Hiking Blackwater Falls and Elakala Falls
West Virginia Travelog #13
Blackwater Falls State Park, WV - Mon, 18 Sep 2023. 3pm
At Blackwater Falls State Park today we did more than take selfies on the selfie swing. For sure we didn't drive 3.5 hours out from our hotel in Beckley just for that. No, we came out here for hiking. Specifically for waterfall hiking. And for that Blackwater Falls State Park does not disappoint. "Falls" is its middle name!
The eponymous Blackwater Falls is reached via a short trail. Or rather, the viewpoints for Blackwater Falls are reached via a short trail. The falls itself is thundering with water from the rains yesterday and today. It would be dangerous to get anywhere close to it at water level.
One interesting thing about the water in the Blackwater River is its amber color. At first I thought the streaks of brown ("amber" if you're being poetic) were from mud and silt churned up by the recent rains. A sign at the park informed us that this water has an amber color all the time. The color comes from the large amount of certain tannins in the water that come from trees like red spruce and eastern hemlock, and sphagnum moss, that grow abundantly in its watershed.
At 56' tall Blackwater Falls is not that high- by western US standards- but its width and flow are significant. It's not the only falls in the park, though. We hiked a smaller falls, as well: Elakala Falls.
The trail to Elakala Falls meanders through the forest near the park's lodge then crosses the stream on a bridge (visible in the photo) above the falls. These falls are maybe 20' high but very elegant. Reaching the spot below the falls required a bit of daring due to the slickness of the rocks and mud on this second rainy day in a row. I went down while Hawk stayed up. Potentially we could have scrambled even further down, as Elakala Creek plunges hundreds of feet into the canyon to the Blackwater River below, but the trails for that were even dicier. We didn't feel the need to risk that when there were yet other falls in the park to visit. Stay tuned for those!
Blackwater Falls State Park, WV - Mon, 18 Sep 2023. 3pm
At Blackwater Falls State Park today we did more than take selfies on the selfie swing. For sure we didn't drive 3.5 hours out from our hotel in Beckley just for that. No, we came out here for hiking. Specifically for waterfall hiking. And for that Blackwater Falls State Park does not disappoint. "Falls" is its middle name!
The eponymous Blackwater Falls is reached via a short trail. Or rather, the viewpoints for Blackwater Falls are reached via a short trail. The falls itself is thundering with water from the rains yesterday and today. It would be dangerous to get anywhere close to it at water level.
One interesting thing about the water in the Blackwater River is its amber color. At first I thought the streaks of brown ("amber" if you're being poetic) were from mud and silt churned up by the recent rains. A sign at the park informed us that this water has an amber color all the time. The color comes from the large amount of certain tannins in the water that come from trees like red spruce and eastern hemlock, and sphagnum moss, that grow abundantly in its watershed.
At 56' tall Blackwater Falls is not that high- by western US standards- but its width and flow are significant. It's not the only falls in the park, though. We hiked a smaller falls, as well: Elakala Falls.
The trail to Elakala Falls meanders through the forest near the park's lodge then crosses the stream on a bridge (visible in the photo) above the falls. These falls are maybe 20' high but very elegant. Reaching the spot below the falls required a bit of daring due to the slickness of the rocks and mud on this second rainy day in a row. I went down while Hawk stayed up. Potentially we could have scrambled even further down, as Elakala Creek plunges hundreds of feet into the canyon to the Blackwater River below, but the trails for that were even dicier. We didn't feel the need to risk that when there were yet other falls in the park to visit. Stay tuned for those!