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The Eye of God at Newchurch in Pendle
St. Govor’s Well.
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Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
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Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
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Grasshopper Chapel and grounds.
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The Guy Bradley Visitor Center at Flamingo in Everglades National Park.
America’s First Game Warden Died Fighting for the Birds
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All the United States West Virginia

The Atlas Obscura Guide to West Virginia

112 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in West Virginia


places map stories lists leaderboard
Sponsored by logo

Cities

Top Cities
Fayetteville
Inside the Mothman Museum
Point Pleasant
Harpers Ferry
Big Apple Time Capsule
Martinsburg
Morgantown
West Virginia State Penitentiary
Moundsville
All Cities
  1. Alderson
  2. Charleston
  3. Eglon
  4. Fayetteville
  5. Grafton
  6. Green Bank
  7. Harpers Ferry
  8. Hillsboro
  9. Lewisburg
  10. Martinsburg
  11. Morgantown
  12. Moundsville
  13. Oak Hill
  14. Parkersburg
  15. Point Pleasant
  16. Shepherdstown
  17. Sutton
  18. Weston
  19. Wheeling

Popular Cities

Point Pleasant Fayetteville Harpers Ferry Moundsville Martinsburg Morgantown Charleston Alderson Parkersburg Hillsboro Shepherdstown Oak Hill Sutton Eglon Lewisburg Weston Green Bank Grafton Wheeling

Do, See, and Listen

Curated for You

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism logo
Plan Your Escape
ruins

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

This abandoned amusement park was built on a site with a dark history.

Story

How to Explore West Virginia’s Underground Wonders

A field guide to the most invigorating subterranean adventures in the Mountain State

Story

A Cultural Historian Explores an Old Mental Hospital, and Why They Scare Us

They are haunted, but not by ghosts.

geology

Lost World Caverns

Home of a 28-foot tall stalagmite known as the War Club.

Unusual Attractions in West Virginia

Off the Beaten Path

West Virginia’s New River Gorge Bridge is the longest steel bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

Lansing, West Virginia

Bridge Walk

In West Virginia, you can walk across the longest single-arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
Added By
Virginia Brown
Inside this farmhouse, Zona Heaster Shue, the Greenbrier Ghost, was murdered by her husband.

West Virginia

Greenbrier Ghost of Sam Black Church

Here lies Zona, whose ghostly testimony led to her husband’s murder conviction.

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
Added By
Virginia Brown
Peruse hundreds of antique, vintage, and locally made items at one of West Virginia’s oldest stores.

Alderson, West Virginia

Alderson’s Store

You can still shop in one of West Virginia’s oldest stores.

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
Added By
Virginia Brown
A celebrated architectural feat, the Blennerhassett hotel was adorned with elaborate window treatments, frescoes, and even a passenger elevator.

Parkersburg, West Virginia

The (Haunted) Blennerhassett Hotel

The oldest hotel in West Virginia is reportedly frequented by ghosts.

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
Added By
Virginia Brown
The Cathedral Café has been serving it’s community for more than 120 years.

Fayetteville, West Virginia

Cathedral Café

Soak in the sacred vibes at this beloved food and coffee hangout inside a former church.

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
Added By
Virginia Brown
The swing ride

Rock, West Virginia

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

This abandoned amusement park was built on a site with a dark history.

Added By
Kelsey Thomas
The main entrance into the Asylum.

Weston, West Virginia

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

A particularly creepy abandoned hospital that sparks interest for lovers of the supernatural.

Added By
Cynthia Pelayo
Inside the Mothman Museum

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Mothman Museum

A small storefront museum explores the history and myth of West Virginia's famous urban legend.

Added By
Jane Weinhardt Goldberg
See All 112 places

Explore the Map

Hidden Wonders

What Do You Want to Do in West Virginia

Ruins (8) History & Culture (8) Museums (10) Geology (5) Nature (4) Places To Stay (3)
West Virginia Department of Tourism logo

Adventure is in Our Nature

Plan Your Escape

West Virginia Stories

Articles and Podcasts

Podcast

Arthurdale

Hear the saga of an ambitious, government-backed homestead project that never quite lived up to its hype.

Read more
Written By
The Podcast Team
August 24, 2023
  • A Bridge Day base jumper.

    Podcast

    Embracing Adventure in Fayetteville

    Sponsored by GoUSA TV

  • Podcast

    The Greenbrier

    By The Podcast Team

  • Virginia Webb, right, and her husband, Carl, open up one of their 400 hives. The Webbs are one of the largest producers of honey in the Southeast.

    trees

    The Blue Ridge Honey Made ‘by Bees and Angels’

    By Rachel Kester

  • The author preps for the tasting.

    water

    What It's Like to Be a Water Judge

    By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

  • The recently dated Pitsenbarger Farm in Franklin, West Virginia, is on the state’s list of endangered properties.

    forests

    Why Trees Are the Most Reliable Historians of Early America

    By Isaac Schultz

  •  The Weston State Hospital, once (and again) known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

    abandoned

    A Cultural Historian Explores an Old Mental Hospital, and Why They Scare Us

    By Troy Rondinone

  • A cemetery surrounded by a coal mine in West Virginia.

    cemeteries

    The Mountaintop Cemeteries Surrounded by Coal Mines

    By Jessica Leigh Hester

Lists

12 Exciting Adventures in West Virginia: Wondrous and Worth a Visit

View List

20 Places to Visit Along West Virginia's Country Roads

View List

Itinerary

Although much of Appalachia’s old-growth forests have been destroyed, those that survive are glorious.

The Explorer’s Guide to Road Tripping Around Appalachia

The world still doesn’t quite know what to make of Appalachia.
View Itinerary

Order a 2025 West Virginia Vacation Guide

Order Now

West Virginia Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. rbt45769
    12
  2. Virginia Brown
    10
  3. blimpcaptain
    5
  4. thomasharper
    3
  5. readayy
    3

Places Edited

  1. rbt45769
    13
  2. paigeelizabeth3660
    13
  3. blimpcaptain
    12
  4. rugby007
    8
  5. littlebrumble
    8
Join the Ranks!
Improve the Atlas with edits and photos.

Places Visited

  1. back2silver
    92
  2. Back2silver
    78
  3. bpowell 37b04fb0
    51
  4. susannaholstein
    46
  5. Scriv
    46

Recent West Virginia Activity

  • roody2shoes

    wants to go to Alderson’s Store

    about 20 hours ago
  • rjpowell6

    wants to go to Cathedral Café

    about 14 hours ago
  • bmfeciura

    has been to John Brown's Fort

    about 11 hours ago
  • coloradomartini

    wants to go to Cathedral Café

    about 9 hours ago
  • blimpcaptain

    wants to go to 'Power'

    about 9 hours ago

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