My first time riding in West Virginia was in July 2003. Remember that MOA Rally? My father was leading. I was done riding the ‘great’ roads of West Virginia after just a few hours. They didn’t compare to what I had experienced in Arkansas and the traffic was horrible. I told my father, ‘Let’s just head to Charleston’ as I was tired of looking at the back of dump trucks hauling coal, doing under the speed limit and with no place to pass them safely.
Fast forward to the early to 2010s. Attending the Cass Rally hosted by the West Virginia BMW Club in Boyer, WV for the first time, my perspective changed! I found those magical roads all the east coast riders loved and revered so much. I figured out I was just too close to the interstate system the first time.
Figure 8
This route takes you up and down the ‘backbone’ of the Virginia and West Virginia border between I-68 to the north and I-64 to the south. With two north and south routes forming an X pattern, they take you down some of the most scenic roads on the east coast along with a couple of runs up and over some of the best passes in the Appalachians.
This trip is best experienced as a figure 8, starting at the top, bottom, or middle. Obviously the top and bottom are directly accessible from the interstate. The middle approach can be from Beckley, WV by going up US 19 to Summersville, WV. Remember, US 19 crosses the New River Gorge Bridge National Park. Very worthy of a stop for a few pictures. Then take the mind-boggling twisty road of WV 39 over to the routes at Summersville. The routes provided in this area have a lot to offer from historic, to scenic along with good food and camping or lodging.
Snowshoe & Cass
If you’re looking for historic places to see, the Warm Springs Pools in Warm Springs, VA, and Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in Cass, WV are something to experience. Cass Scenic Railroad is an old company town for the lumber industry. The WV state park still operates the steam-powered locomotives and has regularly scheduled trips up into the mountains. The trains here are not your average steam engines. These ‘Shay’ engines were engineered for the lumbar industry and designed to haul heavy loads forward and backward as well as up and down the steep inclines of the mountains.
Warm Springs Pools is historically fascinating. Frequently attended by many founding fathers of the United States. Most notably, guys with names like Jefferson and Madison. These pools have been in use for over 200 years. There are two pool houses that look more like barns. If fact, you’ll be looking for this place and possibly miss them because they look like old barns. Each pool house sits over a pool. One pool house is for the men and the other for women. Forgot your towel or swimming attire? The resort will rent you something or sell you something. And if you’re really cheap, there is a time slot where the men’s and women’s bathhouses are segregated and clothing is optional. This is a great place to relax for an hour or more before getting back on the road.
Old Town, MD to White Sulphur Springs, WV
Some must-see places on this route are Seneca Rocks in WV, the Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, WV, Spruce Knob mountain and observation deck, and Oldtown Bridge over the Potomac River in Oldtown, MD.
Seneca Rocks is a rock outcrop of the Appalachian Mountains that attract rock climbers from all over the east coast. There’s a great little general store there that has an old-style gas pump. Just fill up, note your dollar amount for fuel, move your bike and pay inside. This is a great place for a drink and a marshmallow Moon Pie while admiring the view of the rocks from the front porch of the store.
The radio telescope in Green Bank, WV; well, seeing is believing. And when you see it, you’ll think you rode upon a set for an upcoming Star Wars series on Disney+. This telescope is so important to the science community, that there is a government mandate against anything transmitting a radio signal in the area. This means no cell service. And, no WiFi either. Even the local Dollar General got into trouble when they opened a brand new store and the observatory detected the wireless automatic door opener. This telescope is so sensitive, they have to use diesel-powered vehicles to go out to the telescope field for any maintenance. They have a museum and operate bus tours out of the science center up to the telescopes.
Run to the Top of Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob is the tallest mountain in West Virginia. It has a great road up to the top and an observation deck to get you above the trees for the best view. A paved route is provided. And if the pavement is the only option for you, you’ll follow that route up and back down. However, if you don’t mind some improved off-pavement routes, a GS route is provided to get you back on the route without having to double back.
The Oldtown Bridge over the Potomac River is, well, interesting. There is a toll, so have at least a dollar or two of spare change on hand. By the way, this will be the cheapest bridge toll on the east coast for anyone. Well maintained, it is a wooden bridge with no side rails or guards. No bike will have issues going across. GS riders will revel the crossing, so turn the GoPro on. Road riders, just keep your wits about you and look where you want to go. The bike will do the rest. I’m making it sound scarier than it is. But it is a very cool experience with a motorcycle.
Callaghan, VA to Cumberland, MD
For a couple of good places to eat lunch, check out D&K Dairy Bar near Cherry Grove, WV, and The Milk House Market at Old Dairy in Warm Springs, VA.
D&K Dairy Bar is a cool little mom-and-pop store with a grill. The food is good. If you need condiments for your burger or fries, just ask for them at the counter but don’t ask why you have to ask for them unless you really want to know. The owners work hard at their establishment. The wife usually mans the store and grill. The husband runs to the not-so nearby large cities to the big box stores and membership warehouses for stock and supplies. For bread, they don’t get a delivery at their store. Instead, they meet the bread guy in a nearby town. D&K is truly a local effort and a worthy place to eat with good soft-serve ice cream to boot.
The Milk House Market at Old Dairy is part of an old dairy barn that is now part of the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. This is a fantastic little market with gourmet items for sale. A jar of quince, fresh cheese, and crackers can turn any campfire into a high society gathering. They have a nice deli with an assortment of sandwiches they can make. If it’s on the menu, try the Yardbird Chicken Salad sandwich. Their take on the Waldorf Chicken Salad.
When it comes to lodging, there are lots of options, but not many in recognizable brand names. If you are camping, there are infinite options and many places have great spaces for those who are tent camping. If having a roof over your head is important, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park rents out the old company town’s houses as cabins. So if you’re riding in a group, this might be a great economical option. Need something a bit more upscale. Snowshoe Mountain Resort is just up the road, and a fun road I might add from Cass. They have all sorts of accommodations at Snowshoe. And with it being the off-season, good prices as well. There are also a fair number of B&B offerings in the area as well.
But the most luxurious place to stay, and worthy of a drive-by even if not staying, is the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA which is operated by Omni Hotels. It has been a destination for America’s elite, both political and financial for over a century. And if you’re a golfer, considered to have the best courses in Virginia.
I hope you enjoy this route. Find me at the rally and let me know your thoughts if you ride any part of it.
Using Ride with GPS
Ride with GPS is a great way for the MOA to share and distribute maps, GPS routes, and turn-by-turn instructions. As with any great service, some best practices in the form of tips and tricks are in order.
- Each route in Ride with GPS is equivalent to a track in the world of Garmin GPS’s and BaseCamp. So for all the routes, make sure you get the entire collection of routes in Ride with GPS.
- Ride with GPS allows you to download many different GPS files types including GPX for the BMW Navigator series and other Garmin products
- When downloading GPX files, only download the ‘GPX Track’ version
- The ‘GPX Route’ version will leave you at the mercy of the settings on your Garmin GPS, and will take you off the planned route and maybe to unexpected places and road conditions
- Once you have the ‘GPX Track’ version loaded on your device and want turn-by-turn navigation, convert the ‘track’ on your Garmin GPS to a ‘trip’
- If you don’t have a dedicated GPS device and use your phone for navigation, Ride with GPS also has a number of file formats to work with various navigation apps for phones
- Ride with GPS also has its own phone app that will also help guide you