Upstream is the large Summersville Lake, which is drained each fall, creating a spectacular world class 25 mile whitewater kayak run for a few weekends through these woods and around the Pillow Rock Rapids bend above. The rest of the year, the West Virginia park belongs to the wildlife, without any significant visitor facilities and few easy access points. Information on hiking trails is available at New River Gorge nearby.

Obviously the whitewater is above my skills even if I waited until September, so I just decided to admire the views and hike in the beautiful woods. The best place for that is not the park campground—which is just a parking lot and kayak launch at the base of the Summersville Dam.

The place to go is the Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park—which commemorates the Civil War Union victory that helped drive the Confederacy out of western Virginia eventually leading to the creation of West Virginia. This is where I took the photo above, and where I walked into the park on the old ferry ‘road’ or trail. The state park is day use only, but it has nice facilities, beautiful lawns and a monument.