Pipestem Resort State Park - West Virginia

We met up with the Region Three Caravan to the WBCCI International Rally at the Pipestem Resort State Park in West Virginia. Our first impression of this park was that it was a top tier state park with many amenities for the family.

Pipestem Resort State Park

For example, this park had a golf course, horseback riding, a frisbee golf course, hiking trails, waterfalls, a nature center and lots of activities for families.

Waterfalls

The great mountain views come at a cost. Mountainous terrain means that it is hard to find any level land to park your camper. We had to use every leveling tool we owned to get Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, within a "bubble" of being level. In other words, we had a definite lean to the starboard side. There would be repercussions at bed time because of this tilt.

Most parks have some form of a camp store. Pipestem "upped the ante" with a very nice store featuring local crafts.

We rode an aerial tram down 1,800 feet to a restaurant in the valley. That was one of the more unique and fun ways to travel to a restaurant. While on the tram, we "FaceTimed" with our youngest son until we lost cell service on our iPhone. Unfortunately, we found that the tram ride was better than the restaurant's fare.

The trams

Headed up the mountain

Horse rides are available in this park

While camping in Pipestem, our group went on the coal mine tour in Beckley, West Virginia, and we went to Tamarack. This is a center that features the works of many artists and craftsmen from a West Virginia.

Coal mine tour

Here are some specifics about this park:

• Our site site had 50, 30 and 20 amp service.The power connection was behind our trailer and it appeared that it had been hit a time or two. The 30 amp connection must have been a victim of a recent crash because we could not use it and had to use our 50-to-30 amp converter cord to connect Rosie to the power.
• Our site had water and sewer connections
• Water pressure was very strong. You will need to use a pressure regulator in this park.
• There were several camping loops but it appeared that only one bathhouse served the entire campground
• There was a surprising number of tent campers in this park and the single bathhouse seemed inadequate to serve them and the rv'ers
• Speaking of the bathhouse, the heavy traffic there was probably one of the reasons it was perpetually dirty
• AT&T placed a weak 4G signal over the park. It worked better for voice than data communications
• We were able to watch TV signals from ABC, ME-TV and CW using Rosie's antenna

This was a nice park to visit and the staff there was very friendly. We hope that all parks in West Virginia will be this good.