1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (47 page)

W
HERE
: Alexandria Bay is 340 miles northwest of New York City.
Visitor info:
Tel 800-847-5263 or 315-482-2520,
www.visit1000islands.com
.
W
HERE TO
S
TAY:
Riveredge Resort, Alexandria Bay. Tel 800-ENJOY-US or 315-482-9917.
Cost:
from $109 (off-peak), from $188 (peak).
B
OLDT
C
ASTLE
: Heart Island. Tel 800-8-ISLAND or 315-482-2501;
www.boldtcastle.com
.
When:
mid-May–mid-Oct.
T
HE
A
NTIQUE
B
OAT
M
USEUM:
Clayton. Tel 315-686-4104;
www.abm.org
.
When:
mid-May–mid-Oct.
B
EST TIME
: Aug for the Antique Boat Show and Antique Raceboat Regatta.

Spit, Polish, and Riverine Beauty

West Point, New York

Located on a high, rocky outcropping at a sharp bend where the Hudson River is at its narrowest (making it a strategic stronghold during the Revolutionary War), the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is America’s
oldest and best-known service school, the very epitome of military tradition. Although occupied since 1778, West Point wasn’t a military academy until 1802. Today its highly competitive program trains some 4,000 male and female army cadets in the art of war. Illustrious graduates include generals Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, and Dwight Eisenhower.

West Point’s rich history, gothic campus, magnificent river and mountain views, and fascinating military museum all make it well worth a visit. Though it used to be wide open for wandering, since September 11 the only way to tour the campus (unless you have military ID) is on guided bus tours that leave from the Visitors Center, itself worthwhile to see for its exhibits on cadet life. Tour stops include the Cadet Chapel, lined with stained-glass windows; the Plain, a wide-open parade ground by the mess hall (at its best around 11:45
A.M
., when the cadets step into lunchtime formation); and the cemetery, dating back to the American Revolution, where more than 5,000 graduates are buried. Modest tombstones mark the graves of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, who met his death at Little Big Horn (see p. 618); Lt. Edward H. White II, the first American to walk in space; and Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded American military operations in Vietnam.

The U.S. Military Academy campus sits on a beautiful 16,000-acre site on the west bank of the Hudson River.

Military history buffs can spend hours perusing West Point Museum’s collection of weaponry, from Stone Age axes to atomic bomb casings, with highlights like Hitler’s pistol, and Sitting Bull’s death mask. On special occasions in the fall (especially before
football games) and in April and May you can see the cadets marching to the military band during parades, a West Point tradition that instills discipline and order while fostering esprit de corps. During the summer, West Point’s 48-member Concert Band gives outdoor concerts at the Trophy Point amphitheater, against the same views of the Hudson River that George Washington once used to track movements of the enemy.

Built in 1926 and directly on the banks of the Hudson River, the Thayer Hotel is the place to stay. Its imposing gothic exterior blends seamlessly with the rest of the campus, while grand flourishes abound inside.

W
HERE
: 50 miles north of New York City.
V
ISITORS
C
ENTER:
Pershing Center. Tel 845-938-2638;
www.usma.edu
.
T
HAYER
H
OTEL:
Tel 800-247-5047 or 845-446-4731;
www.thethayerhotel.com
.
Cost:
from $180 (off-peak), from $215 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: Apr–May for the parades; weekly Trophy Point concerts, every Sun from June–Aug; fall for foliage.

Demo version limitation

Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall is one of four Carnegie Halls still in continuous use in the world.

W
HERE:
92 miles west of Roanoke, VA.
Visitor info:
Tel 800-833-2068 or 304-645-
1000;
www.greenbrierwv.com
.
C
ARNEGIE
HALL:
Tel 304-645-7917;
www.carnegiehallwv.com
.
G
ENERAL
L
EWIS
I
NN:
Lewisburg. Tel 800-628-4454 or 304-645-2600;
www.generallewisinn.com
.
Cost:
rooms from $125; dinner $23.
G
REENBRIER
R
IVER
T
RAIL:
www.greenbrierrivertrail.com
.
S
TATE
F
AIR
O
F
W
EST
V
IRGINIA:
Tel 304-645-1090;
www.statefairofwv.com
.
When:
10 days in mid-Aug.
O
AKHURST
L
INKS:
White Sulphur Springs. Tel 866-625-1884 or 304-536-1224;
www.oakhurstlinks.com
.
Cost:
greens fees $95.
When:
May–Oct.
T
AMARACK:
Beckley. Tel 88-TAMARACK or 304-256-6843;
www.tamarackwv.com
.
B
EST TIME:
late May for the Battle of Lewisburg reenactment.

A Million Untamed Allegheny Acres

West Virginia

One of the East Coast’s largest wilderness areas and best-kept secrets, the Monongahela National Forest is a 919,000-acre backcountry behemoth extended over ten counties in West Virginia, offering three million
backpackers, birders, berry pickers, mountain bikers, rock climbers, cross-country skiers, canoers, kayakers, and anglers more than enough Allegheny outback to explore without crossing each other’s path.

Running roughly 140 miles along the crest of the Allegheny Mountains and protecting the watershed of the Monongahela River (thought to be a Delaware phrase that means “river of falling banks”), the “Mon” includes 500 miles of backwoods hiking trails, 23 camping grounds, and five federally designated wilderness areas—Otter Creek, Dolly Sods, Laurel Fork North, Laurel Fork South, and Cranberry (see p. 282). The Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area encompasses some of the forest’s most dramatic scenery. At 4,863 feet, Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia, which you can reach via an easy half-mile hike past thickets of mountain laurel, rhododendron, and fire azaleas (all abloom in June and July) to commanding 360-degree views. Seneca Rocks, a magnificent formation of craggy Tuscarora sandstone rising 900 feet above the North Fork River, is beloved by rock climbers for its challenging mapped routes (more than 300 of them), but less daring folks can hike a switchback trail to the top.

The white and gray quartzite Seneca Rocks are one of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia.

The mountain town of Elkins (population 7,000) is the Mon’s largest gateway city and a destination in its own right thanks to the Augusta Heritage Center, where Appalachian folkways are kept alive through intensive weeklong workshops on fiddling, quilt making, clogging, tinsmithing, storytelling, rag weaving, and accordion repair. The heart of the season is five weeks from mid-July to mid-August with 300 different workshops offered,
honoring not only the Appalachian region but other music traditions including Irish, Cajun/Creole, blues, and swing, and culminating in the performance-packed, dance-filled Augusta Festival in Elkins City Park.

W
HERE:
along the crest of the Allegheny Mountains, on the eastern border of West Virginia. Tel 304-636-1800;
www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf
.
A
UGUSTA
H
ERITAGE
C
ENTER:
Elkins. Tel 800-624-3157 or 304-637-1209;
www.augustaheritage.com
.
Cost:
5-day classes from $410, lodging and food extra.
W
HERE
T
O
S
TAY:
dormitory housing on campus. Or try the Graceland Inn, tel 800-624-3157 or 304-637-1600;
www.gracelandinn.com
.
Cost:
from $73.
B
EST TIMES:
last week in Apr for Spring Dulcimer Week; last week in Oct for Old-Time Week and Old-Time Fiddler’s Reunion.

From Black Gold to White Water

West Virginia

In the 19th century, the New River Gorge region of south-central West Virginia produced more coal than anywhere else in the world, its land honeycombed with mine shafts drilled down into the apparently limitless seams. Today
mining’s share of the state economy has shrunken considerably, and the New River and nearby Gauley River have become instead two of the top white-water rafting destinations in the country, if not the world.

The New (which, according to some geologists, is the world’s second oldest river, after the Nile) offers a range of rafting experiences along its 53 scenic miles, curving between 1,000-foot forested slopes and passing abandoned mining towns. The 15-mile stretch of the upper river offers easy to moderate rapids that require little maneuvering skill, making it a favorite of families and beginners. (Opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and rock climbing don’t hurt, either.) The lower river, on the other hand, drops 250 feet in 16 miles, with big waves on more than two dozen rapids ranging from Class II to Class VI. This is the stretch some call the “Grand Canyon of the East,” with its high walls and huge volume of water, especially in spring. Toward the end of the run, rafters can see the enormous New River Gorge Bridge, at its wildest when hundreds of folks don parachutes and jump from it on Bridge Day (see p. 277).

North of the New, near Summersville, the Gauley River is one of the country’s most challenging runs. In the 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a 40-story, 2,280-foot-wide earth-and-rock dam in the river’s upper reaches, creating Summersville Lake. In summer the lake is kept full to an elevation of 1,652 feet above sea level, maximizing opportunities for boating, fishing, water-skiing, and even scuba diving. In September and early October, though, millions of gallons of excess lake water are released, turning the Gauley into a roaring beast with more than 60 steep Class IV and V rapids that have earned names like “Heaven Help You” and “Pure Screaming Hell.” The Upper Gauley is the more difficult section, flowing through a narrow canyon with drops averaging 32 feet per mile. On the Lower Gauley, tough
rapids are followed by calm pools, giving you a chance to catch your breath and soak in the beauty of the rough, wooded Appalachian terrain.