List of West Virginia state parks

There are 37 state parks in the U.S. state of West Virginia as of 2017. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) Parks and Recreation Section is the governing body for all 37 state parks and directly operates all but one of them. In addition to state parks, the WVDNR Parks and Recreation Section governs eight state forests.

The first West Virginia state park, Droop Mountain Battlefield, was acquired in 1928 and dedicated in 1929; and the newest state parks, Stonewall Jackson Lake and North Bend Rail Trail, were opened in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Four parks that later joined the state park system were established prior to Droop Mountain, the earliest being the Point Pleasant Monument (now Tu-Endie-Wei) in 1901. There are seven former West Virginia state parks: one state park was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS), one to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, one to the West Virginia Division of Highways, and one to a municipality, and three have ceased to exist entirely.

This list provides an overview of West Virginia state parks and a brief history of their development and governance since the first state park was dedicated in 1929. State parks range in size from 4 acres (2 ha) to 10,100 acres (4,087 ha). Of the 37 state parks governed by the WVDNR Parks and Recreation Section, 10 are lodge/resort state parks, 25 are cabin, camping, and day-use state parks, and 2 are rail trails.

Overview

West Virginia's state parks are governed by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) Parks and Recreation Section, which is under the jurisdiction of the West Virginia Department of Commerce. The WVDNR Parks and Recreation Section manages a system of 37 state parks (including two rail trails) and eight state forests totaling around 164,000 acres (66,368 ha) of land, which consists of nearly 12,000 acres (4,856 ha) of developed lands with recreational facilities and nearly 152,000 acres (61,512 ha) of undeveloped land. In total, West Virginia has over 1.6 million acres (6,475 km²) of state and federal protected lands. State parks and forests also feature more than 1,400 miles (2,253 km) of hiking trails across 45 areas.

There are state parks in 30 of West Virginia's 55 counties with Pocahontas County having the most at five. WVDNR divides the state into six regional districts to administer its state parks, forests, and wildlife management areas. The largest state park by area is Watoga at 10,100 acres (4,087 ha), and Fairfax Stone and Tu-Endie-Wei are the smallest at four acres (1.6 ha). Four state parks have U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dams or reservoirs: Beech Fork, Bluestone, Stonewall Jackson Lake, and Tygart Lake. Nine state parks feature New Deal-era buildings and structures completed between 1933 and 1942; Lost River has the most with 78. Cathedral is the only state park designated a National Natural Landmark, and Grave Creek Mound is the only state park to have ever been designated a National Historic Landmark. Stonewall Jackson Lake is the first and only West Virginia state park to be developed, constructed, financed, and operated through a public–private partnership.

As of 2016, the WVDNR Parks and Recreation Section directly employed more than 400 full-time and around 1,000 seasonal and summer employees who serviced approximately 7.1 million visitors (65% state residents and 35% out-of-state). WVDNR Parks and Recreation Section personnel maintain over 2.5 million square feet (232,258 m²) of indoor space in more than 1,500 buildings in West Virginia state parks and forests, which have an inventory of 818 lodge rooms, 369 cabins, 1,522 campsites, 144 picnic shelters, and 549 playground units. The total economic impact of West Virginia state parks and forests annually is between US$160.5 million and $189.5 million and for every $1 of general tax revenue provided to state parks and forests in 2016, $13.15 on average was generated in fresh revenue for the state. In 2016, visitors to state parks and forests spent $226.5 million throughout the state, of which 46% ($103.6 million) was spent by out-of-state visitors. The total economic activity attributed to visitors of state parks and forests in 2016 totaled between $213.4 million and $248.7 million.

History

West Virginia's lumber and mineral exploitation had caused tremendous damage to much of its natural environment by the early 20th century. The state recognized the need to designate and protect lands worthy of conservation, and in 1925 the West Virginia Legislature established the West Virginia State Forest, Park and Conservation Commission to assess the state's opportunities and needs for forests, parks, game preserves, and recreational areas. West Virginia's state park system began to take shape in January of that year, when the Commission purchased land in Pocahontas County for a wildlife and timber preserve that later developed into Watoga.

In their report to the Legislature in 1927, the Commission recommended that scenic natural areas be acquired and administered by a State Park System under the State Game and Fish Commission and that historical monuments be administered by a State Monuments System. They also identified a list of potential scenic and historic state park sites. One of these recommended sites became West Virginia's first state park, Droop Mountain Battlefield, also in Pocahontas County. The park was acquired in 1928 and dedicated on July 4, 1929, to commemorate one of the largest battles in West Virginia during the American Civil War. Four other historic locations recommended by the commission had already been established and would later become state parks; the earliest of these was the Point Pleasant Monument (now Tu-Endie-Wei), which had been acquired by the state in 1901 and dedicated in 1909.

The Legislature established the West Virginia Conservation Commission Division of State Parks in 1933 to manage the state's growing park system, and to leverage the resources and expertise of the National Park Service (NPS), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and other New Deal-era programs for further park development. By 1945, the Division of State Parks had expanded to 13 state parks with the addition of its first USACE reservoir park at Tygart Lake. Because African Americans were denied access to West Virginia's state parks and forests, the Division of State Parks created the only state park on the basis of racial segregation, Booker T. Washington State Park, in 1949. African Americans were restricted from the remainder of the state park and forest systems until the park and forest systems' integration following the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the United States Supreme Court in May 1954.

By 1950, the Division of State Parks was operating 16 state parks totaling 35,973 acres (14,558 ha) and by 1954, the state had expanded to 20 state parks totaling 40,355 acres (16,331 ha). That year, the NPS noted that West Virginia had made "large percentage gains" in adding refreshments facilities to its park system, which totaled 11. Revenue bonds allowed the park system to expand and upgrade recreational facilities and lodging throughout the 1950s, and by 1960, the Division of State Parks was operating 24 state parks consisting of 40,987 acres (16,587 ha). During the 1960s, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) federal loan program allowed the state to add three new parks to its system: Canaan Valley Resort, Pipestem Resort, and Twin Falls Resort. Visitors to West Virginia state parks and forests totaled 4.3 million by 1968 and almost 5 million in 1971. Following the Legislature's passing of the Economic Development Act of 1985, the West Virginia Division of Parks and Recreation was transferred from the West Virginia Conservation Commission to the West Virginia Department of Commerce, where it remains today. The most recent additions to the West Virginia state park system, Stonewall Jackson Lake and North Bend Rail Trail, were added in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

Current state parks

Former state parks

See also

• List of West Virginia state forests
• List of West Virginia wildlife management areas
• West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
• West Virginia State Wildlife Center

Explanatory notes

References

Bibliography

External links

• Media related to State parks of West Virginia at Wikimedia Commons