7 Quirkiest West Virginia Towns To Visit In 2025
From the Allegheny Highlands to the river valleys and Potomac Highlands, the Mountain State flies its quirky flag high. Hidden by dense Appalachian forests, a charming Swiss village in the highlands at the heart of West Virginia mirrors Bern, Switzerland.
Aspiring to the state's trademark motto, Almost Heaven, each community reveals a slice of the Mountain State with Tudor styles, oddball museums, and friendly locals, without the over-tired tourist gloss. Once home to millionaires and transportation hubs, these seven towns in West Virginia in 2025 are relentlessly quirky.
Berkeley Springs
Drawing travelers for over two centuries, this historic spa town was recently named one of America’s Top 10 Historic Small Towns by USA Today. Where else can you soak in the warmth and benefits year-round in historic Roman baths? Berkeley Springs State Park, which also offers open-air mineral pools, is just as worthy. As an addendum to luxurious mineral spas and a head-turning castle, visitors enjoy upscale dining, eclectic shops, and spas, a hop from outdoor adventures in the West Virginia mountains.
Towering over the town, Berkeley Springs Castle was erected by Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit to honor his wife. Culture thrives along the artsy streets and at the Ice House, a rustic-chic exhibition space in a 1910 cold-storage building, with rotating works, workshops, and performances. Berkeley's creative energy surfaces in the most unexpected places. You can even drink it at Berkeley Springs Brewing Company, where beer is brewed using spring water, and visitors can wind down at Bed N Brew rooms on site.
Bramwell
Discovering this tiny, historic town on a Bluestone National Scenic River peninsula will leave you with memories of a genuine experience. Once home to more millionaires per capita than any other US town, friendly residents tend to the stately stone buildings adorned in greenery, local shops, tasty mountain flavor, and ice cream at the Corner Shop. Known for its proximity to Pinnacle Rock State Park, Bramwell gets you closer than any other to the incoherently shaped and downright astounding rock formations.
The state park, with hiking trails to the viewing platform plus rock climbing, was named after the 3,100-foot sandstone, accessible to an overlook from atop Pinnacle Rock for a popular photo op. Travelers enjoy a wooded area for picnics, hiking trails, and a fishing lake. North along the river, Pocahontas Trail 10 is a fun off-roading adventure with wildlife sightings like a young fawn. Between the Tudor styles and beautifully preserved Victorian mansions, Bramwell transports you into a storybook feel of its rich coal baron history.
Davis
Davis is not just another town. Known for its autumnal spirit, it perches above the rest as the highest elevation settlement in West Virginia. The natural air conditioning makes it an ideal East Coast alternative. Take the Allegheny Trail (Davis Trailhead) along the town's edge, rerouting into a forest along ridges and rocky outcrops, with every view breathtaking to set a picnic. Minutes away, Blackwater Falls State Park boasts a 57-foot thunderous waterfall into a dark canyon, with trails and boardwalks.
Unpolished and a little chummy, Davis plays the perfect apres-adventure host along the old town's historic buildings. After a fun day on the trails for biking, hiking, or water sports and fishing, chat up the locals at the hop-heavy Stumptown Ales brewery. The Leaf Peepers Festival fills the streets with colors in the buzz of craft vendors and mountain music, a fall daze like you have never experienced. During winter, Canaan Valley Resort State Park is a casual ski resort with pools, a spa, a golf course, and dining.
Fayetteville
Fayetteville is a real adrenaline junkie on the verge of greatness—the rim of the wild and scenic New River Gorge. At over 70,000 acres, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve draws worldwide travelers for its premier whitewater rapids and fishing. Hikers disperse along the mountain trails, perfect for mountain bikers and rock climbers alike. Among the outfitters, Wild Blue Adventure Company provides a manned vintage Stearman biplane for scenic and stunt flights over the New River Gorge.
Afterward, all gather for a relaxing evening on the town. In Fayetteville, art and adrenaline live side by side, and lodging often comes within the price of expeditions. The 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge is one of the world's longest single-span arch bridges. Opened in 1977, it is a sight to behold among architecture fans and thrill seekers to experience via a catwalk tour under the bridge, called Bridge Walk. After a bird’s-eye view of the river, calm the nerves at Studio B Gallery and Gifts—it sells craft beer.
Harper's Ferry
Harper's Ferry bridges centuries of American history along the cobblestone streets and 19th-century architecture, with sweeping bridges where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. Offering easy access from three states, visitors trickle in to explore Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The key 19th-century industrial site offers 22 miles of hiking trails at the confluence in and around town. In addition to John Brown’s Fort, the 1859 site of the abolitionist’s raid, families enjoy museums and reenactments.
You can see the storybook town from the popular Maryland Heights Trailhead, a moderate ascent worth every sweatdrop under the summer sun reflecting off the roofs. Perhaps get your Appalachian Trail passport stamped upon hiking to Jefferson Rock for sweeping river views along this iconic trail. Olde Tyme Christmas lights up the town with hundreds of lanterns in December, a perfect time for caroling, close gatherings, and holiday shopping under the soft glow, including a stop at The Bookshop in Lower Town.
Helvetia
Latin for Switzerland, Helvetia welcomes visitors in the heart of the state after a winding drive along the mountain road through dense Appalachian forests. Settled in 1869 by Swiss and German immigrants, travelers trickle to the hilly landscape that gave them phantom feelings of their homeland across the sea. There is nothing ordinary in this Appalachian town, from the white cross-red flags to the canton shields, particularly of Bern. Indeed, this riverfront village is a doppelganger for the Alpine one in Western Europe.
While there isn't much to do but spy on local life and catch the shields reflecting the sun in front of every other house, Hevetia is 30 minutes west of Kumbrabow State Forest and even closer to the waterfalls at Holly River State Park, west of town. From colorful wildflower meadows to forest foliage, it is worth waking up on a dewy morning for a stroll through the valley. Spread a blanket beneath the cloud wisps caught in the pointy peaks and the chirping birds to feel part of a Swiss postage stamp in the highlands of West Virginia.
Point Pleasant
Once a transportation hub in the Colonial era at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, Point Pleasant has a notorious resident, the Mothman. Part of lore, residents vouch for the winged humanoid with glowing red eyes, sometimes associated with the forewarning of a bridge collapse in 1967. Indeed, outdoor spaces for recreation are your best chance of sighting the cryptid monster, along the wildlife trails through McClintic Wildlife Management Area.
The town's fascination is sprinkled throughout. From a statue to the quirky Mothman Museum to Fort Randolph, Point Pleasant commemorates the first sighting with an annual festival on the third weekend in September. After prowling, set up a picnic at Krodel Park, an intimate space with open river views. Tu-Endie-Wei State Park is a green space in the heart of town at the confluence, with a Battle of Pt. Pleasant monument. Since you are right at the water border with Ohio, hop on over to Gallipolis, meaning "City of the Gauls," and the birthplace of Bob Evans.
West Virginia is home to some of the cutest towns in the US. Pick one to reveal the state amid foliage and a slower pace that makes you fall in love with the eccentric. Allegedly, the Mothman lurks at the western border along the Ohio River.
Take the thrilling Bridge Walk in Fayetteville, or skip a few centuries back to Harper's Ferry and get your Appalachian Trail passport stamped. Between the festivals, spas, and mountain diners, the weirdness keeps on coming, keeping you on your feet.
