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Blackwater Falls State Park

Named for the amber waters of Blackwater Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park is located in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia.

Blackwater Falls, a 57-foot sheer drop waterfall, is where the Blackwater River transforms from a leisurely, winding stream through the Canaan Valley into a rugged whitewater river that courses through Blackwater Canyon. Owing to a profusion of spruce and hemlock trees along its course, the leaching of tannins from the decaying leaves of vegetation adjoining the stream impart a tea color to the water.

The Blackwater River and its tributaries are one of the most photogenic in the state because of its remoteness and its never-ending cascades. On an expedition of the Canaan Valley and the upper watershed of the Blackwater River in 1852, Philip Pendleton Kennedy wrote in The Blackwater Chronicle: A Narrative of and Expedition into the Land of Canaan, “Perhaps in all this broad land of ours, whose wonders are not yet half-revealed, no scene more beautifully grand ever broke on the eye of poet or painter, historian or forester.” That still reverberates true today.

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Blackwater Falls

Blackwater Falls features a sheer drop of 57 feet.

Falls of Elakala

Falls of Elakala is a series of four waterfalls along Shay Run: No. 1, a sheer drop of 20 feet; No. 2, a cascade of 18 feet; No. 3, a cascade of 15 feet; No. 4, a cascade of 25 feet.

Fall Run Falls

Fall Run Falls is a series of two waterfalls along Falls Run: Lower Falls, a cascade of 17 feet; Upper Falls, a cascade of 25 feet.

Pendleton Run Falls

Pendleton Run Falls is a series of five waterfalls along Pendleton Run: No. 1, a drop of 8 feet from the spillway; No. 2, a cascade of 20 feet; No. 3, a cascade of 15 feet; No. 4, a cascade of 20 feet; No. 5, a cascade of 20 feet.

Blackwater Falls Overlooks

Two areas provide overlooks of Blackwater Falls. From the western side, a series of steps leads from the gift shop down to several overlooks. On the other side, the .1-mile-long Gentle Trail connects to an overlook from the roadway to the lodge.

Elakala Trail

The Elakala Trail is a .2-mile trail that connects the lodge with Canaan Loop Road and the Balanced Rock Trail. It crosses over the Falls of Elakala No. 1 via a bridge.

Lindy Point Trail

The Lindy Point Trail is a .8-mile in-and-out trail that connects with Canaan Loop Road and Lindy Point, one of the best overlooks of the Blackwater Gorge.

(304) 259-5216

From WV Route 32 in Davis, follow Blackwater Falls Road for 1.2 miles.

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