About two years ago a good friend of ours invited us to go on a camping trip with them to West Virginia. Our first reaction was: Where? We had no idea there was fun to be had in West Virginia. As long as states go no one usually decides to go to a state that pretty much ranks last in almost all viable categories. But boy were we wrong!

Well, we said yes, but we’re not holding our breaths to get there.

We packed our bags and started driving toward Black Water Falls State Park. As we entered West Virginia and started to take in the scenery our snobby attitudes started to fade away and we were mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded us. Amazing valleys and green mountain tops greeted us as we got closer and closer to our destination.

Then we arrived at the lodge where we met our friends. The lodge was nice but nothing special until we were asked to walk behind the building and take in the view.

Yup! This is what it looks like and boy, were we pleasantly surprised. We have been to a lot of places and almost always expected to be wowed. This time we were expecting the worst and we were swept off of our feet. The scenery was breathtaking. And that was only the beginning.

The next day we headed to see the famous Black Water Falls and it took the whole trip up another notch. At this point we were hooked, hook, line and sinker.

Then we were informed that there is another overlook that is even more impressive than what we had seen so far and we did not doubt that for a second. We headed to Lindy Point. We bobbed and weaved our way through a curvy rugged path with trees and vegetation on both sides till we reached the overlook. Then, BOOM! We came across another breath taking view. When we got there we seriously thought how is it that we had never heard of any of this all these years. Then it dawned on us. People judge a book by its cover. West Virginia? Yeah, that place is a dump. What can it possibly has to offer? Well… this:

So if you haven’t yet booked your trip we strongly suggest you put Black Water Falls State Park on your list. Try to book a trip in the fall and you will thank us later.

Happy camping!

By the way, if you are interested to know what camera was used to take these pictures, I used a Canon EOS 5D with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. Then I edited the photos in Photoshop Camera Raw since I always shoot in RAW format and need to adjust the images. Of course you can shoot in just JPG format and get the same results without editing but it will limit how much you can adjust the photos to your liking.