West Virginia Traveler

Grist Mill at Babcock State Park

I took Liam on his first hike at Babcock State Park yesterday. It was a sunny and warm day, perfect for hiking in the woods. Spring is just beginning here in the mountains and the trees have begun to bud. The first robins arrived about a week ago. Anglers were fishing in Glade Creek for the trout that the DNR stocks each Spring. I can’t wait till I can teach Liam how to fish.

Babcock State Park, only 10 minutes from our lodge, offers over 20 miles of hiking trails through the rugged, boulder strewn canyon of New River Gorge National River. The trails feature several overlooks, with beautiful vistas of the gorge and surrounding mountains.

The Glade Creek Grist Mill, completed in 1976, is the combination of three mills which once operated in the state. During the summer, park personnel showcase how corn and wheat was ground to make meal and flour, which can be purchased by guests. It’s quite interesting to see how this was done with the water being diverted through the sluices to turn the wheel and in turn, grinding the corn on an old, worn stone.

Tags: Hiking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 7:02 am and is filed under Hiking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.