“Another day of paddling in West Virginia”
Overnight Lodging – Cabins on the Gorge
We spent the night at one of the deluxe cabins at Cabins on the Gorge; these cabins are the perfect base camp for your adventure while in the Summersville/New River Gorge area. The cabins are located directly across from the Adventures on the Gorge compound; Also various camping options are available at Adventures on the Gorge, they also have anything you might need from your adventures, from equipment to the adventure (whitewater rafting, canopy tours, ziplines, fly fishing, mountain biking, adventures on Summersville Lake) onsite great restaurant (Smokey’s on the Gorge) and pub (Chetty’s).
First stop – Summersville Lake
We headed out in a light rain to Summerville Lake, we decided to check out the whitewater launch site for the Gauley River, located just below the Summersville Dam, it was a busy day with all of the rafting companies conducting training trips for the upcoming busy Gauley season, we received some special info about our launch site last night at dinner which is located directly across from the lake office, this site is prefect for paddleboarding. We unloaded the boards and headed to the water, four mallards welcomed us as we paddled out, and they spent the rest of the morning in a nearby cove. The lake is very clear with 15+’ of visibility and the water was a warm 74 degrees. As we paddled towards to Battle Run area a light fog was coming off the water in a couple of the coves, the rain stopped and the sun came out, the day was looking up, we were on the water paddling and the sun was warning up the air temperature. Once we reached the Battle Run area, we headed across the lake to a couple of remote islands; we paddled around the islands close to shore exploring the waters edge. On our return trip to the launch site we paddled right in front of the Summersville Lake Dam. Once we returned to the launch site, Rasta and Bahama took a swim and short paddleboard ride; I really enjoyed paddling on Summersville Lake and plan to get back in a couple week to enjoy a fall foliage paddleboard session before the weather gets to cool. We loaded up and headed to Bluestone Lake our next stop on the tour. Summersville Lake is a US Army Corps of Engineers Lake.
Summersville Lake Area information:
Launch sites: Battle Run launch, Airport Road launch, we used a non marked launch site right across from the Summersville Lake office, this site is one of the best on the tour, I named the site Mallard Cove launch, when we arrived four mallards swam up and hung out with us during our visit
Paddleboard rental nearby or Bring Your Own Board: Adventures on the Gorge
Nearby lodging: Adventures on the Gorge (camping to deluxe cabins)
Dining options: Fat Eddies (fast food & ice cream), Smokey’s on the Gorge (casual/fine dining) Tutors Biscuit World (great breakfast) Dairy Queen (fast food) Pints & Pies (great pizza & brews)
Other nearby area activities: Almost limitless, the Gorge and Summerville area is an adventure sports Mecca, from whitewater to scuba diving, from canopy tours/ziplines to horseback riding, this area has it all for the adventure sports junkie.
Second stop – Bluestone Lake
We arrived at Bluestone mid afternoon and accessed the lake via the public access area off of US Route 20; the lake is long narrow lake surround by mountains. The water was a little cloudy for the rains earlier in the week and the water temperature was 70 degrees. We headed up the lake under the Route 20 bridge; about one mile from the bridge is the Bluestone Lake State Park which offers camping and a boat launch site. We headed back down under the bridge past the marina and then across the lake towards the Eastern Shore campsites, we were treated to a fly by of a Osprey and a couple geese. The campsites across the lake would be a great paddleboard camping adventure; these primitive sites would be prefect for packing up a pack and tent, and then paddle across the lake for an overnight. Camping permits can be purchased at the campground office. The town of Hinton is located just below the dam and the New and Greenbrier River merge just above the town. Some of trees were starting to change color which reminded us that fall is just around the corner. Bluestone Lake is a US Army Corps of Engineers Lake.
Bluestone Lake Information
Launch sites: Two launch sites in the state park and marina area; we used the public access area off Route 20, free
Paddleboard rental nearby or Bring Your Own Board: BYOB – bring your own board
Nearby lodging: Hinton (local motels), Bluestone State Park (camping) Eastern Shore Campground (primitive sites across the lake)
Dining options: Kirks (causal dining) Dairy Queen (best in West Virginia, great hot dogs and located waterfront on the New, great views) various other fast food also in Hinton, Green Valley Bar & Grill (casual dining on the Greenbrier River Route 3/12)
Other nearby area activities: Hiking, Kayaking, Fishing, Pipestem State Park (9 miles)
Third stop – Greenbrier River
We headed out from Hinton on Route 3/12 along the Greenbrier River, the river water levels were at spring levels, so we felt sure that we would be able to find a couple paddleboarding areas before we arrived at The Gee Farm in Trout, WV for the evening. We noticed a couple public access area that we prefect for a short session, but we were still looking for a special site, Jeff felt that we would be able to get just what we were looking for in Alderson, WV. We arrived at Bicentennial Park in Alderson, this is a nice park along Route 12 on the edge of town, the river flattens out for about a mile and was perfect for a sunset session, the sun was just starting to set behind Veterans Bridge in town, we launched and head out for our first river of the tour, the flat was flat, with about a three mile per hour current, we headed up the river, past the camp Greenbrier, a large flock of geese took to flight as we rounded the corner, we notice a small set of rapids to the right of a upcoming island, we decided to give the rapids a shot, we paddled upstream on the edge of the island until our fins began to reach to bottom, then we paddled out into the rapids, this was a great ride and we repeated the ride a couple of times before heading down the river to Veterans Bridge, the sunset was the prefect backdrop to another great day of paddling. We loaded up and headed to Trout, WV.
Greenbrier River/Alderson Area information:
Launch site: Bicentennial Park, Alderson, WV (free), also there are various other public access areas on the Greenbrier River along Route 12/3
Paddleboard rental nearby: BYOB – bring your own board
Nearby lodging: Alderson Motel
Dining options: a couple family restaurants in downtown Alderson, Subway
Other nearby area activities: Kayaking, Fishing and Hiking