"Never take the main roads, they're the future with their stores, offices and service stations. Always travel the backroads. You can see the future tomorrow but backroads are the past and someday they may be gone. On backroads you can see old weathered barns with wagons and horse drawn hay rakes. There are meadows fenced with old chestnut rails and creeks that bubble and cascade over rocks that have never known pollution. There's a part of our heritage on our backroads that no pen or camera will ever capture. There are cows wading in a creek, sharing a 'deep hole' with native trout. You may have to stop occasionally to let a mother grouse herd her little ones across the road or a deer might stop grazing in a roadside meadow long enough to watch you go by. The old timer you'll pass will throw up his hand and if you've got time, he'll stop and talk 'a spell.'

You'll not get anywhere in a hurry on a backroad, only the future's in a hurry. Backroads are part of the past and what they offer most is time, time to enjoy the present and get a glimpse of times gone by."

- Bob Heafner
Publisher of 'The Mountain Laurel'

This is a recommended Road Trip that will impress you with the way things were and the way things are! Pack a lunch. Take a cooler full of Root Beers. You'll find picnic tables somewhere along the way. Enjoy a day tooling around Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.

http://www.mtnlaurel.com

Plan #2 White Water Rafting

The excitement of the New River Gorge is worth coming to the mountains of West Virginia. Thousands of guests to West Virginia have taken the opportunity to spend time on the river and we recommend the "Rivermen" from firsthand experience. Their extensive web site will tell you all about it.

http://www.rivermen.com

Plan #3 Out Door Drama in the Mountains

Always take a sweater to any night time event because no matter how hot the day is, the night air in the mountains will require a jacket or sweater. (We take blankets too)

You will not be disappointed with the Out Door Drama in the beautiful Ampi -Theater at Grandview. You will be missing out if you don't go early and go to the Over-Look areas to see the New River Gorge from a spectacular vantage point.

http://www.theatrewestvirginia.com

Plan #4 Hiking, Camping, Picnicking, and Wading in the Creek.

The trout stream is stocked, the water falls allows you to sit on the rocks as cool mountain water splashes by, or you can look for the marked trails to hike. Adventuresome enough to bring your tent and spend a night under the stars: that would be a great outing to remember, and then return to Eads Mill for a hot shower!

http://www.campcreekstatepark.com

Plan #5 Mountain Biking

This is just one of the locations to Mountain Bike. This West Virginia Park is well maintained and a treat for walking, hiking, fishing, picnicking, or biking. Hint, it is just a few miles from the Out Door Drama at Grandview. Spend the day between the two parks.

http://outdoortravels.com

Plan #6 Winterplace Ski Resort

Just 15 miles from Eads Mill is Winterplace. Winterplace rests on the summit of Flat Top Mountain, the southernmost range of the Allegheny Mountains. Jump on I-77 North, and you will cross the mountain alongside the resort at more than 3,500-feet above sea level. Winterplace Ski Resort is the most accessible skiing area in West Virginia -- even during the most-severe winter snow storms.

http://www.skiingwv.com

Plan #7 Organ Caves

Organ Cave is a National Natural Landmark and National Historic Landmark. Organ Cave is the second largest commercial cave in the eastern United States and is 150 feet below the surface, with a total depth of 486 feet. Many passages have never been entered.

http://www.organcave.com