Family, Adventure, Biking, History . . . WV

Family, Adventure, Biking, History . . . WV

by Lisa Strader

 If you are looking for some adventures you can enjoy with your kids, I would highly recommend putting on your hiking

shoes or loading up the bikes and heading to the New River Gorge National River (Park).  They have trails rated easy and easy to moderate for those with younger children and other trails rated moderate and moderate to difficult for the more adventurous families with older kids.

Recently, my husband, 9 year old daughter and I headed out for a family bike ride.  It truly was the perfect day. The weather was gorgeous, not cold, not hot.  The rushing water of the New River seemed to sparkle as the sun hit it and the flora is just beginning to emerge so the remnants of yesteryear were easily seen and explored.

Our family bike ride began near Thurmond, WV where we hopped onto the Southside Junction

Trail – a biking trail both my daughter  and I could handle. The trail meanders along the New River, crossing several beautiful creeks, following the path the trains of years-gone-by used to transport coal.

We biked about 2.5 miles out and parked our bikes to explore the remnants of the town of Rush Run. There we found a large row of beehive coke ovens, once used to burn the coal to create “coke” which was used in steel production. We enjoyed explaining to our 9-year-old that they were used to make “coke” – not Coke a Cola!

I think the best part of going on adventures with your kids is seeing things through their eyes.  Our daughter was very curious about the rail beds we were biking over and we stopped  and took a closer look at the old stone foundations and other ruins of the abandoned coal mining area (1890-1936).

One thing that definitely caught our eyes was the old galvanized wash tubs that were in abundance throughout our journey which  serve as a reminder of our coal mining history.  I am sure their “Saturday night baths” were the highlight of the week!

We enjoyed the views, exploring and the great family time with no television or video games!