley in West Virginia, one small...
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Here’s How A Tiny Ritchie County Town Ended Up With A Two-Story Hotel Built For Oil Barons
Some of the best places in West Virginia hide at the end of a winding back road, where you expect nothing more than trees and a gas station. Then you round a bend and find a cozy...
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Folks Leave With A Jar Of House Chili Sauce From This Old-School West Virginia Hot Dog Diner
You almost drive right past it, and that would be a real shame. Tucked along a busy road in north-central West Virginia sits a tiny hot dog joint that looks like it has not changed...
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Over Half A Century Old, Mountaineer Field Rumbles In Morgantown, West Virginia Every Fall Saturday
From a distance it looks like plenty of other big concrete bowls tucked into the hills of West Virginia. Then a fall Saturday rolls around, the smell of grills drifts across the...
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The Oldest Covered Bridge Still Standing In West Virginia Carries A Story Older Than The State Itself
Some of the best surprises in West Virginia are hiding just off a busy road, where you would never think to look. I pulled over expecting a quick photo and a stretch of the legs,...
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Seven West Virginia Penny Candy Counters Where A Dollar Still Fills A Paper Sack
Remember sliding a crumpled dollar across a wooden counter and walking out with a sack so full it crinkled all the way home? I figured those days were gone until a sweet tooth...
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Remember When Wheeling Sold Every Nail In America? That Story Lives On At This Old Factory
My grandfather kept a coffee can full of old square nails in his West Virginia garage, and I never once wondered where they came from. Turns out a lot of them likely came from...
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Six West Virginia Farms Where Folks Stock Up On Meat Straight From The Family Who Raised It
Some of the best meals in West Virginia start with a gravel driveway, a hand-painted sign, and a freezer full of something special. You pull in thinking it is just a quick stop,...
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Prohibition Gangsters Once Hid Out In This Quiet West Virginia Town, And Locals Still Tell The Stories
Some of the best stories in West Virginia hide at the end of a long, winding road where your phone signal gives up before you do. You expect a few old buildings and a quick look...
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Seven West Virginia Company Towns Where The Old Coal Store Buildings Still Stand
Round a bend on a quiet hollow road in West Virginia and you might spot it: a big brick or stone building that looks far too grand for the tiny town around it. Chances are, that...
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Seven West Virginia Mountain Lodges Where A Fireplace And Home Cooking Wait After Dark
The best part of a long mountain day in West Virginia is often the part that comes after the sun slips behind the ridge. Your boots are muddy, your cheeks are cold, and all you...
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Seven Old West Virginia Railroad Depots Now Serving Local History
Some of the best history lessons in West Virginia are hiding inside old train stations you might drive right past. Once, these depots buzzed with coal men, mail sacks, and families...
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Families Still Eat Hot Dogs Over The River At This Beloved West Virginia Dairy Queen
You pull off the road expecting the same soft-serve stop you have seen a hundred times across West Virginia. Then you walk inside, look past the counter, and find a wide river...
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Bluegrass Pickers Still Fill This Old West Virginia Theater Every Week Like It’s The Good Old Days
Some of the best nights out in West Virginia start with a plain old ticket stub and a line on the sidewalk. You walk past a doorway you have seen a hundred times, and suddenly...
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Deep Under A West Virginia Hillside, A Cavern Stays Exactly 56 Degrees All Year Long
You can drive past a hundred hillsides in West Virginia and never guess what is hiding inside one of them. Somewhere along a quiet mountain highway, a hole in the ground opens...
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This Abandoned West Virginia Lake Park Was Meant for Fun, Now It’s One of the Strangest Sights You’ll Ever See
Some places in West Virginia sneak up on you, tucked down a quiet country road where you would never expect to find anything at all. Then the trees open up, and a rusty Ferris...
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This Reconstructed West Virginia Fort Shows How Settlers Survived The Frontier Behind Timber Walls
Some of the best history lessons in West Virginia are not found in textbooks but tucked along quiet back roads. You pull in expecting a few old cabins, and suddenly you smell woodsmoke,...
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Seven West Virginia Bakeries Folks Drive Backroads To Reach
Some of the best bites in West Virginia hide at the end of a gravel lane, behind a plain sign you almost drive right past. You pull in expecting a quick snack and leave with a...
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This West Virginia Toy Store Is Way Bigger Inside Than You’d Expect And Full Of Pure Childhood Nostalgia
Some of the best memories in West Virginia are hiding behind plain little storefronts you could drive past a hundred times. You step inside expecting a quick look around, and suddenly...
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The Largest High-Elevation Wetland In The Appalachians Hides Rare Wildlife Up In West Virginia
Some places in West Virginia sneak up on you. You drive a winding mountain road expecting a quick look and a leg stretch, and suddenly you are standing beside a wide, open wetland...
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This West Virginia Market Bakery Makes So Many Kinds Of Pie You’ll Never Pick Just One
Some of the best smells in West Virginia come from places you would walk right past if your nose did not stop you first. Picture yourself strolling through a busy old market building...
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Deep In The Mountains Sits A West Virginia Dish So Big Its Size Rivals A Football Field
My phone lost its signal miles before I spotted it, and honestly, I thought I had taken a wrong turn somewhere in the West Virginia hills. Then the trees opened up, and a gleaming...
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Every Weekend The Engines Still Scream At This West Virginia Drag Strip Locals Refused To Let Close
Some of the best memories in West Virginia smell like hot rubber, burgers on the grill, and sound like thunder rolling off the hills. Picture a quiet country road and a few open...
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Mothman Really Does Have His Own Museum, And It Sits In A Small West Virginia River Town
I expected a quick stop, maybe ten minutes and a silly photo, before getting back on the road through West Virginia. Instead, I found myself leaning close to faded paperwork, reading...
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Harpers Ferry Hides The Spot Where Thomas Jefferson Said The View Was Worth Crossing The Atlantic
I almost skipped it, thanks to a few stone steps, a steep hill, and a small sign I barely noticed in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Twenty minutes later, I was standing...
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In Ronceverte, West Virginia, A Small Monthly Check Covers A Paid-Off Porch By The Greenbrier River And Neighbors Who Still Know Your Name
Some places in West Virginia don't shout for attention, yet they end up staying with you long after you leave. Picture a slow river curling past brick-paved streets, an old railroad...
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Way Out On A West Virginia Ridge, A Trout Farm Lets You Catch Your Dinner From The Pond
Some of the best places in West Virginia are the ones you almost miss, tucked down a winding country road with no billboards to announce them. Out near a quiet mountain ridge sits...
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Buried In A West Virginia Hillside Sits The Grave Mound Ancient Builders Raised Two Thousand Years Ago
Some places in West Virginia hide their biggest secrets in plain sight, sitting quietly beside everyday streets while holding stories older than the state itself. Picture a grassy...
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Way Down A West Virginia Backroad, A Trading Post Sells Fresh Trout And Jerky Below Store Prices
Some of the best places in West Virginia don't sit along the main highway with a big flashing sign. They hide up a twisty mountain road where you almost second-guess yourself before...
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This West Virginia Pottery Studio Still Shapes Every Piece By Hand The Way It Did In The 1930s
Some places make you slow down and remember how things used to be made, back when a pair of skilled hands mattered more than a machine. Tucked along the Ohio River in West Virginia,...
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This West Virginia Ice Cream Stand Draws Lines So Long It Became A Summer Ritual
Some places don't need flashy signs to earn a following. Tucked along a quiet street in West Virginia sits a little ice cream shop where the lines stretch and stretch, and nobody...
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Rare Antiques Cost Less Than Forty-Five Dollars At This Overlooked West Virginia Shop
Some of the best places in West Virginia don't shout for your attention. Tucked away in the eastern part of the state sits a shop where old kitchen tools, glassware, and forgotten...
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This West Virginia Steam Train Climbs Mountain Switchbacks To A Valley Overlook That Keeps Getting Better
Some places sneak up on you. You walk in expecting a quiet afternoon and leave with a memory that sticks for years. That is the...
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Seven West Virginia Bakeries Where The Pepperoni Rolls Come Out Warm All Day Long
There's a certain magic to walking into a small West Virginia bakery and catching that first whiff of warm dough and spicy pepperoni. It's the kind of comfort food that ties whole...
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Six West Virginia Covered Bridges You Can Still Rattle Across In Your Own Car
There's something magical about rolling your car onto old wooden planks and hearing them rumble beneath your tires. Across West Virginia, a handful of covered bridges have survived...
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This Tiny Lewisburg Bakery Makes Cinnamon Rolls West Virginia Travelers Detour For
Some of the best food in West Virginia hides inside the smallest buildings, the kind you might drive right past if you blink. Tucked into a historic downtown, one little bakery...
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Here’s The West Virginia Overlook Where Three States Roll Out Beneath Your Feet At Once
Some of the best places in West Virginia are the ones you almost miss on the map. Tucked high on a mountain ridge, there's a wooden tower where the land unrolls in every direction...
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