Escape to a world with no fast food, no stoplights
Get away from it all– traffic, crowds, even stoplights– in Monroe County, WV.
Sometimes it is nice to step into small-town life as it was before fast-food restaurants and traffic lights and relax with some laid-back, real rural living. Well, we’ve got that in Southern West Virginia— an unusually wild, wonderful part of a wild, wonderful state.
Monroe County is a little pocket of heaven defined by farmland, rolling hills, cool creeks, covered bridges, historic grist mills and therapeutic mineral springs. That, and the lack of 4-lane highways, traffic lights and fast-food restaurants.
It is truly a place to slow down and enjoy the simpler things in life— and there are so many simpler things to explore!
The best introduction is along the rural quilt trail, which winds from barn to barn along the backcountry roads, and into all the little towns along the way.
If you are looking to get out of the car to enjoy the outdoors, watch the eagles and raptors at eye-level from the historic fire lookout tower at Hanging Rock Observatory, or descend into the earth at Organ Cave*.
The lack of heavy traffic or busy roads also makes Monroe County one of West Virginia’s finest destinations for cycling, both along highways and on the Potts Valley rail-trail. If you want to fish or hunt, there is plenty to do here as well, along Bluestone Lake and in the Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve.
After your outdoor adventure, check out any number of Monroe County’s fine, locally owned restaurants. Nanny’s Bakery in the town of Union is the place to stop by for coffee, pastries, breakfast and even homemade sausage! For dinner and beverages, The Hall Tavern, also in Union, is fantastic eatery in a historic old mansion, with both indoor and outdoor dining.
Take some of the rural flavor home with handcrafted Amish goods from the Cheese N More Store.
For lodging, Monroe has a lot of variety— all unique. Rest your head after a day in the hills and hollows with choices like:
- Bed and breakfasts like Willow Bend outside Union
- Rustic lodges like the Mountain Meadow Preserve
- Plenty of quaint cabins and cottages
Makes it easy to tuck away in this little slice of heaven.
Have you taken an adventure to Monroe County?
*Organ Cave tours are based on the King James version of the Bible.
This post was last updated on July 22, 2020