Oak Hill, WV Road Trips

Main Street is the heart of downtown and the location of many area shops and restaurants. Storefronts are decorated with fodder shocks and bows during the autumn, and icicle lights and greenery at Christmas. 1 Lewis House, 214 W Main Street, ☏ +1 304-469-6200. Established in 1903, the Lewis House is a former funeral home that now serves as a museum space and also hosts classes. The Hank Williams Memorial is a plaque dedicated to the country music singer, who was pronounced dead in Oak Hill on January 1, 1953. 2 Oak Hill railroad depot. This part the area's coal heritage was built by the White Oak Railway around 1905. It closed in the 1980s. The depot now serves as the meeting place for the White Oak chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. (updated Jul 2022) Whipple Company Store, 612 and Scarbro Road, ☏ +1 304-465-0331. WV-in Scarbro. An impressive wooden structure built in the 1890s for the mining company; the store sold merchandise until the late 1980s, even after the mine closed in 1957. Today the building is a museum about the history of coal mining, coal miners, and their families. The small village of Minden (Minden Road, off WV-16) was a mining town in 1899, and still features examples of the company-built miners' homes. The mines themselves closed in the 1950s, and today the village - although it's only about 5 minutes outside Oak Hill - has a very different look than most small country towns. If you pay it a visit, drive slowly - the roads are narrow, with homes crowded close in, and young children are often playing in the streets.

Most of the whitewater rafting companies base themselves in adjacent Fayetteville, but if you don't want to go that far, there's one option in town. ACE Adventure Center, ☏ +1 304-469-2651, toll-free: +1-888-ACE-RAFT (223-7238). Minden Road in Minden. Offers part-day, full-day, double-run, overnight, and two-day trips on the New and Gauley Rivers, as well as horseback riding, mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, cave exploration, Alpine tower, paintball, fishing expeditions and massage. Lodging, shower and restroom facilities, dining hall and two stores on-site. $49-250. Oak Leaf Festival. Held in early September. Karaoke, parades, fireworks, crafts and vendors, car and bike show, art show, Saturday night cruise-in, street dances, chili cook-off, pageants, live entertainment.

El Bandido Restaurante, 2027 E Main Street, ☏ +1 681-823-5453. Try the margaritas. Large portions and salsa bar. Café One Ten, 110 W Main Street, ☏ +1 304-469-7657. Features a salad bar with soup and also steaks off the menu in kind of a modern understated ambience. OK Chinese Buffet, 359 Mall Rd, ☏ +1 304-465-8465. Daily buffet. (updated May 2020) Three Gables Club, ☏ +1 304-469-9345. Since 1935. (updated May 2020)

Holiday Lodge Hotel & Conference Center, 340 Oyler Avenue, ☏ +1 304-465-0571. 119 rooms. Indoor pool, whirlpool, two-story fitness center, racquetball court, game room. On-site restaurant and lounge. $89-109. Comfort Inn New River, 801 Mall Rd, ☏ +1 304-574-8096. Outdoor pool and breakfast buffet at this hotel hugging the highway practically in this narrow vale. $96.

Oak Hill is located on US-19 off I-77 and I-79, between Beckley and Sutton. Coming from the north, take I-79 exit 57; from the south, take I-77 exit 48. A taxi from Yeager Airport in Charleston to Oak Hill will cost you around $120; from Beckley will cost around $50.

Mountain Transit Authority, 1096 Broad Street in Summersville, +1 304-872-5872 or +1-877-712-9432. Daily bus service throughout Fayette County, as well as Greenbrier, Nicholas, Pocahontas and Webster counties.