Our state's tourism department is politically loaded, and for that reason tends to promote most southern tier locations in our state for tourism. While there are some nice locations to visit in the southern part of our state, it is the northern and eastern areas that are not only the most accessible for those residing in the large population centers of the East, of DC and Baltimore, and of Pittsburgh.
Located from just an hour to 7 hours from those populated areas are awesome destinations such as these:
Whitewater rafting on the Cheat and Youghiogheny (commonly called the Yough) rivers. Located near Morgantown in North Central West Virginia is the dramatic Cheat River Canyon, which is several hundred feet deeper than the one more commonly promoted for whitewater rafting and much closer to major population centers. Also located nearby is whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania and nearby Maryland...
http://www.cheatriveroutfitters.com/
http://www.laurelhighlands.org/outdo...ater%20rafting
While there, you can visit the famed Frank Lloyd Write's Fallingwater, and historic Fort Necessity.
There is hiking, biking, rock climbing, zipline riding and camping in the thousands of acres of protected mountain forests located near Morgantown...
http://www.coopersrockstateforest.com/
http://chestnutridgepark.com/index.html
And, you won't have to negotiate the notorious speed traps found in the southern part of our state to get there.
Morgantown is the location of our state's only national University, and home to the Mountaineers Athletic teams. Located just minutes from the beautiful Allegheny Mountain Range, there are an amazing number of things to do in Morgantown, from live entertainment virtually nightly in various venues, to Broadway plays and concerts on a regular basis, good restaurants, regular festivals, and easily our state's best athletic offerings.
http://www.morgantownwv.gov/
http://www.morgantownwv.gov/about/awards/
http://www.morgantownwv.gov/visitors/
This year's WVU Arts and Entertainment series is soon to be announced, but here are examples from past seasons...
http://events.wvu.edu/pastevents.shtml
Numerous championship golf coursed in the Morgantown area include those such as this...
Totally neglected by our biased state tourism office is the incredible Oglebay Park near Wheeling, which boasts a world class resort located in the middle of the world's best municipal park. A terrific resort that features championship golf courses, swimming, tennis, horseback riding, a ski slope, driving range, a complete zoo with a miniature railroad for the kids, a museum, acres of awesome flowers, a museum, and observatory, as well as the usual spa amenities. Also located nearby is historic Victorian Wheeling, with historic archetecture, and the world's best fish sandwiches at Colemans Fish.
http://www.oglebay-resort.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/victorian-ar...eling-wheeling
Also largely neglected by our state governmen't tourism office is our lovely Eastern Panhandle, home to Harpers Ferry, historic Shepherdstown, and places like the Bavarian Inn.