West Virginia Group Travel Ideas

on location: south ❖

soula mitsiopoulos

Journey to

West Virginia

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Need to get away from the hustle and bustle fast? Look no further than West Virginia. Being only a day’s driving distance from half of the U.S. population makes the state easy to reach.

With an abundance of unique attractions and outdoor sports, West Virginia could be the answer to your next quick travel destination.

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Outdoor activities and historical attractions offer group travelers a bounty of options in the Mountain State Step back in time at the Farmstead at WVU Jackson’s Mill, near Weston.

From mountain hiking to boardwalk tours through state parks, the Mountain State offers an activity for everyone and lots of group-friendly sites in any season.

With plenty of natural snowfall and cozy cabins etched into the mountainsides, skiing and snowboarding are popular during winter months. In the spring, travelers can expect temperatures con-

ducive to whitewater rafting, fishing and hiking. Summertime allows for worldrenowned rock climbing and visits to colorful gardens. Fall welcomes beautiful autumn foliage all over the state.

Not enthusiastic about the outdoors? Spas and resorts loaded with amenities are plentiful, and performances at indoor and outdoor musical LeisureGroupTravel.com

theaters can easily be arranged.

Farmer’s markets boast fresh produce and specialty food products.

As a site of several battles during the Civil War, West Virginia has intriguing historical roots. It is the only state to be declared a state by presidential proclamation when President Abraham Lincoln did so during that war.

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OUTDOOR ADVENTURE Nothing says outdoors like a mountain hike. But very little can compare to the experience of climbing high, vertical faces in extreme terrain that might otherwise be inaccessible to conventional rock-climbing. Via Ferrata (Italian for “iron road”) at Nelsons Rock Preserve is a new attraction in the North Fork Valley of Pendleton County. Climbers of all experience levels are able to gain hundreds of vertical feet of elevation over a half-mile route

Vertical challenges await climbers at Via Ferrata outdoor recreation center.

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Steam locomotives chug through the woods at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.

equipped with fixed cables, ladders and bridges. The end of the climb reveals an exposed summit with beautiful views of the Allegheny Mountains.

Reservations are being taken for spring of 2010, beginning in March. (visitviaferrata.com).

For groups with thrill-seekers amongst them, a trip to New River Gorge may satiate their appetites for adventure. This part of West Virginia plays host to hikers and outdoor enthusiasts of all experience levels, but in the fall it hosts the largest extreme sports event in the world. On the third Saturday of every October in Fayette County, nearly 200,000 spectators gather around the New River Gorge Bridge to witness hundreds of BASE jumpers leaping off the edge of the bridge. (BASE is the acronymn for those who jump off Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges) and Earth (a cliff ). For the faint of heart, the area offers hiking trails featuring horseback riding and scenic waterfalls. (newrivergorgecvb.com).

Bordering parklands of the New River Gorge National River near Oak Hill, ACE Adventure Resort is billed as America’s largest adventure

resort. Featured on the Travel Channel, the resort is located on 1,500 acres with 20 different adventure activities available. With 50 cabins, the resort is ideal for groups. Activities include ATVing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and an Adventure Play Park with a beach. New in 2010 is an addition to the park’s Canopy Tour, where participants can soar from tree to tree along a zip line. The resort’s lake has trampolines, inflated climbing walls and a waterslide.

The Lakeside Dining Lodge serves breakfast and dinner. (aceraft.com).

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IN THE PAST LANE West Virginia is rich in railroad history. The nation’s oldest railroad line, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, has more than half of its track within the state’s borders. The line was so important to both the Confederacy and the Union during the Civil War that the two sides fought to keep the line in their possession. Today, you can view the world’s largest collection of operating geared steam locomotives at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Visitors can ride the locomotives on excursions through wilderness surrounding the town of Cass. (cassrailroad.com).

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on location: south ❖ For a true taste of Appalachian herthe Civil War, travelers can visit Prickitage, group travelers can visit an underett’s Fort State Park in Fairmont. It was ground coal mine at Beckley Exhibition built in 1774 as a refuge fort on the VirCoal Mine in Beckley. Under the suginia frontier. The park has Civil War pervision of an experienced coal miner, reenactment events and costumed intours go 1,500 feet beneath the earth in terpreters who recreate life in the 18th authentic “man cars.” The recent renocentury. (prickettsfortstatepark.com). vation at the largest and most popular George Washington’s telescope and coal heritage attraction includes the RaDaniel Boone’s rifle can be found in hall Company Store, a visitor’s center, coal museum, fudgery and gift shop. The historic coal camp grounds offer a look at early 20th century coal mining life. Nearby is the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia, whose main gallery is made up of four railroad boxcars that feature exhibits designed to educate children on various topics, such as the Appalachian frontier. (beckleymine.com).

Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine offers an Groups get a taste of preunderground adventure and much more.

Civil War life in Appalachia at the Farmstead at WVU Jackson’s Charleston, the state’s largest city and Mill, just a few minutes from I-79 in capital. The beautiful State Capitol and Lewis County. The site is the boyhood West Virginia State Museum are not home of Confederate Gen. Thomas far from one another. Music, theater and “Stonewall” Jackson and includes a dance choices abound and include the water-powered grist mill, a blacksmith 70-year-old West Virginia Symphony shop, spinning and weaving shops, and Orchestra. In the historic East End a other reminders of the period, with walking tour showcases the Capitol, activities such as candle dipping.

Governor’s Mansion and an office (http://jacksonsmill.ext.wvu.edu/hisbuilding that made it through the 1862 toric_area).

Battle of Charleston during the Civil Most everyone has heard of the ApWar. (charlestonwv.com) palachian Trail, and a visit to the historic Escape to an underground world town of Harpers Ferry can you take you when you visit Seneca Caverns in right through it at Harpers Ferry NaRiverton. Guided tours of the largest tional Historical Park. A walk along the cavern in West Virginia showcase the trail will take you into Maryland in beautiful rock formations that nature minutes. Having changed hands eight created. Along the way, you will stop by times during the Civil War, the town is Mirror Lake, an underground pond. where abolitionist John Brown led his (senecacaverns.com). famous raid in 1859. Plenty of shopRESORT LIFE ping, dining and lodging is available in Subterranean lore of a different sort this quaint town. (harpersferrywv.net) can be found at The Greenbrier in To experience what it was like during 28 February 2010

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on location: south ❖

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the true purpose of the bunker was revealed and today it’s open for tours. The classic Southern resort offers outstanding amenities and impeccable service.

Guests can enjoy fine cuisine at the resort’s recently debuted Prime 44 West steakhouse, named for former NBA player Jerry West. The Hall of Famer’s memorabilia decorates the venue and he greets guests there when he is in town. Opening in Groups have a toe-tappin’ good time at April of 2010 will be the resort’s American Mountain Theater in Elkins. new casino. (greenbrier.com) White Sulphur Springs. In the late Visitors looking for accommodations 1950s, the federal government apcloser to Charleston will be impressed proached the historic resort about conwith The Resort at Glade Springs in structing an Emergency Relocation Daniels, just an hour’s drive from Center for the U. S. Congress. In case of the state capital. The four-season rewar, the underground facility would sort offers 54 holes of championship house members of Congress. In 1992, golf on three courses. Guests can enjoy treatments at Spa Orange or visit the recreation center, where an indoor pool, bowling alley and cinema await. (gladesprings.com).

On the eastern side of the state, only three hours west of Washington, D.C., lies Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center. It is nestled on a plateau overlooking the Canaan Valley, the highest mountain valley east of the Rockies. The fourseason resort with a 250-room lodge offers fine dining, hiking and biking trails, skiing and other amenities. Cabins and campsites are also available. (canaanresort.com) 30 February 2010

ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS Lively entertainment abounds in the Mountain State. The West Virginia Public Theatre in Morgantown has top-notch Broadway productions throughout the year. The summer 2010 season features the musicals Hairspray, 42nd Street, Will Rogers Follies, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Full Monty, Patsy and Carousel. (wvpublictheatre.com) For a genuine mountain music experience, travelers should stop by American Mountain Theater in the Historic Rail Yard in downtown Elkins. The state’s first and only “Branson-style,” family-friendly variety show blends country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, pop and patriotic music. The Christmas Spectacular (starting right after Thanksgiving) is a seasonal sellout. (americanmountaintheater.com).

You can enjoy holiday-season magic at the Winter Festival of Lights at Oglebay Resort and Conference Center in Wheeling. As one of the nation’s largest light shows, the annual extravaganza shows off more than 70 largerthan-life light displays on a six-mile driving trail. It was featured on the Travel Channel’s “Most Extreme Christmas Celebrations.” The festival runs from Nov. 12, 2010-Jan. 2, 2011. (oglebay-resort.com/fol.htm).

With so many outdoor activities and history-rich attractions to choose from, it is easy to see why West Virginia makes an ideal group travel destination.

From wilderness parks to luxurious resorts to lively musical theater, its treasures are endless. LGT

PLAN IT !

West Virginia Division of Tourism: 304-558-2200, wvtourism.com.

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CABELL COUNTY

nnect o C il a R & r e v i Where R nture! e v d A & y t s je a with M

West Virginia

Highlighting Huntington, Barboursville & Milton

There’s so much to see and do in Cabell County.

Whether it’s one night or one week, we can connect you with great places to stay, unique restaurants, cool shopping, fun things to do and interesting places to visit.

All Aboard!

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Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau Stop by our Visitor’s Center at The Station located at 210 11th Street in Huntington - across from Harris Riverfront Park.

304-525-7333 | www.wvvisit.org

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South on our radar

Groups touring Dixie can choose from some exciting new sightseeing options Here is just a sampling of what’s creating a buzz: ARKANSAS Ozark Medieval Fortress, a castle in the making, opens for its first season in Lead Hill on May 1. The attraction is being built in the Ozark Mountains over a 20-year time span. Groups will be able to watch the castle going up one stone at a time. Historians, masons, car-

penters and stone carvers dressed in authentic garments will work for 20 years on the genuine fortified castle, using 13th century techniques, materials and rules to build 45-foot-high towers, six-foot-wide walls, a drawbridge and stone walls surrounding the inner yard. The castle, located about

A FRIENDLY CITY Where memories come to life.

The Norfolk waterfront is the perfect destination for fun, dynamic group tours.

From museums to harbor cruises, live entertainment to outdoor recreation, there’s always something unique and interesting to be found in the heart of the Virginia waterfront. Plan your visit today at visitnorfolktoday.com, or contact our sales department at 1-800-368-3097.

The heart of the Virginia Waterfront.

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30 minutes from Branson, Mo., will be open seven days a week through Nov. 30 in its first season. (870-4367635, ozarkmedievalfortress.com) LOUISIANA The new Shreveport-Bossier Film Trail, a self-directed tour, highlights productions filmed in and around Caddo and Bossier parishes. Since 2005, filming has become a major industry in Shreveport-Bossier. Some 72 movie and TV productions have been filmed in the area, 13 of them in 2009. Locations in Shreveport-Bossier have been recreated as Paris, France; New York City; and even Senegal, Africa. The ShreveportBossier Convention and Tourist Bureau created the trail in partnership with the film office and produced the brochures.

Stops on the film trail include Bossier City’s Louisiana Boardwalk, where The Cleaner, starring Samuel L. Jackson, was partially filmed in 2007. Maggie’s Hanger (the James Burton rock ’n roll nightclub), another stop, was shown in The Guardian, one of the first major motion pictures to shoot in the area. In total, there are 21 stops on the film trail. (shreveport-bossier.org) MISSISSIPPI NASA’s INFINITY, an interactive space museum, opens in early 2011 at the Stennis Space Center on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Located near the Mississippi Welcome Center on I-10, just east of New Orleans, the 72,000square-foot glass building will provide a showcase for the world-class level of exploration and discovery that has been a part of NASA, Stennis Space Center for over 40 years. Visitors can browse on their own or choose a mission – a guided session that places them in the role of “scientists in training.” In the Im-

visitnorfolktoday.com | 1-800-368-3097 LeisureGroupTravel.com

stored home, damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, reopened last year. Reconstruction of the destroyed library and museum will be completed by August 2011. (beauvoir.org) NORTH CAROLINA The pedestrian-friendly Antler Hill Village opens this spring at Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Located adjacent to the Biltmore Starting in May, groups can watch a medieval Winery and River Bend fortress take shape in Northern Arkansas.

Farm, it will include a new mersive Theatre guests will receive an exhibition space, village green with orientation. (infinitysciencecenter.org) live entertainment, dining, shopping Ground has been broken on the and outdoor adventure center. As part $10.5-million project to rebuild the Jefof the $18.6-million project, the winferson Davis Presidential Library and ery will be enhanced to offer newly Museum at Beauvoir, the Biloxi beachdesigned tour and tasting areas. The front home of the only president of the existing interpretive farm area with Confederate States of America. The rehistoric barn, kitchen garden and

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farmyard will be incorporated as well.

(828-225-1333, biltmore.com) SOUTH CAROLINA Downtown Myrtle Beach is finally getting its own boardwalk. The milelong Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade is planned for the area between the 14th Avenue North Pier and the Second Avenue North Pier, and will extend all the way to First Avenue. Construction is under way with sections expected to open in spring 2010 through 2011. No building will be done during the peak tourist season from Easter through Labor Day. Construction will be completed in phases, with the final Boardwalk comprised of three sections: North Dune Walk, Central Boardwalk and South Promenade. Also new this spring is Wonderworks, a hands-on science attraction at Broadway at the Beach. (cityofmyrtlebeach.com/boardwalk.html, wonderworksonline.com)

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Plenty of excitement

IN ONE BEAUTIFUL PLACE

COMFORT INN SOUTH FOREST BEACH 800-522-3224 843-842-6662 comforthiltonhead.com DAYS INN HILTON HEAD 843-842-4800 daysinn.com/hotel/15527 HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS HOTEL & SUITES 843-757-2002 866-757-2002 BlufftonExpress.com HOLIDAY INN OCEANFRONT 800-423-9897 843-785-5126 hihiltonhead.com

The Hilton Head and Bluffton area offers a variety of activities to please just about any group.

Adventure out on the water for a dinner or dolphin cruise or explore the numerous charming marina villages with boutique shopping and water-view dining. Learn more about our Gullah culture and our vibrant arts community. Day trips within easy reach include the historic areas of Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston.

Learn more at HiltonHeadIsland.org

RESORTQUEST HILTON HEAD ISLAND 800-826-1649 843-785-1181 resortquesthiltonhead.com SHELTER COVE HARBOUR & MARINA SHOPS/DINING 888-568-9555 palmettodunes.com

Contact Brenda Ciapanna, Sales Manager at our Visitor & Convention Bureau. grouptour@hiltonheadisland.org, 800-523-3373 ext. 368