Camping at Big Bend in West Virginia
This weekend I went camping with a neighbor in West Virginia. The Big Bend Campground is located inside of a huge river loop, and is surrounded by a 2200 foot high ridge. This ridge wrapped around the campground nearly 270 degrees. As part of the Spruce Knob – Seneca Rocks Recreational Area, this site offers a wide surrounding river with a looping hiking trail. The caretakers were splendid people and they lived on-site, year round, for the past eight years.
Being that the mid-Atlantic region has received more rain than normal, the river was high and filled with debris that washed down from the mountains. Many parts of the river had long stretched islands, often covered with trees blanketed by colorful spring flowers. Recent high water revealed down-washed debris that could be seen stacked against trees, sometimes five feet high. The campsite offers canoeing and kayaking for campers.
The rock faces, integral to this particular ridge, were mighty. Located within the Smoke Hole Canyon, the ominous and meandering mountain featured walls of the earth's crust crumpled by time and geological pressure. Constant streams of rocks and boulders fallen over time could be seen at every turn. This is no ridge at rest.
Website:
www.reserveamerica.com/camping/Big_Bend_Wv/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70235
Map: