Blackwater Falls
“Here the waters of Blackwater River drop over a broken ledge to dash among large boulders 63 feet below, whence they continue their rushing foaming course down Blackwater Canyon. A footpath leads (L) among thickets of laurel and hemlock to a clearing with a fine view of the rugged beauty of the falls and canyon.”- West Virginia Writers’ Project, 1941
Blackwater Falls, photo by Jane Pritchard, Oct. 2009.
At Blackwater Falls State Park, visitors can take a paved, wheelchair accessible hike to an overlook near the crest of the falls. From another end of the park, vistors can also take a short hike to the “headland overlooking the gorge. Rising 1,000 feet above the rushing stream, the sheer green-clad walls are crowned with jagged crests of rock and cut by steep ravines down which small streams cascade to join the river. The Blackwater River, named for the dark hue of its waters acquired in running through coal beds and laurel thickets, winds down the gorge in a series of rapids and cascades, falling 1,350 feet in 10 miles.” -West Virginia Writers’ Project, 1941
Aerial View of Blackwater Falls, date unknown. From the WV & Regional History Collection.
See a video of the Blackwater Falls Resort by WCHS News.
People Standing Atop 65 Foot Tall Blackwater Falls, date unknown. From the WV & Regional History Collection, WVU.
Winter View of Frozen Blackwater Falls; ca. 1924. Photo courtesy of the West Virginia & Regional History Collection, WVU.
For more information, call Blackwater Falls State Park: 304-259-5216
sources: Kennedy, Philip P. The Blackwater Chronicle. New York: Radford, 1853, Reprint, West Virginia University Press, 2002.
Kennedy-Venable, Norma Jean “Blackwater Falls.” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 27 December 2010. Web.
Category: Deep Creek Lake to Elkins
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