Ride to the top of Canaan Valley: The Bald Knob Trail

Where can you get the best panoramas of Canaan Valley?  The Bald Knob Trail in Canaan Valley Resort State Park is my first choice. From the top of Bald Knob you can get wide, sweeping views of the valley below. 

View from Bald Knob
To make it even better you don�t have to scale the mountain side on foot to get the view. Instead, the Bald Knob trail is unusual in that it begins after an exhilarating ride up the Canaan Valley Resort chairlift (GPS: Lat. 39.008589, Long. -79.437558). From the base at 3580 feet in elevation, the ride offers increasingly breathtaking views of the valley and surrounding mountains before ending at the mountain top at 4280 feet. That�s a boost of 700 vertical feet without taking a step!! Even if you don�t choose to hike the Bald Knob Trail, you�ve still soaked in a lot of scenery. 
Chairlift: Photo courtesy of Canaan Valley State Park
The road to the chairlift is directly opposite the main entrance to Canaan Valley Resort State Park. It�s a short drive up to the chairlift where you can buy tickets to the top. The cost is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors (60+) and juniors (6-12). The lift runs every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The last tickets sold for the day are at 3:45 p.m. By the way, be sure to plan for cooler temperatures on the mountaintop.
  
At the end of the chairlift ride, the Bald Knob Trail begins. You start with a level hike through a dense forest. The tread is very rocky on this stretch of the trail. After a third of a mile, you burst upon a sunny meadow. At this point, the trail follows for about two thirds of a mile along a wide highland meadow created by a gas pipeline right-of-way. 
Bald Knob Trail
After a short ascent the trail tops Bald Knob, a grassy, treeless knoll standing at 4308 feet in elevation and about 1100 feet above the valley floor. Panoramas are open to the south and west offering some of the clearest and best views of the southern part of Canaan Valley and surrounding mountains. After enjoying the scenery at the top of Bald Knob, you have two options to return. There�s a trail down the mountain about a mile long that leads back to the chairlift parking. It�s steep and hard on the knees. 

View from Bald Knob
I prefer to hike back to the top of the chairlift and savor a leisurely and relaxing ride to the bottom. Either way you�ll come off the mountain delighted by the views from Bald Knob. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Things Every NYP Freshman needs to know

Image
Hey there freshmen! Welcome to Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)! NYP will be your home for the next three years and you will definitely enjoy yourself here! Be prepared to gain important knowledge, meet new friends and learn more about the world. To help you out, here is a quick guide that includes important information and some campus tips. Without further ado, let�s get started! 1) LAPTOP ROADSHOW 2017 Every year, there will be a laptop roadshow in NYP for all students and staff. If you do not have a laptop, you are encouraged to purchase one as there will be e-learning assignments and project work to be done throughout your three years.         The roadshow will feature devices at special prices for students. TIP! Do your research on the laptops� specifications before purchasing. You can view the models available by clicking this link .  Laptop Roadshow details: Date: Mon, Apr 17 �  Sat, Apr 22 Time: 9am to 6pm (Monday to Friday), 9am to 3pm (Saturday) Venue:  NYP Auditorium Function Room
Read more

Top 5 Ways to Ace Your EAE Application

Image
Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) applications take place this month. If, for some reason, you are not confident about getting into your dream poly course with your O-Levels or Nitec results, this is going to be your best bet to secure that spot in the poly course you really want. You see, the EAE is not about academic results but rather interviewers  look for people who have the interest and aptitude for these courses! Polys can admit up to 15.0% of their total intake via EAE, and the best thing is, you only need to meet the minimum entry requirements (MER). Yass! Want to ace your EAE application? Take note of these points. 1) 600-Character write-up (Aptitude and Interest) The 600-Character write-up includes spacing and punctuation, so keep your piece short and sweet. When you get to the exclamation mark at end of this sentence, we�d already have used 215 characters in this paragraph! So, yeah, you don�t have a lot of space. So you want to be sure to express your interest in the field
Read more

Hidden Gems at NYP

Image
NYP celebrated its 25 th anniversary in 2017. So, we decided to scout for things that not many people know about.   To get this list, it was weeks of research and speaking to NYPians before whittling down to the best. Enjoy! 1.    Outdoor Amphitheatre Think of performance venues at NYP, and the auditorium or the Theatre for the Arts usually comes to mind.  But we have another outdoor performance venue: tucked away near the sports stadium, is an often overlooked amphitheatre. This 500-seater has mainly hosted CCA meetings, school-related activities and musical events. It�s got a dramatic dome that makes it perfect for drama performances, or for students of ancient Greek philosophy in togas. We�re kidding about the togas. 2.    Beach Volleyball Sand Pit There is no need to travel to Sentosa for a game of beach volleyball! There are dedicated sand pits at our own sports stadium. Head to the stadium, and they�re on the right side of the track, visible from the road. 3.    Secret Garden W
Read more