Best Fall color this weekend is high up!
Itβs only the first week of Octoberand with the unusually warm start to the monthFall color is in short supply locally. In order to see some beautiful foliage displays we need to take a trip upward…way up.
To Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia at over 4,800 feet in elevation. Even with the warmth locally, temperatures at night up here have consistently fallen into the 40s and even 30s and color is set to peak this weekend.
This high point gets its name from the abundance of red spruce at the summitbut there plenty of deciduous trees providing a canopy of gold, red and orange.
You can reach the top of Spruce Knob by driving up a leisurely road, and thereβs a parking lot at the topbut if youβre looking for a bigger challenge there are several trails that provide several miles of hiking.
A short climb up the observation tower at the top will provide a spectacular view.
Whatβs great about this site is that even after the leaves peak up at the top here the view of the valley down below will remain vibrant for another couple of weeks.
And while colors are peaking at 4,800 feet this weekend.the valleys down below including around Seneca Rocks still have a ways to go
But if you are planning a trip up here this weekenda word of warningyouβll need the winter jacket! Temperatures in the 40s will feel like 30s with gusty winds, and some snowflakes are even possible by Sunday.
My trip started in Charleston, went up I-79 and then east on US 33 through Buckhannon and Elkins. I made a right onto Route 28 at Seneca Rocks and then up Briery Gap Road to the summit of the ridge.
The best color I saw by far was in the Monongahela National Forestbetween Elkins and Seneca Rocks on Route 33 and between Huttonsville and Thornwood on Route 250.
And if hiking and cold weather isnβt your cup of tea you can always take in the Fall Foliage with one of the train rides in the area, including the new Greenbrier Express that travels along the Greenbrier River between Cass and Durbin.
