My pick for the most underrated scenic state
Country roads, take me to...West Virginia
From the big city to … Appalachia.
I wrote before how I’m like a walking duality; I’m city and country, Michelin and hole in the wall.
So while my affinity for West Virginia may at the outset seem odd, I have good reason to go on a regular basis: to visit one of my best girlfriends.
I’ve known her from an entire era ago—when I was living in Atlanta, married, and working in financial services.
In fact, work is how we met.
We were young, successful VPs at the fourth largest retail bank in the nation, and we were paired randomly as roommates during a corporate offsite.
And though we didn’t love the idea of sharing a room with a total stranger, in this case it worked out.
We hit it off by talking late into the night about like-minded interests, ambitions, and career goals, and shared frustrations over how friends in our circle just never seemed to have enough money to do anything fun, like travel.
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Over the years we’ve seen each other through divorces, re-marriages, breakups, babies, relocations, businesses, careers, and multiple houses, and our friendship has stayed intact.
This was helped by the fact that we made efforts to travel together or visit each other; I go to West Virginia annually, the most mountain-y state in the country by topography.
It’s also a perk that she’s close to areas with beautiful hiking trails and somewhat close to Winterplace and Snowshoe ski mountains.
So when I was invited to her daughter’s wedding in White Sulphur Springs in mid-February, I couldn’t miss it; I’ve known the girl since she was in middle school!
Here’s a recap of my trip to West Virginia
First, why West Virginia gets a bad rep
There are less-than-favorable stereotypes: it’s the third poorest state by per capita income; has a 17% poverty rate; was hit hard by the opioid epidemic; once-booming industries like coal mining have been on the decline for decades.
West Virginia's corporate tax rate is also comparatively high, so it’s not exactly welcoming to people looking to start businesses there, unlike states like Florida, Wyoming, or Texas, where businesses and the wealthy are lured by low corporate taxes and no income tax.
This video is one of the best explainers for how WV got to where it is today, with one primary reason being an unkind geography for manufacturers to build and sustain factories there.
While this may be unfortunate there is a bright side; the state is now incentivizing young professionals with stipends to live and work there.
It also seems that more attention is being paid to its (I believe, still largely untapped) travel and tourism industry; there are abundant mountains, trails, and landscapes that support mountain biking, hiking, rafting, rock climbing, and ATV-riding.
It’s the beauty of these Blue Ridge mountains that inspired music from John Denver and Joni Mitchell.
Just like how Bentonville, Arkansas has rebranded itself as the “mountain biking capital of the world” perhaps the same could be done for the state’s many recreational opportunities.
How to get there
Most major airlines will fly you to bigger cities in the state, like Charleston and Morgantown.
Historically, I’ve flown out of Charlotte, NC, to Beckley, WV, on a regional airline called Contour Airlines.
In the early days, there were instances when I was the only passenger onboard.
The regional airports are charmingly frozen in time, with gate areas limited to the one outgoing flight.
Where to stay
In White Sulphur Springs, The Greenbrier, also called “America’s Resort” still hosts annual golf tournaments; LIV Golf is hosting a tourney there this August.
The night before the wedding festivities, I visited The Greenbrier for dinner, and also went back a couple of days later for souvenir shopping; I stumbled upon a super cute shoe store called Yarid’s and picked up a pair of long-coveted Uggs.
The way the resort is laid out, both guests and outside visitors can come for food and some retail therapy because frankly, there isn’t much outside of the resort except for Tootsie’s Place coffee shop, Across the Board (a board game cafe), and 50 East Restaurant & Tavern on the main street.
Unfortunately you must be a hotel guest to enter the casino and nightclub.
One of the resort’s more memorable features is its quirky interior design by Dorothy Draper.
While in photos it looks bright and eccentric, I think in-person some areas could benefit from better lighting or modernization without losing Draper's aesthetic; at one point our dinner group exclaimed a likeness to The Overlook Hotel in The Shining.
If you’re not at the Greenbrier (which is on the pricy end) then The Schoolhouse Hotel is perhaps a more budget-friendly option.
Outside of White Sulphur Springs and Beckley, I’ve also visited Beaver, Bluefield, Morgantown and Daniels, where you can stay at The Resort at Glade Springs. There are also plenty of AirBnbs and hotel chains in the bigger cities, too, and around destinations like the New River Gorge.
Is there an underrated, secret, or low-key destination that you visit frequently? If so, reply in comments or tell me (shhh, I’ll keep it a secret 🤫, promise)!
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Until next time,
Shindy
On Instagram + TikTok
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As always, I felt as though I was in West Virginia too! I loved the travel, airport, and accommodations descriptions. Truly is scenic!