Week in West Virginia

Best Things Nearby:
Blackwater Falls State Park, Seneca Rocks and Caverns Canaan Valley State Park

Best Things About the Resort:
Quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Spacious unit with fully equipped kitchen. Balcony with great view of the mountains.

Resort Experience:
All the units at the Land of Canaan Vacation Resort have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. One bedroom has a queen-sized bed, TV, dresser, and closet, and the other bedroom has two twin beds, dresser, and closet. They are both located upstairs. There is also a bathroom with tub and shower, vanity and toilet upstairs.

Downstairs there is a full-sized washer and dryer behind closet doors as soon as you walk in. To the left is a bathroom with a whirlpool bath and shower, vanity, and toilet.

The kitchen has a full-size refrigerator, stove with oven, microwave, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. The kitchen was fully stocked with table service for six and many pots and pans and utensils. There is a dining room table that accommodates six people.

The living room has two sofas - one is a queen-sized sleeping sofa, one chair, TV with VCR and stereo and a gas fireplace. There is a balcony off the living room with two chairs. We sat out there as much as possible to enjoy the quiet and the beautiful view of the mountains.

There are air-conditioning units in the master bedroom and the living room. We visited in August, and we never used the air-conditioning. There was always a cool breeze that moved through the rooms. Overall, the unit was in very good condition and very clean. At the resort there is an outdoor heated pool but you need to bring your own towels. It’s open from 10am to 10pm. There’s a children’s playground, two tennis courts, miniature golf course, basketball hoop, two shuffleboard courts, charcoal grills and picnic tables. You can borrow tennis racquets, basketballs etc., for 2-hour periods. When we visited they weren’t enforcing that rule; they let us borrow equipment as long as we wanted. In the office building, there’s a recreation room with four arcade games, ping-pong tables, sofas, and TV, vending machines, and many books and puzzles you can borrow. They have a very good selection of videos you can borrow at no charge. The resort offers activities Monday through Friday. Horseback riding is available behind the resort for $25 per hour. Three people in our family went and had a terrific time!

There is a starter kit of laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, four rolls of toilet tissue and trash bags. The water is extremely soft which means you use less detergent and we had more than enough for the week. There are no hair dryers. There’s an excellent book in the unit with any information you may need: day trips with maps, restaurants with menus, churches, etc. There’s a grocery store 9 miles away. There are many parks nearby to enjoy hiking and water sports.

This is a great place to go if you want to relax and enjoy the quiet and the beautiful scenery.

Click on this link to take a virtual tour - www.landofcanaan.com

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

This restaurant is located above Harper's Old Country Store, which was built in 1902. They're open for lunch and dinner. The menu has pizza, salads, sandwiches, and hot subs. I had the chef salad, and the four others in my family had a variety of sandwiches, and everyone enjoyed their meal. My sister had the apple dumpling for dessert, which is their specialty, and she said it was very good.

There is an inside dining room, as well as an outside porch. We sat outside so we could enjoy the view of the Seneca Rocks. The waitress was extremely friendly and helpful. The food was basic but very good and reasonably priced.

This is a visitors' center at the base of Seneca Rocks. This is a great place to take photos of the rocks and use their telescope to view the rocks up close. There is much information on the history and geology of the area. There are interactive displays and computers for anyone to use. There’s a children’s play area with books, crayons, and toys. Restrooms, vending machines, and a gift shop are available.

The Sites Homestead is located on the property. It was built in 1839 and renovated in 1990. There are beautiful gardens surrounding the home. There is a 1.5-mile trail that takes you 1,000 feet up the rocks. It was a difficult hike for some of us, especially in the humidity, but it was worth it to reach the platform and see the beautiful views. There are a few benches on the trail to rest.

The center is open from 9am to 4:30pm daily.

Seneca Caverns are located on Route 33; 35 miles west of Elkins. These are West Virginia’s largest caverns. The caverns were discovered in 1760. During the 1600 and 1700’s the Seneca Indians used the caverns as refuge and we can still see the smoke stained walls. The tour lasts about 45 minutes. There are a lot of steps and it’s slippery walking in many areas. There are stalactites and stalagmites and flowstone. There’s a beautiful underground water pool called Mirror Lake and the Grand Ballroom is great. There are a lot of interesting formations. It’s a constant 54 degrees, so you might want to bring your jacket. The tour guide did a nice job explaining the history of the caverns.

There is gemstone mining on site. You purchase a bag of sand with "gems" or arrowheads for $4 to $9 per bag and sift through the sand for your treasure. My nieces loved this and were pleasantly surprised with the large amount of arrowheads and nice stones they received.

There is a gift shop with the usual assortment of souvenirs. A log cabin restaurant is next to the caverns. We purchased ice cream cones and sat on the rocking chairs and enjoyed the view.

Blackwater Falls State Park is a beautiful quiet park with many things to do. Blackwater Falls is the first stop you’ll want to make in the park. The falls plunge five stories, and there’s an 8-mile gorge. There’s a wooden boardwalk with many steps leading to the falls and platforms at different levels so you can see the falls at different angles and take photos. The falls are just breathtaking. There is a gift shop and snack bar at the start of the boardwalk. There are miles of hiking trails. We went on a few of them and saw some deer and another, smaller waterfall. We were the only people on the trails. It was very peaceful.

We walked to a viewing platform behind the lodge and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Lake Pendleton is in the park, where there is boating, swimming, and fishing. You can also rent bicycles. There are plenty of areas with picnic tables so you can enjoy a picnic. We really enjoyed our time we spent in the park. There is no admission fee.