Country roads are the best roads – in West Virginia, at least – which is why you’ll want to add this rural road trip to some of the state’s best countryside hidden gems to your itinerary! With six stops in just over an hour of drive time, this road trip packs a punch (in terms of natural beauty and historic significance) without costing you a fortune in gas … which is yet another reason to love it.
- Union
Rural Heritage Quilt Trail / Facebook Any trip through the West Virginia countryside should arguably start in Monroe County, somewhere along the Heritage Quilt Trail that surrounds Union, West Virginia. Green pastures, rolling hills, rugged mountains, old barns … it doesn’t get much more beautiful or peaceful than this! Union, WV 24983, USA
- Cooks Old Mill
Kyle Dugger / Google Maps Once you’ve driven some of Monroe County’s backroads, point your car toward Cooks Old Mill in Greenville. This quiet, privately owned historical park is a beautiful, peaceful, picturesque place for a stroll. Cooks Old Mill, WV-122, Greenville, WV 24945, USA
- John Henry Historical Park
Dave Bieri / NPS Almost everyone in America has heard the legendary folk tale of John Henry, the man who raced a machine to tunnel through a mountain. But almost no one realizes that this fabled event is said to have taken place right here in West Virginia. John Henry Historical Park, 3262 State Route 3 and 12, Talcott, WV 24981, USA
- Hinton Railroad Museum
Hinton Railroad Museum / Facebook The least rural of all these rural road trip stops, the Hinton Railroad Museum is still worth including on this trip because of what it represents: the massive amount of miles of railroad track winding through even the most remote regions of West Virginia. Hinton Railroad Museum, 206 Temple St, Hinton, WV 25951, USA
- Historic Subsistence Farms
Dave Bieri / NPS Countryside hidden gems - they sound so idyllic, don’t they? They are, but living in the remote back country in days gone by was also hard. Get a feel for that side of the story at two historic subsistence farms along the route to Sandstone Falls, the Trump-Lilly Farm and the Richmond-Hamilton Farm. Richmond Hamilton Farm, Hinton, WV 25951, USA
- Sandstone Falls
Mike Baum / AllTrails Sandstone Falls is the most famous of the hidden gems on our list, but it’s still well worth a stop while you’re in the area! Spanning the New River as it does, it’s the Mountain State’s widest waterfall. Sandstone Falls, West Virginia 25918, USA
And there you have it, a short and sweet road trip packed with out of the way natural and historic treasures.
Google Maps
You know what they always say … “Country roads, take me home to the place I belong: West Virginia!” Map this road trip for yourself on Google Maps.
Rural Heritage Quilt Trail / Facebook
Any trip through the West Virginia countryside should arguably start in Monroe County, somewhere along the Heritage Quilt Trail that surrounds Union, West Virginia. Green pastures, rolling hills, rugged mountains, old barns … it doesn’t get much more beautiful or peaceful than this!
Union, WV 24983, USA
Kyle Dugger / Google Maps
Once you’ve driven some of Monroe County’s backroads, point your car toward Cooks Old Mill in Greenville. This quiet, privately owned historical park is a beautiful, peaceful, picturesque place for a stroll.
Cooks Old Mill, WV-122, Greenville, WV 24945, USA
Dave Bieri / NPS
Almost everyone in America has heard the legendary folk tale of John Henry, the man who raced a machine to tunnel through a mountain. But almost no one realizes that this fabled event is said to have taken place right here in West Virginia.
John Henry Historical Park, 3262 State Route 3 and 12, Talcott, WV 24981, USA
Hinton Railroad Museum / Facebook
The least rural of all these rural road trip stops, the Hinton Railroad Museum is still worth including on this trip because of what it represents: the massive amount of miles of railroad track winding through even the most remote regions of West Virginia.
Hinton Railroad Museum, 206 Temple St, Hinton, WV 25951, USA
Countryside hidden gems - they sound so idyllic, don’t they? They are, but living in the remote back country in days gone by was also hard. Get a feel for that side of the story at two historic subsistence farms along the route to Sandstone Falls, the Trump-Lilly Farm and the Richmond-Hamilton Farm.
Richmond Hamilton Farm, Hinton, WV 25951, USA
Mike Baum / AllTrails
Sandstone Falls is the most famous of the hidden gems on our list, but it’s still well worth a stop while you’re in the area! Spanning the New River as it does, it’s the Mountain State’s widest waterfall.
Sandstone Falls, West Virginia 25918, USA
Google Maps
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