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August 2024

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  • August 2024
By wonderfulwv 08/20/202408/08/2024 Adventure/August 2024/Outdoors

Packing Potential

Ascend and First Ascent programs aim to attract, cultivate and retain talent in West Virginia

By wonderfulwv 08/13/202408/08/2024 Adventure/August 2024/State Parks

The Beauty of the Falls

Blackwater Falls has long inspired awe in travelers to the Mountain State, and the state park built around it offers even more opportunities for enjoyment.

By wonderfulwv 08/12/2024 Adventure/August 2024/Editor's Letter/Uncategorized

August Editor’s Letter

Nikki Bowman Mills August Editor’s Letter

By wonderfulwv 08/08/2024 August 2024/Preservation/Wildlife

Have You Herd?

West Virginia’s first established elk herd is growing, and now wildlife biologists are helping the animals thrive

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wonderfulwestvirginia

Exploring the beauty, adventure & outdoor heritage of West Virginia.
📸 Photography | 📖 Stories

Slithering into the spotlight. 🐍📸 This watersnake Slithering into the spotlight. 🐍📸

This watersnake is one of the wild West Virginia moments captured by our readers and featured in this year’s photography issue.

📸 “Common Watersnake”
Photographed by Christina Craven

#8thAnnualPhotographyIssue
Some days are better measured in paddle strokes. 🛶 Some days are better measured in paddle strokes. 🛶🌿

“End of the Paddle” captures the quiet reward at the end of a day on the water—the canoe docked, the paddles put away, and nowhere left to rush off to.

📸 Susan Hill | Alderson, WV
Another wonderful look at the wildlife that calls Another wonderful look at the wildlife that calls the Mountain State home. 📸🌿

📸 “White-tailed Deer”
Photographed by Harley Beale

#8thannualphotographyissue
Just two pretty things having a moment. 🦋🌸 Robert Just two pretty things having a moment. 🦋🌸

Robert K. McDaniel II caught this butterfly stopping for a little flower break in Philippi.

📸 Have a wonderful West Virginia moment to share? Send us your photos for a chance to be featured! Click the link in our bio.
Right place, right time, camera ready. 👀📸 We love Right place, right time, camera ready. 👀📸

We love seeing the wild moments our readers manage to capture across West Virginia. Thank you for submitted this photo for our 8th annual photography issue!

📸 “Yellow Garden Spider”
Photographed by Kristy Nicholson
Want to hang with the herd? 🦌🍂 West Virginia’s el Want to hang with the herd? 🦌🍂

West Virginia’s elk have been making themselves at home in the southern coalfields for a decade—and this fall, you can head into their habitat for a chance to see (or hear!) them for yourself. The 2026 Elk Management Tours are returning to Chief Logan State Park this September and October, taking visitors into Tomblin Wildlife Management Area with a park naturalist in search of these impressive Mountain State residents.

Spots fill up fast, so don’t wait too long to plan your trip!!!

📖 Click the link in our bio to read more and see the 2026 tour dates.
Lydia Brunty captured the calm settling back over Lydia Brunty captured the calm settling back over Talcott after a summer storm—a quiet Mountain State moment worth stopping for.

📸 Caught a wonderful West Virginia moment of your own? Send us your photos for a chance to be featured! Click the link in our bio.
For our 8th annual photography issue, readers from For our 8th annual photography issue, readers from across the Mountain State shared their favorite wildlife encounters with us. The results were too good not to share!!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo and helped us celebrate the wild things that call West Virginia home!

📸 “Mourning Dove”
Photographed by Doug Boyce

Stay tuned—we have plenty more to share!
With a long exposure, Jackson Fancher turned the s With a long exposure, Jackson Fancher turned the steady flow of Fall Run Falls into this dreamy scene—capturing one of the Mountain State’s tucked-away treasures.

📸 Jackson Fancher | Fall Run Falls, WV

Know a hidden corner of West Virginia worth sharing? Show us what you’ve found and submit your photos for a chance to be featured! Click the link in our bio.
For our 8th annual photography issue, we asked Won For our 8th annual photography issue, we asked Wonderful West Virginia readers to send us their best wildlife photography—and you delivered! From familiar backyard visitors to incredible encounters in the wild, we loved seeing the Mountain State’s wildlife through your eyes.

Thank you to everyone who shared your wonderful images with us. 💚

📸 “Great Blue Heron”
Photographed by Michael Carpenter

Stay tuned as we share more reader-submitted favorites from this year’s photography issue!
A century ago, the Cacapon River was essentially d A century ago, the Cacapon River was essentially dead. Today, it’s one of the cleanest rivers in West Virginia!! 

It’s a remarkable comeback story shaped by returning forests, stronger water protections, and generations of people who refused to stop caring for the river they love. In “Medicine Waters,” discover the history of the Cacapon, the communities that grew along its banks, and the conservationists working to make sure its 80 miles of clean water stay that way for generations to come.

📖 Click the link in our bio to read more!
✍️ Written by Mason Jack
📸 Photographed by Tyler Evert
The face of our 8th Annual Photography Issue! 🐸📸 The face of our 8th Annual Photography Issue! 🐸📸

Meet the green frog making a splash on the cover of our August/September issue, captured by reader Erin Goddard in Wetzel County.

Each year, we ask our readers to share their best West Virginia wildlife photography, and once again, you delivered. Thank you to everyone who sent us a glimpse of the wild and wonderful creatures that call the Mountain State home! 💚

And this is just the beginning—stay tuned as we share more of the incredible reader-submitted photos featured inside this year’s issue!
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We’re sad to learn of Charles Maurer’s passing. He was a talented photographer who contributed many beautiful images to Wonderful over the years, from owls

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Slithering into the spotlight. 🐍📸 This watersnake is one of the wild West Virginia moments captured by our readers and featured in this year’s photography

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Some days are better measured in paddle strokes. 🛶🌿 “End of the Paddle” captures the quiet reward at the end of a day on the

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Wonderful West Virginia Magazine

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Another wonderful look at the wildlife that calls the Mountain State home. 📸🌿 📸 “White-tailed Deer” Photographed by Harley Beale #8thannualphotographyissue

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Just two pretty things having a moment. 🦋🌸 Robert K. McDaniel II caught this butterfly stopping for a little flower break in Philippi. 📸 Have

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By wonderfulwv 08/24/202608/24/2026 August / September 2026/State Parks/Wildlife/WVDNR

Hangin’ with the Herd

Elk Management Tours are back at Chief Logan State Park for 2026.  This story was originally published in the August / September 2026 issue of Wonderful West Virginia.Subscribe here. Photographed by Mark Bias Tomblin Wildlife Management Area has been the home of West Virginia’s elk population since the 2016 Elk Restoration

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Wonderful West Virginia Magazine

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Wonderful West Virginia Magazine
Wonderful West Virginia Magazine

Showcasing the best of West Virginia

Hangin’ with the Herd

Meet West Virginia’s Timber Rattlesnake

Medicine Waters

Frontier Forts

Where Two  Waters Meet

A Trout to Write Home About

Our Unmistakable American Emblem

Star-Spangled Celebrations

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