Beckley

For those craving familiarity, Beckley has a lot of the big-name franchise restaurants that don’t make it to smaller West Virginia towns.  But it’s also brimming with local flavor. Calacino’s Pizzeria is a Beckley institution that serves up great Italian food in a sports-bar style environment, with occasional live music. The Char is a classic high-end steakhouse surrounded by beautiful landscaping. Kumo Japan Beckley specializes in sushi that is much better than anything you’d expect to find in Appalachia, and The Dish Cafe uses fresh ingredients and made-from-scratch recipes to your table. But, for the most authentic regional food, don’t forget that Tamarack has its own excellent restaurant with local trout and fried green tomatoes.

The city’s Exhibition Coal Mine, which is on the National Coal Heritage Trail and offers tour guides on an actual mine, is a must-see. Theatre West Virginia, a beautiful outdoor theater on the rim of the New River Gorge and a few miles outside town, puts on great plays and musical acts on select summer dates. You can also drop by Tamarack for a Sunday afternoon concert or an evening dinner theater production. Or, if you want to see the best of local music and nightlife, check out the historical landmark of Foster’s Main Street Tavern.

Tamarack exhibits all sorts of West Virginia-made art. If you’re looking for high-end Appalachian furniture, local history books, unique pottery and more, come spend an hour or two at Tamarack. If your tastes are a bit more modern, never fear, the Crossroads Mall is one of southern West Virginia’s largest shopping centers.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Beckley is surrounded by some of the finest fishing, rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hiking in the entire eastern U.S. Just head to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, less than a half hour from downtown. The nearby Glade Creek Trail follows an old rail line through a beautiful creek canyon, and Grandview boasts a stunning view of the New River. If you are involved in the Boy Scouts, the recently completed Summit-Bechtel Reserve is the BSA’s hub for national-level jamborees in the East. There are also excellent golf courses in the region, especially at The Resort at Glade Springs to the south. If you like winter sports, Winterplace Ski Resort is less than 20 minutes away, with well-lighted runs for night-time ski sessions.

Beckley has been an official town since 1838, although initially it was just a deed on a piece of paper claimed by founder and future Confederate commander Alfred Beckley. By 1850 it was the county seat of Raleigh, but local newspapers still couldn’t figure out if it was called Beckley, Beckleyville, Raleigh County Courthouse, or something else! The city really began taking off with the post-Civil War Coal boom around the turn of the century, and as any visitor to its Exhibition Coal Mine can attest, coal defined everything about Beckley. Today, the city is a commercial hub in the middle of a largely rural area, making it a vital shopping center for folks from all over southern West Virginia.

Whatever your preference, Beckley’s got you covered for lodging. Outdoorsy types will head north towards the campgrounds along the New River near Glade Creek. Nearby Little Beaver State Park offers campgrounds for those wanting to be close to nature. Want rustic cabins in the woods? Check out Cabins at Pine Haven; they even have luxury treehouses. If you want a full resort experience, check out The Resort at Glade Springs, a beautiful wooded retreat.