Blackwater Falls State Park

Blackwater Falls State Park is located about two miles (3 km) southwest of Davis. It protects A rocky prominence near the center of the Falls divides its waters into a distinctive formation, rendering its images instantly recognizable. In winter, the Falls often ice over completely. A broad trail descends about from the Falls parking lot to a wooden walkway and overlook, while a much steeper trail extends beyond the basin below the Falls. On the opposite (east) side of the river, a longer trail ("Gentle Trail") also accesses the Falls from a higher vantage point. Other park trails and falls A nature trail near the park lodge leads to the more distant Lindy Point overlook, affording an excellent view south into the Canyon. There are several other smaller falls within the park. These chutes, cascades, and overhanging ledges on Falls Run (multi-ledge drop, 30 feet), Shay Run (Elakala Falls; 40 feet), and Pendleton Run (Pendleton Falls; plus cascades above and below) are accessible by trail. ==History==

at BFSP, shot using long exposure photography The name of the first white explorer to observe Blackwater Falls is not known. There was an oral tradition that it was the early hunter/explorer of the Potomac and Youghiogheny River watersheds Meshach Browning (1781–1859), but while this is plausible there is no documentary evidence for it. Travel writer Philip Pendleton Kennedy described the Blackwater Canyon for a popular readership in 1853 but somehow managed to miss the Falls. The same year however, his companion and cousin, the illustrator David Hunter Strother ("Porte Crayon"), published "The Virginia Canaan" about his adventures in the Blackwater Country and the Falls entered the literature for the first time. Strother also published a more lengthy description of his June 1852 visit in an article called "The Mountains". The Dobbin House was built near the Falls in 1858 and provided a popular lodge for visitors to the Falls during the 1860s and '70s. further popularized the site. At least four deaths have occurred at the falls. In 1933, a local was accidentally washed over the Falls during a flood. Beginning in the early 1930s, various leases and donations to the state from the West Virginia Power and Transmission Company (WVPTC), later called Allegheny Power Systems, which then owned much of Blackwater Canyon, protected and facilitated tourism at the Falls. The first of these (1934) resulted in the establishment and maintenance, by the West Virginia State Forest and Park Commission, of a scenic overlook at the head of the Canyon which included the celebrated Falls itself. In January 2002, Governor Bob Wise bought an additional along the river upstream of the falls from Allegheny Power and added them to the park. ==Amenities and recreation==

• Park lodge with 51 guest rooms • 39 cabins (13 modernized) • Campground with 65 campsites (30 have an electrical hookup) • Restaurant • Nature center - open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, exhibits about the park's natural history • Mountain biking • Cross-country skiing • Cross-country ski rentals in the winter • Hiking • Fishing in Pendleton Lake and the Blackwater River Accessibility Accessibility for the disabled was assessed by West Virginia University. While the park lodge is generally accessible, the 2005 assessment indicated some issues with telephone volume control, the height of door knobs, and the excessive slope of certain ramps. ==See also==