West Virginia Cities and Towns
The Mountain State  35th State

Climate & Weather:

West Virginia has four distinct seasons. Its mountainous terrain means that there can be marked differences in the weather at any one time -- the mountains tend to be cooler than the rest of the state (and downright cold in winter). Summer is hot and rainy in most of the state, with highs in the upper 80s F/30 C (80 F/26 C in the mountains).

Opportunities for hiking, camping and white-water rafting begin in the spring and last until autumn. Spring temperatures range 43-76 F/5-24 C, with lots of runoff from the 60+ in/152+ cm of snow in the mountains. Summer thundershowers help keep river levels up.

The ski season usually runs November-February. Winter temperatures range 19 to 40 F/-7 to -4 C in the mountains, with occasional drops to 0 F/-18 C. Most attractions are open year-round. Except for those travelers interested in winter sports, we recommend visiting West Virginia in the spring for white-water rafting and in summer and fall for touring.

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Firsts, Facts, Trivia:  

The first brick street in the world was laid in Charleston, West Virginia on October 23, 1870, on Summers Street.

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Featured Tourist Spots:

Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum - Located in a restored Victorian-era schoolhouse, the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum features a guided tour, interactive displays, an operating O gauge train layout, a unique gift shop, and a restored railroad caboose onsite.

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West Virginia History:

The first people to live in the area that is now West Virginia were Indians called the Mound-Builders of the ancient Hopewell and Adena cultures.

The Mound-Builders disappeared around the year 1,000. They may have moved somewhere else. They may have all died. Or they may have mixed in with other Indians. Nobody knows for sure. When the Mound-Builders left, the Woodland Indians came to live in this area, the Cherokee, Delaware and Shawnee Indian tribes. Many of the Native Americans had died in tribal wars or disease during the late 1500s.

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