Marlinton

Marlinton is a town of 1,204 people (as of 2000) in West Virginia. It's known as the "Birthplace of the Rivers" because the Greenbrier, Cherry, Elk, Cheat, Gauley, Tygart Valley, Williams and Cranberry rivers all originate from the area.

Get in

Marlinton is located on US-219, which runs between Elkins and Lewisburg.

Get around

See

• Watoga State Park, ☎ [phone]. US-219 south of Mill Point. 10,100 acres of hiking, swimming, fishing and boating. Cabins and campground available, restaurant open spring through October. 
• Seneca State Forest, ☎ [phone]. WV-28 south of Dunmore. 11,684 acres of woodland, 5 trails and a 4-acre lake for hiking, biking, hunting and fishing. Cabins and campground available. 

Do

• Cass Scenic Railroad, ☎ [phone]. State road 28. Located in the town of Cass, about 45 minutes northeast on US-219 and WV-66. The original steam-driven locomotives drive the same lines that were used in 1901 to bring lumber to the town. Restored company buildings and a logging camp recreation are available. Visitors can take a five-hour trip on the railroad from Cass to Bald Knob, the second-highest point in West Virginia. Dinner trains and murder-mystery trains also available. Cottages, cabooses and a wilderness cabin on Bald Knob available for rental. Trips cost $13 (to Whittaker Station), $16 (to Spruce) and $18 (to Bald Knob). 
• Elk River Touring Center (5 miles south of WV-66), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. A 150-acre former mountain homestead with an inn and restaurant. World-class fly fishing, mountain biking and cross-country skiing. Downhill skiing on trails around Highland Scenic Highway 150 (elevation 4,700 feet) and Snowshoe Mountain (4,848 feet). Skiing and snowboarding $16 - $30. 
• Roadkill Cook-off, [phone]. Part of the Autumn Harvest Festival, held annually in late September. Cooking begins at 11 am, judging at 3 pm. A culinary competition in which chefs prepare dishes made from animals that are commonly found on the side of the road: turkey, opossum, squirrel, rabbit, groundhog, bear, deer, boar, elk, moose, rattlesnake, frog and turtle. Dishes are usually given unappetizing names, such as "Turkey Gobble Vomit over Maggots", "Squirrel Scrotum Stew" or "Blood, Rocks and Guts over Snails and Maggots". The cook-off started in 1991 as a joke, in a bid to increase tourism to the area, and although it has drawn criticism for playing on a negative stereotype of Appalachians, the contest attracts cooks from all over. Visitors can sample the results. There's also arts and crafts, an agricultural and homemaking show, mountain music and dancing, and regular food concessions.
• Collect fossils. About fifteen miles northwest of Marlinton is a series of road cuts alongside Scenic Route 150 where middle Pennsylvanian fossils can be collected from the Kanawha Formation. This area preserves a great abundance and diversity of plant fossils, including the remains of roots, long sections of trunk, stems, leaves, and seeds from several species. The local plant taxa include seed ferns, the giant horsetail Calamites, and the giant scale tree Lepidodendron. (updated Jun 2015)

Buy

Eat

• Bull and Bear Restaurant, ☎ [phone]. Open from 8am to 9pm, closed on Sun. and Mon. No debit or credit cards. No tipping, also. Eat in or take out. 

Drink

Sleep

• Mountain Valley Retreat (Located 15 minutes Northwest of the intersection of Rt 39 and Rt 219), ☎ [phone]. http://www.mtnvalleyretreat.com Two lovely cabin rental options - four bedroom cabin sleeps up to 6 people comfortably or one bedroom cabin sleeps up to 4 comfortably. 30 minutes from Snowshoe Ski Resort. Secluded location great for relaxing and getting away from it all. Property located minutes from Williams River, Lake Handley and Scenic highway 150. 15 minutes away from Greenbrier River and trail. Other area attractions include Ruth Buck's Birthplace, Beartown State Park, Watoga State Park, Seneca State Park, Droop Mountain State Park, Scenic Cass Railroad, NRAO location in Green Bank. 

Go next

• Elkins is about 1 hour 15 minutes north on US-219.
• Lewisburg is about 50 minutes south on US-219.