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West Virginia elk are roaming farther as restored herd grows

The Big Moses gas well erupts along Indian Creek in Tyler County, West Virginia, during the region’s oil and gas boom of the 1890s. Drilled in search of oil in 1894, the well instead struck an enormous flow of natural gas that repeatedly resisted efforts to bring it under control.

Natural Wonders

In 1895, lightning struck a massive West Virginia gas well, which then blew out its own fire

David Sibray September 4, 2026

Tyler Harmon holds the 72.75-pound blue catfish he caught in the Ohio River in Jackson County as a West Virginia Division of Natural Resources official assists with the record certification. The fish set a new state weight record and was released alive. (WVDNR photo)

Fishing

West Virginia brought back a giant native fish that now keeps breaking records

A bicycle rests beside the Meadow River along the Meadow River Rail Trail, an 18-mile route between Rainelle and Nallen in southern West Virginia. (Photo courtesy Meadow River Rail Trail)

Biking

New 18-mile trail is revealing a hidden West Virginia river valley

The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia identified Marmaduke Van Swearingen as the Shawnee chief Blue Jacket, preserving a long-standing legend that historical research and DNA evidence later disputed.

Lore and Legend

West Virginia legend said a white boy became a Shawnee war chief. DNA told another story

Latest West Virginia News

Two properties proposed for inclusion in an expanded historic district stand along a residential street in Richwood, West Virginia. The proposed expansion would extend the existing downtown district into nearby residential areas.

Economic Development

Richwood could double historic district at gateway to Monongahela National Forest

September 2, 2026

A young forager gathers wild berries. Foraging for edible plants is the focus of Nature Wonder Weekend, a West Virginia tradition held at North Bend State Park since 1968. (Getty image)

State Parks, Forests

For nearly 60 years, West Virginians have gathered in this park to eat from the wild

September 2, 2026

The former Fort Gay High School in Fort Gay, W.Va., closed in 2013 and is now being redeveloped with eight affordable apartments and space for community, municipal and commercial uses.

Landmarks / Museums

West Virginia high school closed for 13 years is becoming apartments

September 1, 2026

The night sky stretches above the observation tower at Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park in Pocahontas County. The photograph won the summer beauty category in the West Virginia State Parks Foundation's spring and summer photo contest. (Photo by Leslie Carpenter)

State Parks, Forests

Five stunning photos capture summer in West Virginia’s state parks

August 31, 2026

Two unbanded peregrine falcons have been confirmed at the New River Gorge Bridge, continuing a conservation story that began decades ago. The inset shows one of the peregrines recently observed at the bridge. (Inset photo by Larry Massey)

Wildlife / Conservancy

Two unbanded peregrine falcons confirmed at New River Gorge Bridge

August 31, 2026

A model walks the runway during a fashion show. A West Virginia University researcher says the rise of weight-loss medications is coinciding with a retreat from size inclusivity in the fashion industry. (Photo by Yogendra Singh/Unsplash)

Health and Medicine

Weight-loss drugs are changing American bodies; Fashion may be changing with them

August 31, 2026

Communities

A bull elk stands in the southern West Virginia coalfields, where the state's restored elk population is beginning to roam farther from its established range. (Photo: W.Va. Dept. of Commerce)

West Virginia elk are roaming farther as restored herd grows

Will Reedy August 30, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s restored elk are beginning to roam farther from the southern coalfields where they were reintroduced, even as the state prepares to welcome visitors for another season of guided elk-viewing tours. The W.Va. Division of

Injured athletes can face increased body-image pressures and potentially harmful eating and exercise behaviors during recovery, according to a West Virginia University researcher. (WVU Photo/Davidson Chan)

Injured athletes may be hurting their recovery by trying too hard, WVU researcher says

Clyde Craig August 30, 2026

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The traits that help make a successful athlete can become a liability when that athlete gets hurt. An injured player told to run a mile who instead runs several might appear exceptionally dedicated. But Dana

The new Ike and Sue Morris Stadium at Glenville State University is part of the university’s $26 million Morris Family Health and Fitness Complex in Glenville, West Virginia.

New Glenville State stadium marks $26 million investment in rural West Virginia

August 29, 2026

Developers and project representatives examine the site of the planned TAProom development on Spruce Street in Thomas, West Virginia. The $4.3 million project will add workforce housing and commercial space downtown. (Photo courtesy Woodlands Development & Lending)

$4.3M workforce housing project finally breaking ground in Thomas, West Virginia

August 28, 2026

Dolly Parton poses for an RCA Records publicity photograph in 1970. Parton later founded the Imagination Library, which now provides free books to more than 46,000 children in West Virginia. (Public domain)

Dolly Parton put books in the hands of 46,000 West Virginia children. Thousands more remain unenrolled

August 28, 2026

Turkey Run Lake near Ravenswood, West Virginia, is slated to be drained as the state removes its aging dam and restores Turkey Run to a free-flowing stream and wetland complex.

West Virginia to drain 60-year-old fishing lake, restore natural stream

August 27, 2026

Attractions

The Gothic Revival facade of the West Virginia Penitentiary dominates Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville. The prison operated from 1866 until 1995 and is now open to visitors as a historic attraction.

Behind the walls of West Virginia’s massive Gothic prison, now a tourist attraction

Ted Fauster August 29, 2026

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Behind stone walls 24 feet high, as many as 2,000 people were once confined in a massive Gothic prison that spanned three city blocks in the heart of this Ohio River community. For 129 years,

The New River winds through a landscape where railroads, communities, industrial history and outdoor recreation remain intertwined inside New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

National Park Week starts Saturday: Why West Virginia’s New River Gorge is different

David Sibray August 19, 2026

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — National Park Week begins Saturday, spotlighting hundreds of America’s most celebrated landscapes. But in West Virginia, the national park experience is a little different. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve isn’t simply wilderness

A debris slide blocks a road in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve following torrential rainfall Sunday. Flooding, washouts and fallen trees closed several roads and recreation access points across the park. (NPS photo)

Flash flooding closes roads across New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia

August 16, 2026

Bear Lake is one of several small fishing lakes at Bear Rock Lakes Wildlife Management Area in Ohio County, West Virginia. Fishing access is temporarily closing while the state modifies two dams at the property. (Photo by Brian M. Powell/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fishing closes at Bear Rock Lakes WMA as $1.5 million dam project begins

August 13, 2026

Visitors stroll through the recreated 19th-century village at Heritage Farm Museum and Village near Huntington, West Virginia, the state's only Smithsonian Institution Affiliate. The 150-acre destination combines Appalachian history, artisan demonstrations, wildlife and outdoor adventure.

Heritage Farm, West Virginia’s only Smithsonian affiliate, belongs on every Ohio Valley road trip

August 2, 2026

Cyclists ride the Rend Trail, one of the easiest and most scenic routes through New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The historic former railroad corridor is scheduled to reopen in 2027 following an $11.8 million rehabilitation project.

One of New River Gorge’s easiest trails is closing for two years—but it will return better than ever

July 31, 2026

Recreation

Rafters charge through whitewater on the Gauley River during Gauley Season in West Virginia. The six-week fall season draws thousands of whitewater enthusiasts to the river each year. (NPS photo)

Six weeks of legendary whitewater are about to begin on the Gauley in West Virginia

David Sibray August 26, 2026

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — For six weekends beginning in September, controlled releases from Summersville Dam will turn the Gauley River in West Virginia into one of the world’s premier whitewater destinations. Veteran river guides say this year’s unusually wet

A couple walks a wooded trail at Pipestem Resort State Park, where the West Virginia Trails Conference will be held Nov. 8–10, 2026.

West Virginia trails conference looks to turn outdoor recreation into community growth

David Sibray August 24, 2026

PIPESTEM, W.Va. — West Virginia communities seeking ways to attract residents, expand outdoor recreation, and turn existing natural and industrial resources into economic assets will be the focus of a statewide trails conference planned for November. The West

Morgantown angler Robert Glover holds the 9.76-inch pumpkinseed sunfish he caught at Cheat Lake, setting the West Virginia record for a category that has now been broken three times in little more than a month. (Photo courtesy W.Va. DNR)

West Virginia fishing record broken for third time in little more than a month

Will Reedy August 21, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia fishing record that didn’t exist until this summer has now been broken three times in less than a month. Robert Glover, of Morgantown, landed a 9.76-inch, 0.75-pound pumpkinseed sunfish on Aug. 6

Participants learn outdoor skills during a Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop in West Virginia. The nationally recognized program introduces women to hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities in a supportive setting.

More women are taking up hunting and fishing; these West Virginia workshops may be helping

August 18, 2026

Visitors descend into Organ Cave in Greenbrier County, one of the many West Virginia caverns around which generations of history, tradition and folklore have accumulated. Photographer to be determined.

West Virginia cave lore—strange stories from beneath the Mountain State

August 17, 2026

Filmmaker Emma Crow-Willard pauses beside a mountain stream while hiking West Virginia's 320-mile Allegheny Trail. Her month-long journey combines backpacking with interviews exploring the changing economies of communities along the route.

Most hikers have never heard of the Allegheny Trail. One filmmaker set out to discover why

August 3, 2026

West Virginia anglers Ken Neer (left) and Sierra Adamson each caught state-record pumpkinseed sunfish in summer 2026. Adamson's catch surpassed Neer's record just 19 days after it established the species' first official place in the state's record books.

West Virginia’s new state fishing record lasted 19 days before another angler broke it

July 30, 2026

Two cyclists bike the West Fork Rail Trail near Durbin in the Monongahela National Forest.

Expedia will help two West Virginia towns build new trails into the Monongahela National Forest

July 30, 2026

Kayakers paddle around Big Rock on the lower Greenbrier River near Hinton, West Virginia.

Big Rock: A Greenbrier River landmark where the Civil War didn’t end

July 17, 2026

A white-tailed doe pauses in a West Virginia forest. The state's controlled antlerless lottery hunts are designed to manage deer populations while protecting forests and wildlife habitat.

Hunters can apply for rare deer hunts in West Virginia state parks

July 16, 2026

Hikers enjoy panoramic views from North Fork Mountain Trail, where miles of exposed ridgeline overlook the South Branch Valley in eastern West Virginia.

10 best hiking trails in West Virginia for scenic views and adventure

July 15, 2026

An American woodcock pauses on the forest floor during its annual migration through Appalachia. The secretive bird depends on young forests and moist woodlands that provide shelter and abundant earthworms as it travels between its northern breeding grounds and southern wintering habitat.

As autumn migration approaches, West Virginia sets seasons for dove, rail, woodcock

July 14, 2026

Culture

West Virginia Explorer publisher David Sibray examines the Water Panther Stone at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant, W.Va. The prehistoric petroglyph has been interpreted as depicting an Underwater Panther, a powerful being represented in Indigenous traditions and rock art.

Ancient spirit ‘underwater panther’ carved in stone survives in West Virginia

David Sibray August 30, 2026

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Sheltered near where the Kanawha River empties into the Ohio, one of West Virginia’s most unusual surviving pieces of prehistoric art stands. Carved into a large stone is the outline of a four-legged creature

Autumn At Babcock State Park in West Virginia

Fall begins Tuesday in West Virginia with temperatures in the mid-90s

Clyde Craig August 28, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fall officially begins Tuesday for meteorologists, but someone apparently forgot to tell West Virginia’s weather. The first day of meteorological fall is expected to feel decidedly like summer across much of the state. The National

Employees of the Kanawha & Michigan Railway pose with Engine No. 547 in southern West Virginia in 1909, 18 years after the railroad's deadly Fourth of July wreck near Dunbar. (Photo courtesy West Virginia & Regional History Center, WVU Libraries)

They thought it was morning fog, then this West Virginia train hit a burning trestle

David Sibray August 28, 2026

Editor’s note: The following historical account by the late historian Nathan Goff Carter contains graphic descriptions of injuries and death. DUNBAR, W.Va. — On the morning of July 4, 1891, a passenger train departed Charleston for Columbus, carrying families,

Star trails sweep above Blennerhassett Mansion during Mansion by Candlelight at Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park. The annual event returns Oct. 9–10, 2026. (Photo courtesy Greater Parkersburg CVB)

Lore and Legend

An artist’s interpretation of the legend of Crock Face, an Indigenous warrior said to have disguised himself as a scarecrow while waiting near the home of an early settler in what is now Harrison County, West Virginia.

Real Estate

History and Prehistory

The ruins of William “Coin” Harvey’s Monte Ne resort stand along the shore of Beaver Lake in Arkansas, remnants of the ambitious community he developed in the Ozarks in the early 20th century.

State Parks

Mountain Creek Lodge glows in the evening at the bottom of West Virginia's Bluestone Gorge, where the new Mountain Creek Appalachian Cuisine restaurant welcomes diners arriving by Pipestem Resort State Park's iconic aerial tram.

Hunting

Fishing

West Virginia has stocked more than 50 lakes and ponds with channel catfish for the summer, giving visitors and residents fresh opportunities to fish at state parks and public waters across the Mountain State. (Photo courtesy W.Va. Dept. of Commerce)

Hiking

Skiing

White Grass has long been a magnet for visitors from Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mountain River Media)

National Parks

Conceptual rendering: The historic Prince Brothers General Store restored as a welcoming destination for visitors, offering local foods, outdoor gear, and Appalachian products while serving as a gateway to the New River Gorge.

Kayaking

Motorboats with engines larger than 10 horsepower are now permitted to operate at no-wake speed on Elk Fork, North Bend, O’Brien, Stonecoal, and Woodrum lakes.

Whitewater Rafting

Biking

One of the largest networks on the East Coast, the routes activate thousands of miles of gravel roads across the Mon Forest for visitors and communities. (Photo: Getty Images)

More West Virginia News

Natural Wonders