McClintic Wildlife Management Area
The Clifton F. McClintic Wildlife Management Area is a naturalized area located in Mason County about 5 miles north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Located on 3,655 acres of former wartime industrial land, the WMA is occupied by farmland, woodlands, and wetlands encompassing 31 ponds.
Fun Fact: In the late 1960s, the area was the location of supposed sightings of a paranormal Mothman creature.
Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area
Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area is located on former plantation lands of U.S. Congressman and Confederate General
Albert G. Jenkins. The 1,096 acres in Cabell County and Mason County are located along the banks of the Ohio River about
16 miles north of Huntington, West Virginia. The Green Bottom WMA land is a mixture of farmland, mixed hardwood forest,
wetlands, and open water. The Jenkins Plantation Museum is located on Corps of Engineers land adjacent to the WMA.
Fun Fact: The museum is located in the original 1835 Green Bottom Plantation House, and is operated by the
West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
Kanawha State Forest - Spotted Salamander Wetland
The land that is now Kanawha State Forest originally was the site of extensive mining and logging. In 1937, the West
Virginia Conservation Commission purchased 6,705 acres on the headwaters of Davis Creek outside of Charleston. The following
year, Camp Kanawha was set up as a project of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC removed coal tipples and other
structures no longer in use and built roads, the superintendent’s residence and picnic shelters. A dam also was built
across Davis Creek to create a small lake. After Camp Kanawha’s closure in 1942, the state acquired an additional 2,500
acres.
Fun Fact: The Kanawha State Forest Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Twin Falls State Park - Poke Hollow Wetland
Twin Falls Resort State Park was named for Foley Falls and Black Fork Falls, which are found on park grounds.
The park was built on 3,776 acres of land donated in 1964 by the Western Pocahontas Corporation and Pocahontas Land
Corporation. In the following years, a golf course, cabins and swimming pool were constructed. The lodge was completed in
1970. During the park’s development in the mid-1970s, a pioneer homestead was reconstructed, and has since become the
crown jewel of the park.
Fun Fact: Poke Hollow Trail travels by the Wetland, and through a variety of forest types with a steady climb past two cemeteries.
New River Birding & Nature Center
The New River Birding & Nature Center sits on a gem of a spot that overflows with migrating birds, plants
and wildlife. The Center is an outdoor classroom featuring a Wetlands Boardwalk and self-interpretive Woodland Trails.
Fun Fact: New River Birding and Nature Center was voted the #1 Birdwatching Spot in the Best of the Blue Ridge: 2022 Readers' Choice Awards.
Cranberry Glades
Cranberry Glades is a cluster of five boreal-type bogs in southwestern Pocahontas
County, West Virginia. This area is high in the Allegheny Mountains at about 3,400 feet.
Because of its unique flora and rare plant communities, it is protected as the Cranberry Glades
Botanical Area, part of the Monongahela National Forest.
Fun Fact: Cranberry Glades is the headwaters of the Cranberry River, a popular trout stream, and is adjacent to the nearly 50,000-acre Cranberry Wilderness.
WV Botanic Gardens
WV Botanic Gardens began as only a dream in 2000. Today, it is steadily becoming a reality on the 82-acre former Tibbs Run
Reservoir property off the Tyrone Road in Monongalia County, WV. The former 15-acre basin will be transformed into two
smaller pools with islands and aquatic plant displays. The old water works, still present, will stand as a link to the past.
Fun Fact: The West Virginia Botanic Garden (WVBG) is the only botanic garden in the state, and it is open daily from dawn to dusk, free of charge.
Cranesville Swamp
At Cranesville Swamp, the elements of wind, water, mountains and temperature have created a landscape that is both
beautiful and rare.
In combination, these climactic elements have produced a natural occurrence known as a “frost pocket”—an area where
the surrounding hills capture moisture and cold air that conspire to create a landscape more reminiscent of habitat found
much further north in Canada.
Fun Fact: As weather travels west-to-east across North America, the hills surrounding Cranesville Swamp channel precipitation and chilled air into the valley, which make the preserve one of the coolest and soggiest spots in West Virginia.
Alder Run Bog
The Alder Run Bog is an example of a northern bog, both in structure and in floristic composition. Conditions for the
existence of this northern formation are maintained by altitude, topography, and the presence of cold springs flowing
over a sandstone bedrock. The species number in the bog is limited, but many of those present form large distinct zones and
are well adapted to a bog environment.
Fun Fact: The diversity of this wetland is increased by the presence of a beaver pond which also provides
an open water habitat.
Widmyer Wetland
The restoration of Widmyer Wetland was conducted by the Warm Springs Watershed Association. It is
a mosaic of forested and open wetlands in Morgan County. Within the wetland are a walking trail, benches,
and a sculpture.
Fun Fact: Widmyer is a remnant floodplain wetland along Warm Springs Run. It is a
great place to see frogs, salamanders, butterflies, and dragonflies.
Stauffer's Marsh
Stauffer’s Marsh Nature Preserve consists of 46 acres of primarily wetland in Back Creek Valley in Berkeley County, WV.
Formerly marshy farmland, the USDA restored the wetland ponds and marshes as a part of the Wetland Reserve Program. Today,
Stauffer’s Marsh is a paradise for migrating and nesting waterfowl.
Fun Fact: At least 167 species of birds have been observed at Stauffer's Marsh.
Cool Spring Preserve
Cool Spring Nature Preserve consists of 63 acres of forest, meadow and marsh in southern Jefferson County, West Virginia.
Bullskin Run, a major stream with significant historical value, borders one side of the preserve. Cool Spring is designated
as a “birding hotspot". In Spring 2020, the entire preserve was placed under a conservation easement with the West Virginia Land Trust.
Fun Fact: 18 rare and imperiled West Virginia plants have been found in the marsh.