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All United States West Virginia

The Atlas Obscura Guide To West Virginia

91 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in West Virginia

Updated November 7, 2023

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Cities

Top Cities
Inside the Mothman Museum
Point Pleasant
Harpers Ferry
Fayetteville
West Virginia State Penitentiary
Moundsville
Morgantown
Mortar Man
Charleston
All Cities
  1. Berkeley Springs
  2. Charleston
  3. Eglon
  4. Fayetteville
  5. Grafton
  6. Green Bank
  7. Harpers Ferry
  8. Lewisburg
  9. Martinsburg
  10. Morgantown
  11. Moundsville
  12. Oak Hill
  13. Parkersburg
  14. Point Pleasant
  15. Shepherdstown
  16. Sutton
  17. Weston
  18. Wheeling
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories
Lists

Unusual Attractions in West Virginia

The swing ride

Rock, West Virginia

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

This abandoned amusement park was built on a site with a dark history.
The main entrance into the Asylum.

Weston, West Virginia

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

A particularly creepy abandoned hospital that sparks interest for lovers of the supernatural.

Cameron, West Virginia

Archive of the Afterlife

The museum calls itself the "National Museum of the Paranormal" and is full of eerie oddities.
Inside the Mothman Museum

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Mothman Museum

A small storefront museum explores the history and myth of West Virginia's famous urban legend.
Thurmond's Main Street. (LeahC/Atlas Obscura)

Thurmond, West Virginia

Thurmond, West Virginia

Once connected to the outside world by a single train track, this ghost town is looked after by the National Park Service.

Fayetteville, West Virginia

New River Gorge Bridge

One day a year it is legal to jump off of this astoundingly tall bridge that spans an Appalachian gorge.
Mothman statue

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Mothman Statue

This red-eyed chrome beast pays homage to the popular modern myth of West Virginia's insectoid monster.
Mystery Hole

Ansted, West Virginia

Mystery Hole

The "mysteries" of this quintessential roadside oddity were almost destroyed by neglect but were saved by fans of kitschy wonder.
See All 91 Things To Do in West Virginia

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in West Virginia

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

True Treats

Time travel with sweets across history at this research-based candy store.

Wheeling, West Virginia

Sweeney Punch Bowl

The largest piece of cut lead crystal adorned a grave for 75 years and is now the shining star of a glass museum.
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

The Dark History of West Virginia in 9 Sites

The Rockies may be bigger, but there's something special—and sometimes spooky—about the Appalachians. With dense forest cover, long history, and the shadowy hollows ("hollers," locally), they seem at times to be full of secrets. In West Virginia, the mountains and hills hold tales and myths, and a lot of places that were used and then abandoned. If you get excited about the feel of a shiver down your spine, you'll find a lot to love.

View Itinerary
A famous mountaineer.

Explore West Virginia

Ruins 8
Museums And Collections 7
History & Culture 7
History 5
Abandoned 5
Architectural Oddities 5
Geology 5
Coal 4
Industrial 4
Nature 4
Mines 4
Mountains 4
Places To Stay 3

West Virginia Leaderboard

Places Added

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Places Edited

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Join the Ranks!
Improve the Atlas with edits and photos.

Places Visited

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Recent West Virginia Activity

  • C

    cassellbrandym

    has been to Congressional Fallout Shelter at the Greenbrier Resort

  • B

    bailsbakara

    wants to go to Mothman Statue

  • S

    stallonefan2020

    wants to go to Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

  • S

    stjohn1313

    has been to Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

  • S

    stallonefan2020

    wants to go to Alderson Academy

Stories About West Virginia

Podcast: Arthurdale

Hear the saga of an ambitious, government-backed homestead project that never quite lived up to its hype.
by The Podcast Team
August 24, 2023
A Bridge Day base jumper.

Podcast: Embracing Adventure in Fayetteville

We visit a tiny town in West Virginia where, once a year, people jump off a bridge.
Sponsored by GoUSA TV

Podcast: The Greenbrier

This fallout shelter beneath a West Virginia resort was a state secret until 1992.
by The Podcast Team
June 13, 2023
Virginia Webb, right, and her husband, Carl, open up one of their 400 hives. The Webbs are one of the largest producers of honey in the Southeast.

The Blue Ridge Honey Made ‘by Bees and Angels’

Produced only in these mountains, it's regularly named best in the world.
by Rachel Kester
August 19, 2021
The author preps for the tasting.

What It's Like to Be a Water Judge

Tasting notes include flabby, flinty, and wet dog.
by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger
July 29, 2021
The recently dated Pitsenbarger Farm in Franklin, West Virginia, is on the state's list of endangered properties.

Why Trees Are the Most Reliable Historians of Early America

Dendrochronology doesn't just work on forests. It works on buildings too.
by Isaac Schultz
January 23, 2020
 The Weston State Hospital, once (and again) known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

A Cultural Historian Explores an Old Mental Hospital, and Why They Scare Us

They are haunted, but not by ghosts.
by Troy Rondinone
October 31, 2019
A cemetery surrounded by a coal mine in West Virginia.

The Mountaintop Cemeteries Surrounded by Coal Mines

Hard to access and hemmed in by explosive activity, these graveyards are stuck in limbo.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
October 30, 2018

Lists Featuring West Virginia

10 Hidden Gems of West Virginia

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
10

Including Jefferson Rock, Tygart Lake , and Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory

Pumpkin House day...
Mothman statue
The main entrance into the Asylum.

20 Places to Visit Along West Virginia's Country Roads

Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
20

Including Kenova's Pumpkin House, Mothman Statue , and Blennerhassett Island

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