When they nicknamed West Virginia the Mountain State, they weren't kidding. Small communities there literally have been shaped by the steep terrain—squeezed so tightly between two mountainsides that there's only room for one road and a single line of houses.
Vacations in West Virginia also tend to be shaped by the mountains and valleys: Those scenic Appalachian roads provide plenty of photo opportunities; the state's plunging rivers make it one of the premier destinations for white-water rafting in the U.S.; and the mountainous parks and forests are great places for skiing, rock climbing, fishing and hiking.
There are also luxurious mineral-water spas (another product of the state's rugged geology) and historic sites that yield a better understanding of how these mountains have shaped the course of U.S. history, from westward expansion to the Civil War to the turbulent coal-mining era of the early 1900s.
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