In between two protected forests, Droop Mountain in West Virginia is a state park with beautiful views, especially of the night sky!
Images by Matthew Durfee
Droop Mountain is one of the places you can go in West Virginia to get an "up on top of it all" feeling. It has an elevation of about 3,600 feet and is in between Calvin Price State Forest and Monongahela National Forest.
Although it's actually a rather small mountain, it was the first state park established in West Virginia. And its historical associations earned it a beautiful lookout tower.
The top of the mountain provides a great vantage point for looking out over the Greenbrier Valley — and, we hardly need to say, the changing leaves make for an incredible sight in the fall.
Next to the tower is one of West Virginia's signature "Almost Heaven" photo ops with a wooden swing.
If you're interested in the history here (and there's plenty of it!), you can visit the on-site museum and read the various descriptive plaques posted around the park.
Options for places to eat are somewhat limited in this area, but there's a fairly new grill pub at Hillsboro (a 5-minute drive), and you can find a few restaurants in Marlinton, about 20 minutes away.
Hiking at Droop Mountain
The trails in this park are fairly short. They're all out-and-back trails of no more than a mile and a half total. Most of them are relatively easy, although a couple do involve steep sections.
For some other hiking options, you might combine a visit to this park with one to the nearby Watoga State Park. And Watoga is a good place to stay if you want to camp or rent a cabin, as there are no accommodations at Droop Mountain.
Beartown State Park is also just down the road, with its easy boardwalk through interesting rock formations.
A Dark Sky Park
In 2021, the above-mentioned Watoga State Park applied for recognition from the International Dark Sky Association. And when Watoga was awarded Dark Sky Park status, Droop Mountain and Calvin Price State Forest were too!
Although there isn't a campground here for sleeping under the stars, it can be worth your while to hang around into the evening hours for the view.
Keep an eye on the Facebook page that posts events and photos for stargazing at all three parks. Some of the nighttime photos taken over the Droop Mountain lookout tower are truly dazzling!
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