Fall Foliage in West Virginia
West Virginia is an amazing state for nature photography.
All types of Nature photography scenery exists throughout the state, from amazing forests and mountains to wildlife and waterfalls.
Many do not know that 2/3 of West Virginia is uninhabited and displays wonderful opportunities for beautiful nature scenery. The Monongahela forest is home to several state parks including Babcock state park where the famous old time Grist mill landmark of iconic West Virginia hosts many fall foliage peepers every year. The Babcock grist mill presents one of the most wonderful picture postcard scenes in all of the east coast.
Canaan valley is also a wonderful place that is full of wildlife and other amazing scenes such as Blackwater falls in the Blackwater falls state park. This is host to Elakala falls which is one of the most scenic waterfalls in all creation. Wonderful people and amazing culture exists all throughout the mountains and country towns in rural West Virginia many places do not exist like our state any longer and coming here is kind of like opening a time capsule from 20 years ago.
Fall scenery in West Virginia presents several opportunistic photographic scenes. Barns and bridges as well as churches and mountain vistas from the North Fork Mountain range and Spruce knob which is the highest point in West Virginia present some of the best scenes for fall nature photographers of deciduous forests. The colors are mostly vibrant when there has been plenty of water throughout the summer and not too dry in the fall. However, torrential storms will strip the trees of their fall colors early.
The best time for leaf peeping is around the week of October 7th – 14th depending on what part of the state you are visiting the higher in latitude that you are in the state the earlier the leaves change colors. So if you are visiting around the Canaan area you may want to check a week or two earlier.
Many trails and camping areas exist where you can explore the forests during the autumn color change, so it is advisable to plan your visit and research where you may enjoy your photographic adventure the most. If you like to take fall pictures of water scenes then you will want to stay near one of the many lakes, streams or mountain runs.
One way to find the most scenic places in West Virginia is to look at fall scenery pictures that other photographers have taken and find what nature pictures interest you then research and find those areas. You may even consider contacting the photographer and ask them where they took a specific picture.
I am willing to share any of the areas that we have ventured in West Virginia so feel free to contact me about the best places for fall foliage scenery or any other nature photography in West Virginia.