Ponderosa Lodge https://theponderosalodge.com

The Ponderosa Lodge & Farm

P.O. Box 186, Lookout, WV 25868
Phone: (304) 438-7113
Email: ponderosalodge@gmail.com

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Activities Nearby

These activities are approximately 10 - 20 minutes from The Ponderosa Lodge.
Babcock State Park Babcock State Park offers 4,127 acres of serene, yet rugged beauty, a fast flowing trout stream in a boulder-strewn canyon, and mountainous vistas to be viewed from several scenic overlooks. Glade Creek Grist Mill, the most-photographed grist mill in the country, is a fully operable mill that was built as a re-creation of one which ground grain on Glade Creek long ago. The park also offers horseback riding, hiking, swimming, paddleboating, and fishing.
  
New River Gorge Bridge The New River Gorge Bridge soars 876 feet above the rugged whitewater of the New River. It is the Western hemisphere's longest spanning, steel single-arch bridge; the world's second longest spanning, steel single-arch bridge; and the second tallest bridge in the United States. The National Park Service operates the Canyon Rim Visitor Center where visitors are introduced to the history of the bridge. Scenic overlooks provide views of the bridge and gorge.
  
white water rafting
Whitewater rafting is the most popular sport in the area, with trips ranging from the mild Upper New to the wild thrill ride of the Lower Gauley in fall. In the fall, the Lower Gauley offers the best white water rafting in the world with a large number of class V rapids. Adventures on the Gorge, the local rafting outfitter, also offers numerous other adventure activities, including rock climbing, horseback riding, ATVing, fishing, and paintball. Ask us about a discounted rate through Adventures on the Gorge.
  
Bridge Walk LLC offers daily catwalk walking tours across the catwalk that is directly underneath the New River Gorge Bridge and 851 feet above the New River. Participants must be at least 48-inches tall, 10 years or older and have a waist size less than 52-inches.
  
Endless Wall If you like your vistas the way nature intended them, Beauty Mountain and the Endless Wall offer awesome views of the New River Gorge and are popular hiking and rock climbing spots. The Fern Creek Trail leads hikers through hemlock forests and over the sleepy Fern Creek to the rim of the Endless Wall, the most renowned climbing area the New River Gorge, with a large amount of high quality climbing. There are numerous other beautiful hiking trails within a short drive from the lodge. Just ask us, and we will point you to our favorites.
  
canopy tours Soar 200 feet above the ground through the New River Gorge tree top canopy and zipline tours. Tree top canopy tours will challenge you through a series of zip lines and rope bridges while offering majestic views of the New River Gorge. Gravity zipline tours offer an exhilirating, birds-eye view of the New River Gorge while traveling at speeds up to 50 mph.
  
biplane tours Take a tour over the New River Gorge through the open cockpit of a WW II biplane. Aerial tours will take you over the gorge, with popular spots like Thurmond, Fayetteville, the bridge, and Beauty Mountain. The brave at heart can also request aerobatics such as barrell rolls, s-turns and hammerheads.
  
helicopter tours Helicopter tours in a Bell 47-G2 Chopper are also available. Flights are available April through October.
Hawks Nest State Park Hawks Nest State Park encompasses 276 acres bordering a rugged section of the New River Gorge National River. It has long been known for its easily accessible, spectacular panoramic views of the New River Gorge. The park also offers a nature center, numerous hiking trails, an aerial tramway, jetboat rides, a museum, and golfing.
  
drive in theater Head to the Meadow Bridge Drive In Movie Theater and let the whole family experience an activity of days gone by. The theater is open on weekends May through September. It features new movies and admission is $5 per person.
  
Camp Washington Carver is West Virginia's mountain cultural arts center. It preserves the arts and traditions of yesterday and perpetuates those of today by nurturing the cultural heritage embodied in the camp since its founding. Most importantly, the camp is home to the Appalachian String Band Music Festival, one of the largest old-time music festivals in the United States. It draws thousands of musicians and old-time music lovers to our area every year.
  
These activities are approximately 45 minutes away:
Tamarack The Tamarack is the nation's first and largest collection of juried handcrafts. From hand-carved furniture to glass and pottery to Appalachian quilts, Tamarack offers only the best of West Virginia's products. You can also observe artists at work in five studios. Tamarack also has a theater and a fine art gallery displaying painting, sculpture, photography, and prints. The Greenbrier Resort manages Tamarack's food court.
  
Beckley Exhibition Coal MIne At the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, you will travel in an authentic man car 1,500 feet beneath the hillsides of New River Park and through the dark passages of a vintage coal mine. Your tour guide, a veteran miner, will provide firsthand accounts of the daily responsibilities and tasks of past and present day miners. You may also tour an historical coal camp and the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia.
  
Summersville Lake Summersville Lake boasts exceptional water clarity and a scenic contrast of terrain ranging from rolling hills to vertical rock cliffs. It offers recreational opportunities for everyone, including fishing, boating, jet skiing, water skiing, relaxing at the beach, and even rock climbing. There are facilities for picnicking, restrooms, and trails for hiking and exploring. The Summersville Dam is the second largest rock-fill dam in the eastern United States. It is 390 feet high, 2,280 feet long, and controls a drainage area of 803 square miles.
  
Lewisburg, West Virginia The Lewisburg Historic District offers antique shopping, art galleries, boutique shops, and fine dining. Carnegie Hall presents a diverse performing arts series year round. Greenbrier Valley Theatre is West Virginia's official year-round professional theatre, with theatrical and musical performances as well as special events.
  
Lost World Caverns Lost World Caverns is a wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites, including some of the world's most exemplary cavern formations. It features the nation's largest compound-stalactite, the 30-ton "Snowy Chandelier," which is one of the world's best displays of pure white calcite.
  
These activities are a little over 1 hour away:
winterplace ski resort Winterplace Ski Resort is hugely popular with large groups and families. Visitors love the fact that it is the most accessible skiing area in the state, even during heavy snow storms. Winterplace features 27 trails of all skill levels; a snowboard park with hips, tabletops, rails, gaps, and more; and the best tubing park in the region that features 16 lanes. Visitors always enjoy the full-service Resort Center plus, a 10,000 square foot, mid-mountain facility with a great food court.
Charleston, West Virginia Mountains close in, creating postcard scenery as the Midland Trail follows the Kanawha River through Charleston, past the State Capitol Complex. West Virginia's largest city is the center for arts, industry, shopping, and entertainment. Mountainstage features nationally recognized recording artists, while the Clay Center for Arts & Sciences offers 240,000 square feet of fine art and learning for all ages under one roof.
  
Beartown State Park At Beartown State Park, one may see the forces of nature constantly at work, slowly breaking down even the largest rocks, only to deposit them elsewhere and build new ones. Beartown is noted for its unusual rock formations. Massive boulders, deep crevasses, and overhanging cliffs stir the imagination. Pocketing the face of the cliffs are hundreds of eroded pits, ranging from the size of marbles to others large enough to hold two grown men.
  
The Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park is an important Civil War battle site. On September 10, 1861, Union troops engaged the Confederates and forced them to evacuate an entrenched position which overlooked Carnifex Ferry. The Confederates commander retreated across the ferry to the south side of the Gauley River. the battle represented the failure of a Confederate drive to regain the control of the Kanawha Valley. As a result, the movement for West Virginia statehood proceeded without serious threats from the Confederates.
  
A little bit further, but still within a day's drive:
Highland Scenic Highway Along the Highland Scenic Highway, you will encounter a stunning view of the Allegheny Highlands. See rolling, mountainous terrain covered by hardwood forests and capped by dark spruce at higher elevations. This view is one you will not want to miss, especially during the fall season when the mountains are ablaze with color.
  
The Falls of Hills Creek The Falls of Hills Creek is a hidden treasure tucked away in a narrow gorge just off the Highland Scenic Highway. Here you will find three beautiful waterfalls cascading over rock layers of sandstone and shale. The lower falls, at 63 feet, is the second highest waterfall in the state. A 3/4 mile trail leads visitors to spectacular views of the waterfalls as it descends 220 feet between the upper and lower falls.
  
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area At 35,864 acres, the Cranberry glades Wilderness is the largest USFS wilderness area east of the Mississippi River. This special area is managed for its wilderness attributes of solitude and natural conditions, including a wide variety of flora and fauna. The Cranberry Glades Botanical Area contains interesting wetlands known as bogs. Bogs are acidic wetlands with a spongy ground that provides a habitat for many unique plant and animal species. A 1/2 mile boardwalk trail leads you into this unique area.
  
Droop Mountain Battlefield Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is the site of West Virginia's last significant Civil War battle. On November 6, 1863, the federal army of Brigadier General Averell, in his second attempt to disrupt the Virginia-Tennessee Railroad at Salem, Virginia, crushed the confederate troops of Brigadier General Echols. Operations in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864 drew the remaining confederate troops out of West Virginia, thus leaving the new state securely under the control of union forces.
  
Cass Scenic Railroad Cass Scenic Railroad State Park offers excursions that transport you back in time to relive an era when steam-driven locomotives were an essential part of everyday life. Trips to Cass are filled with rich histories of the past, unparalleled views of a vast wilderness area, and close-up encounters with the sights and sounds of original steam-driven locomotives.

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