Charleston, WV Road Trips

Flowing west from New River Gorge National Park an hour's drive east of Charleston, the gorge of the New River gets wider and shallower after the New River meets the Gauley River to become the Kanawha River 37 miles east of downtown Charleston. It is in this steep valley where downtown Charleston is sandwiched in the narrow strips of flat land between river and cliff, an appropriately striking setting for the capital of the 'Mountain State', with striking views of the downtown skyline while driving in from every direction. The steep hillsides covered with greenery give Charleston a laid-back, lush atmosphere especially in summer. These steep hillsides make development difficult and costly, so Charleston has a much more dense, urban character than one may expect for a metropolitan area of roughly 250,000. Its location an hour west of New River Gorge National Park makes it the closest large city to the park, putting Charleston in proximity of numerous outdoor recreational attractions; it's also a major hub of commerce for the vast rural southern coalfields regions of West Virginia, as well as the sparsely populated rural lands and cute tiny towns to the north, and Mountain Lakes region to the northeast. Charleston has experienced noticeable population decline through the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st, as the United States has de-industrialized, and Charleston has some resemblances to a rust belt city despite being farther south.

1 West Virginia State Capitol, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard E, ☏ +1 304 558-4839. M-Sa 9AM-7PM, Su noon-7PM. Guided tours available M-F 9AM-3:30PM. The largest state capitol dome in the country, covered in 23-karat gold leaf. The complex also contains the Culture Center, the Governor's Mansion and the Holly Grove Mansion, as well as many historical statues on the grounds, which is a registered with the National Register of Historic Places and is odd among state capitols (alongside Oklahoma City) in not being located downtown. 2 The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, 300 Leon Sullivan Way, ☏ +1 304 561-3575. W-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM. Two floors of interactive science exhibits, an art gallery, and giant-screen films and planetarium shows in the ElectricSky domed theater. Performance home of the West Virginia Symphony. Museum $9, add Planetarium Show $4. 3 West Virginia State Museum (West Virginia Culture Center), 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, ☏ +1 304 558-0220. M-Th 9AM-8PM, F Sa 9AM-6PM, Su noon-6PM. Three floors of exhibition space in the West Virginia State Museum, and research materials housed in the State Archives library. Free. 4 Charleston Dirty Birds, Appalachian Power Park, ☏ +1 304-344-BATS (2287). The local baseball team, a Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Games played from April through September. Tickets are $7 for one game, up to $490 for a season pass. 5 Craik-Patton House, ☏ +1 304 925-5341. Free. (updated Oct 2017) 6 Criel Mound, 301 7th Av (at the center of the South Charleston business district).

Charleston is home to 1 Kanawha State Forest a 9,300 acres (3,800 hectares) recreation area located near the community of Loudendale, West Virginia. There are many scenic walking, hiking, biking, and riding trails in the state forest. There is also an outdoor pool that is open in the summer, various camp sites, a shooting range, a small lake for fishing, and stables. Hunting and fishing are allowed in-season. Picnic shelters are available throughout the park and can be rented for parties. There are led walks at various times of the year, information on which is available on the website. Kanawha State Forest hosts an annual trail run called the "Dirty Dog 15K". There are also various parks throughout the city such as 2 Magic Island, a nice park located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers in The City of Charleston's West Side area which is a favorite haunt for runners, volleyball players, and frisbee lovers. It has a walking track, sand volleyball court, and picnic areas. 3 Coonskin Park, accessible from the Mink Shoals exit from I-79, features a golf course, athletic facilities and a small pond. 4 Wine Cellar Park on Dutch Hollow Rd in Dunbar has its namesake ruin of a wine cellar, as well as a small man-made lake. 5 Ridenour Park in Nitro also has a man-made lake. Cato Park in Charleston's Edgewood neighborhood has walking trails and athletic facilities. 6 Kanawha Blvd features a riverfront walking path its entire length through the city center, from the Kaufman Memorial Bridge in the East End to the Patrick Street Bridge in the West End.

Although it isn't exactly a capital of cuisine, Charleston is the capital of cuisine for West Virginia, with a variety of options catering to different tastes and budgets. One of the best things about eating here is that there are very few tourist traps, since major tourism in Charleston has not yet caught on. Unfortunately, the lack of tourism also means that the restaurants can be generic; chains like T.G.I. Friday's, Outback, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster are common. There are, however, some more unique local eateries: 1 Spring Hill Pastry Shop, 600 Chestnut St, South Charleston, ☏ +1 304-768-7397. Tu - Sa, 8AM- 5;30PM. A locally popular, family-owned bakeshop since 1948. (updated Jul 2024) 2 Rice Bowl, 121 Goff Mountain Road, ☏ +1 304 776-6888. Daily 11:30AM-10PM. In Cross Lanes. Chinese. 3 Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream, 225 Capitol St, ☏ +1 304 343-6488. Has various flavors, including new weekly sorbet and ice cream flavors. This shop also sells coffee and various lunch foods including soups and several vegetarian dishes. 4 Tudor's Biscuit World, 1506 Washington St E, ☏ +1 304-346-2008. 5:30AM-3PM. Local counter-serve chain featuring signature biscuits & other American classics from breakfast to dinner. Another location is located at 217 Lee St West. (updated Jul 2022) 5 Chow Thai, 426 1/2 B Shrewsbury St, ☏ +1 681-265-3800. 11:30AM-6PM. A limited menu of Thai classics & some updated items, served at a counter in a simple setting. (updated Jul 2022) 6 Super Weenie, 805 Quarrier Street. 11AM-3PM.

1 Pies & Pints, 222 Capitol Street, ☏ +1 304-342-7437. 11AM-11PM. Pizzeria chain offering an array of craft beers, plus specialty pizzas, salads & sandwiches. (updated Jul 2022) 2 Vino's Bar & Grill, 812 Kanawha Blvd, ☏ +1 681-205-2435. 4PM-2AM. (updated Jul 2022)

1 Sonesta ES Suites Charleston, 200 Hotel Circle, ☏ +1 304-345-4200. 2 Embassy Suites Charleston, 300 Court Street, ☏ +1 304-347-8700. 3 Charleston Marriott Town Center, 200 Lee Street East, ☏ +1 304-345-6500. A hotel in downtown Charleston offering a health club, meeting and event facilities, swimming pool and Whitewater Grille.

Charleston is accessible by three interstates: I-77 goes from Parkersburg in the northwest to Beckley and Bluefield in the south; I-64 goes from Huntington in the west to Beckley and Lewisburg in the southeast; and I-79 begins in Charleston and continues to Morgantown in the northeast. I-64 and I-77 run together along the West Virginia Turnpike, a toll road, from the far eastern end of Charleston to Beckley, and the Turnpike continues as I-77 to Princeton, near the state border with Virginia. However, tolls are not collected on the Turnpike in the immediate vicinity of Charleston; the nearest toll barrier is about 17 miles (27 km) south of downtown Charleston. US-60 and US-119 are the major US highways through Charleston. US-60 mostly parallels I-64 in West Virginia, except in the Beckley and New River Gorge National Park area to the east of Charleston, where US-60 stays well to the north of I-64. US-119 continues as a four-lane highway to the south, providing access to the towns of Madison, Logan and Williamson in the rugged coalfields of southern West Virginia and into Eastern Kentucky, connecting with US-23 in Pikeville, KY, 2 hours away. US-35 begins in Charleston's western suburb of Teays Valley at an intersection with US-60, crosses I-64, and follows the Kanawha River northwest as a four lane highway to Point Pleasant, and into southeastern Ohio, allowing access to the Hocking Hills region of Ohio and Columbus (2.5 hours away), and continuing directly to Dayton. 1 Yeager Airport (CRW IATA), 100 Airport Rd (near the junction of I-77 and I-64), ☏ +1 304 344-8033.

Most of Charleston's urban development is built along the banks of the Kanawha River in a linear fashion; thus, from the center of downtown, one can find 1960s-vintage suburbs within a 15 minute drive into the hills, but 30 minutes away along the river are also old industrial suburbs with housing stock as old as in the city center. I-64 crosses the Charleston area from east to west, roughly parallel to US-60 and the Kanawha River, crossing the river on 4 separate occasions until both highways deviate toward the west to the suburbs of Teays Valley and Hurricane, and eventually the Huntington metropolitan area. MacCorkle Ave. follows the south bank of the Kanawha River through most of the Charleston area, US-60 follows MacCorkle Ave. east until after South Charleston where it deviates, crossing the Patrick Street Bridge to the north side of the Kanawha River, where it continues east through downtown and eventually through the Kanawha Valley towards New River Gorge National Park. The South Side Bridge connects Dickinson Street downtown with MacCorkle Ave. via Ferry St and Thayer St, as well as to Loudon Heights Rd. and Bridge Rd. towards the Bridge Rd. business district in the South Hills. The southbound Kaufman Memorial Bridge (35th St) and northbound Bob Basil Memorial Bridge (36th St) connect the East End neighborhood and I-64/77 with the Kanawha City neighborhood. (Access to the bridges from I-64/77 westbound requires exiting at exit 97 and following Kanawha Blvd to a right turn on Chesapeake Av.