The people of WEST VIRGINIA are only half joking when they call their state the Ireland of the US. Generally poor and almost entirely rural, it shares a similar history of exploitation by outside powers, with timber and coalmining companies taking advantage of the rich natural resources while giving little in return. But, quite apart from the almost Third World deprivation which endures in some areas, West Virginia is also, in places at least, incredibly beautiful, and can boast the longest white-water rivers and most extensive wilderness areas in the eastern US. The extreme topography, which has historically isolated its inhabitants, now makes the state a popular destination for hikers and outdoors enthusiasts, and the moonshiners of old have been replaced by ski instructors and mountain-bike guides. Pioneer settlers started to cross the mountains of western Virginia in significant numbers during the middle of the seventeenth century. Farming small plots of land with their own labor, they came to have ever less in common with the slave-holding plantation owners of old Virginia, and when the Civil War broke out, the area declined to secede from the Union. The Supreme Court never ruled whether West Virginia was legally entitled to declare itself a state, and Virginia itself has still not officially recognized the split. West Virginia has, however, developed a political and economic identity of its own. Around 1900, when railroads from the east coast first reached into the mountainous interior, timber companies clear-cut stand after stand of forest, setting up a succession of mill towns, each dismantled in its turn when they moved on somewhere new. Cass , now preserved within the Allegheny National Forest, is one of the few that was left intact. Later on, coal-mining conglomerates, especially in the south, perfected the "company town" approach, wherein workers were paid a little bit less each month than the amount they owed for their company-provided food and lodging. Coal companies still exert immense power in West Virginia, but the real key to the state's future prosperity is tourism, which in places now accounts for over half its income.

The state's most popular destination, the restored 1850s town of Harpers Ferry , is barely in West Virginia at all, standing just across the broad rivers which form its Maryland and Virginia borders. To the west, the Allegheny Mountains stretch for over 150 miles; more than a million acres of hardwood forest rival New England for brilliant autumnal color. West Virginia's oldest and most attractive town, Lewisburg , sits just off I-64 at the mountains' southern foot, while the capital, Charleston , lies in the comparatively flat Ohio River valley of the west.  TOP

Allegheny Mountains
Considering that it's the most extensive wilderness area near the east coast, within just a few hours' drive of a dozen big cities, surprisingly few people have heard about, much less bothered to visit, the backcountry reaches of the Allegheny Mountains , West Virginia's segment of the Appalachian chain. The entire 140-mile crest is protected as part of the Monongahela National Forest , within which numerous state parks highlight the most spectacular sights. There are no cities and few towns, public transportation is nonexistent, and not much goes on after dark - to give an idea of how rural it is, whole counties do without a single traffic light - but if you like to backpack, ski, cycle, climb, canoe or just wander around the great outdoors, the Alleghenies are well worth a visit. For maps and more detailed information, contact the state tourist office or the Monongahela National Forest Supervisor, 200 Sycamore St, Elkins, WV 26241 (Mon-Fri 8am-4.45pm; tel 304/636-1800).

New River Gorge
One of West Virginia's most spectacular river canyons, the New River Gorge lies just thirty miles west of Lewisburg along I-64. Stretching for over fifty miles, and now protected as a national park, the thousand-foot cleft was carved through the limestone mountains by the New River - despite its name, one of the oldest rivers in North America. Apart from one daily train, there's no easy access to most of the gorge - to see it, you have to get out on the water, with the help of any of over fifty professional rafting companies; visitor centers located near the most impressive spots give details of recreation opportunities. Just off US-19 northeast of Fayetteville , the Canyon Rim visitor center sits alongside the New River Gorge Bridge (daily: June-Aug 9am-8pm; Sept-Oct 9am-6pm; Nov-May 9am-5pm; tel 304/574-2115), the largest single-span steel arch in the country, which rises nine hundred feet above the river; the smaller Grandview visitor center is located at an elbow bend in the river, five miles north of I-64 near Beckley (same hours; tel 304/763-3715). Those traveling between Beckley and Charleston can find very cheap accommodation at the cozy Avision Inn (tel 304/442-8446, 1-800/CALL-WVA) on Hwy-61 in Handley, where singles only cost $25 and the whole three-bedroomed self-catering cottage costs $65.

Fortunately for car-less travelers, Amtrak trains from Washington DC pass right through the gorge on one of the most stunning railway journeys in the East. Though the ride itself is memorable enough, for a close-up look you can get off at the southern end of the gorge at the c.1900 railroad town of HINTON . The train's only stop, it's a fascinating, if somewhat dilapidated remnant of the glory days of the railroads. An almost perfectly preserved purpose-built company town - the National Park Service intends someday to restore it as a living museum - it is beautifully sited, with brick-lined streets angling up from the water, lined by dozens of grand civic buildings as well as row after row of slowly decaying workers' houses. A walking tour map of Hinton is available from the Chamber of Commerce, 206 Temple St (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel 304/466-5420).

Although the town has definitely seen better days, Hinton still makes a workable base for visitors to the gorge: there is another visitor center (same hours as the Canyon Rim visitor center; tel 304/466-0617), as well as a pair of decent budget motels , the Coast-to-Coast (tel 304/466-2040; $35-50) and the Sandman (tel 304/466-1700; $35-50), and a couple of riverfront taverns. Local river-rafting outfits include New River Tours (tel 304/466-2288 or 1-800/292-0880) and Cantrell Canoes (tel 304/466-0595 or 1-800/470-RAFT), both charging from $69 per person (with occasional specials) for trips through the gorge. All of these facilities are to be found on Hwy-20 just south of town.  TOP