Visiting West Virginia on a Budget
West Virginia is one of the country's most under-traveled budget destinations, and its small cities each give you a different reason to visit - almost all anchored by free public land. Harpers Ferry, where the Potomac and Shenandoah meet, is essentially a National Historical Park: one $10-on-foot pass covers a weekend of free walking and history at the site of John Brown's 1859 raid. Charleston's gold-domed Capitol and free State Museum anchor the capital, Morgantown adds the free WVU Core Arboretum and Coopers Rock, Huntington and Wheeling bring riverfront art museums and Oglebay Park, and Lewisburg and Beckley round out the south with caverns, coal-mine tours, and historic downtowns. April through October is the prime window.
Cities in West Virginia
Pick a city to see free attractions, cheap activities, and budget travel tips.
Charleston, West Virginia
West Virginia's capital sits at the confluence of the Kanawha and Elk Rivers with the gold-domed State Capitol as its centerpiece. The free West Virginia State Capitol offers public tours of the country's largest state capitol dome, the free West Virginia State Museum next door covers 12,000 years of state history, and free Haddad Riverfront Park hosts summer concerts on the river. The free Capitol Market is a year-round farmers' market in a restored 1900s train depot, the free Sunrise Carriage Trail climbs into the bluffs above downtown, and the $12 Clay Center pairs the Juliet Art Museum with a hands-on science museum and planetarium downtown.
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Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is home to West Virginia University — a college town of 30,000 students built along the Monongahela River with the Allegheny foothills rising behind it. The free WVU Core Arboretum has 91 acres of riverside hardwood forest trails, free Coopers Rock State Forest delivers one of the most photographed overlooks in the Mid-Atlantic, and the free 48-mile Mon River & Caperton rail-trail runs straight through downtown. The 50-cent WVU PRT is the world's only operating Personal Rapid Transit, the free Morgantown History Museum and free Watts Museum cover state heritage and coal-and-oil history, and the free Morgantown Farmers Market fills the downtown pavilion every Saturday from April through November.
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Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia meet. The whole town is essentially Harpers Ferry National Historical Park — site of John Brown's 1859 raid, a Civil War flashpoint, and the unofficial midpoint of the Appalachian Trail. One $10-on-foot park pass covers a full weekend including the Lower Town Historic District, The Point, Jefferson Rock, John Brown's Fort, the Maryland and Loudoun Heights Trails, Bolivar Heights, Murphy-Chambers Farm Trail, and Storer College campus. The free Appalachian Trail Conservancy Visitor Center and C&O Canal Towpath bracket the package.
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Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia's second-largest city, sits on the Ohio River and is home to Marshall University. Heritage Farm Museum & Village - the state's first Smithsonian Affiliate - recreates a 19th-century Appalachian village, while the Huntington Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the state and is free on Tuesdays. Downtown's Pullman Square and the restored 1887 Heritage Station depot anchor walkable shopping, the new Children's Museum draws families, Ritter Park's award-winning rose garden and Harris Riverfront Park line the green spaces, and the free Museum of Radio & Technology fills a 1920s schoolhouse with vintage broadcast gear.
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Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling rose as an Ohio River industrial hub, and its Victorian downtown and sprawling Oglebay Park still show it off. Oglebay - free to enter - holds the Good Zoo (West Virginia's only accredited zoo), the Mansion and Glass museums, and the Schrader nature center. Downtown, the 1849 Wheeling Suspension Bridge carries walkers across the river, West Virginia Independence Hall preserves the room where the state was born, and the cast-iron Centre Market houses shops and eateries. The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum fills a 1906 schoolhouse, and the paved 16-mile Heritage Trail threads the whole city.
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Lewisburg, West Virginia
Lewisburg, repeatedly named one of America's coolest small towns, packs a 235-acre National Register district into a walkable downtown of Federal storefronts, galleries, and cafes. Lost World Caverns drops 120 feet underground into a lit limestone chamber a few minutes from the center, the North House Museum fills an 1820 townhouse with Greenbrier Valley history, and the 1796 Old Stone Presbyterian Church is the oldest church in continuous use west of the Alleghenies. Carnegie Hall - one of only four still operating worldwide - hosts free galleries, the historic Lewis Theatre still screens films, and the Greenbrier River Trail runs just outside town.
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Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley sits in southern West Virginia's coal country, and its signature attraction goes underground: the Exhibition Coal Mine rides visitors 1,500 feet into a restored 1890s seam beside a recreated coal camp and the Youth Museum. Free Tamarack showcases juried crafts from all 55 counties, the Beckley Art Center runs a free downtown gallery, and the 1836 Wildwood House preserves the town founder's log home. Just outside town, county-run Lake Stephens offers a sandy beach for a few dollars and Little Beaver State Park circles an 18-acre lake with free trails - a budget-friendly base for the nearby New River Gorge.
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More on West Virginia from TravelCheapUS
In-depth budget travel guides from our companion blog that mention West Virginia.