A Short Road Trip To The Mountains And Small Towns Of West Virginia; Lush Rainforests? (Lots of Photographs Included!)

This is typical of what you will find in Beartown State Park in West Virginia.  The boardwalk
saves the ecosystem from too many feet trampling the delicate vegetation.  It is dark, wet and,
in the case of the day we visited, foggy and misty.  Wonderful for photography! All images were
made with my Fujifilm X-T5 and the 10-24mm f/4, 16-55mm f/2.8 or 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens.
(click to enlarge)

In my last post, I noted that a photographer friend met me in the mountains of West Virginia for a few days of photography.  We explored several small towns buried among the ridges and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains as well as wandered the countryside, visiting parks and nature preserves in search of interesting subjects to photograph.  It was really a very pleasant experience for me.  You can find that first post here.

Two places we visited, Beartown State Park and Cranberry Glades Botanical Area turned out to be more like temperate rainforests than what one would typically think would be found in West Virginia.  That perception was bolstered by it raining everyday.

(click to enlarge)

I had been to Beartown twice in the past.  To me, it was worth a third and potentially a future fourth visit.  It is a fascinating mixture of lush vegetation and very unusual rock formations.  The state has constructed a series of boardwalks on which one travels through the park as the ecosystem would surely get destroyed if people were allowed to walk about unfettered.  Additionally, the canopy above is very thick and, in my experience, it is always comparatively very dark in the park.  Tripods are a necessity.  

One caution.  If the boardwalk is wet, it is very slippery as the moist air or rain combined with the total shade makes a great place for slippery slime mold to form on the boards.  Think ice.

While I had driven past it years ago, I had never stopped to actually visit and walk the boardwalk inside the lush vegetative paradise called Cranberry Glade Botanical Area.  It is a bog, wetland, swamp and forest ecosystem that is unique.  The name is kind of a clue.  I normally think of cranberries growing in New England and not as far south as West Virginia.  That tells you a bit about the climate within this sanctuary.  

(click to enlarge)

I was more than amazed at the variety, size and health of this little oasis.  I would encourage you as a photographer or as a lover of nature to visit both of these gems.  Again, the state has constructed a boardwalk in both of these jewels to keep individuals from trampling on and potentially killing or altering the ecosystem.  

Here are a few more of my images from the two, what I'll call, temperate rainforests.

These are from Beartown State Park.

Notice the water drop hanging precariously from the bottom of the flower petal. (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

The boardwalk meanders through the enormous rock formations. (click to enlarge)

This tiny little scene (about 6 inches across) is almost an ecosystem in and of itself.  (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

I made this particular image on a previous visit.  I included it as I wanted to add an additional iamge
so you get a full idea of the breadth and scope of images are present in this ecosystem. (click to enlarge)

The following images are from the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area.  Although similar in many ways it is also completely different.  Where Beartown consists of an almost impenetrable canopy, large rock formations and ever present darkness, Cranberry Glades is flat, much more open and filled with creeks, small ponds and plenty of light.

When in the open parts of the preserve, this is typical of what one sees. (click to enlarge)

Ferns are plentiful.  This is the entire scene as captured with my
16-55mm f/2.8 lens.  Below is a severe crop. (click to enlarge)

This crop shows just how much detail and texture the 40mp APS-C X-Trans sensor can resolve.
The full image above was taken handheld while it was raining! This crop is less than 5% of the 
original image. (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

I hope you enjoyed this little journey into a couple of unique places deep in the mountains of West Virginia.  Both Beartown and Cranberry Glades have innumerable opportunities for nature photography if that is your interest.  Even if you are not interested in photography, a visit to both would be worthwhile in my opinion.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

All content on this blog is © 2013-2023 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.