The entire Smoke Hole river run from US 220 to Petersburg is about 25 miles (40km) long. The larger and more significant limestone solutional caves, however, are mostly developed in limestones of the Helderberg Group (Lower Devonian), especially Corriganville Limestone and New Creek Limestone. Copyright 2023 VerticalScope Inc. All rights reserved. The area is rather isolated and remote with parts accessible only by boat or on foot. The high, dry crests of North Fork Mountain support the largest pine barrens of the Central Appalachianshundreds of acres of gnarled pines dwarfed by the harsh conditions and by thousands of years of recurring wildfires. [4]) High above the river, on the north side of the gap, is a prominent range of limestone cliffs which represent the Cave Mountain Anticline. Descriptions of conditions prevailing in the Smoke Hole during the early 20th century were highlighted by wild tales of inaccessibility and the outmoded pioneer lifestyles of the inhabitants. Phasellus cursus rutrum est nec suscipit. Bat guano and other organic debris support an array of invertebrates specially adapted to this bizarre ecosystem. Building on the success of the Campaign to Save North Fork Mountain (concluded in 1998), The Conservancy has completed a detailed conservation plan for this area. United States government. Was generally not impressed with the fishing but the scenery is stunning. Camping in Smoke Hole Canyon is a great option for those who love the outdoors. [citation needed] Virginia nailwort (Paronychia virginica var. Don't forget your Bilge pump on this trip, we only had one in the group and spent time passingit around after most of the significant rapids. | Sign in to get trip updates and message other travelers. That affects everything. Take time to enjoy it. Smoke Hole Canyon is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including black bears, bobcats, and bald eagles. To get to the put-in's, take 220 south for about 16 miles to Smoke Hole Rd (cr 2). Some of the the highlights of this trail are: Smoke Hole Canyon in West Virginia can be a great place to take kids, depending on their interests and ages. The whole setting is timelessness itself, an impression heightened by the fact that these geological features have been here for millions of years. The takeout is in Petersburg, WV. The 1996 flood in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia spread the seed throughout Smoke Hole, and now it is the most abundantly growing plant in the area. Don't forget there is a take out right in Petersburg soon as you cross under the bridge on the left, which is 3 miles up river of Eagles nest and Welton Park. Had not many problems with shoals but there is a LOT of flatwater on the stretch between Blue Rock and Petersburg that made us wish we had a canoe to paddle instead. In addition to shuttle service for groups big and small, we also provide canoe and kayak drop-off with pick up . We had two boaters come all the way from Tennessee! Smoke Hole Canyon, West Virginia, May 11 and 12, 2019, This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated. Beyond the Big Bend, the Canyon has the character of a remote wilderness; it is one of the most isolated regions of the state and can be traversed only on foot or by boat. The roof of the vast subterranean channel then collapsed forming the karst topography seen today. [38] Lemley travels no fewer than eight times into the Canyon in search of the swag, estimated to be worth about $10 million. This website uses cookies to enhance your experience and analyze performance and traffic on our website. it was a lot of fun but next time I would really like to take the raft for ease of packing along gear and getting to fish more efficiently. This likely developed through an intermediate stage during which the South Branch (or its precursor stream here, the lower Briggs Run) traversed the future Smoke Hole region underground. Additional avifauna include bobwhites, robins, cardinals, kingfishers, turkey vultures, and various owls, hawks, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, swallows, and wrens. Good luck! An Asian grass known as Japanese stiltgrass was accidentally introduced into the U.S. during the last half of the 20th century and has become a major conservation nuisance nationwide. Birds After the morning paddle trip, some people went sight-seeing in Seneca Rocks, some took a nap, and at one went fishing. , Footage From 1972! So, we opted to at least start with a day-trip on the section from the low-water bridge to the take out at Big Bend Campground, which is the end of the road into the canyon. National Archives and Records Administration. This package of rocks is bounded on the lower and upper ends by two fairly competent sandstones: the Silurian Tuscarora and the Devonian Oriskany (Ridgeley), respectively. Smoke Lake to Ragged Lake. Directions: Smoke Hole Canyon is located in eastern WV, near Petersburg. Longtime residents of the gorge have insisted that the Indian "smoke house" cave story is the only genuine one and the only explanation that pre-dates the ones on the local state historical highway markers. The canyon offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, with opportunities for panoramic vistas from various overlooks. Thank you for helping us in our efforts to protect our visitors health and well-being. This is one of the most recommended routes for beginners. Did you mean to type The gauge at Franklin was 264 cfs and 3.00 feet on Sunday at noon. For over 20 miles the river has carved a half-mile deep canyon, with nearly vertical walls. [31], A number of small shelter caves in the Canyon are developed in the Oriskany Sandstone. In addition to hiking, there are many other ways to discover this beautiful wildness. One winter gathering of over 100,000 bats of several species constitutes the regions largest concentration of wild mammals. [14], A still extant log church Palestine Church was built as a Methodist Episcopal meeting house around 1850.[15]. DeepWoods_Adventure crew: Shane, Jame, Sarah, Mark,. My trip was the last weekend of April in 2017 and we had 90 degree weather so it was dropping fast. Smaller game animals include red and grey foxes, raccoons, opossums, beavers, mink, wild turkey, cottontails, squirrels, and quail. The rapids are consistent class I-II with Drinking water is not available so remember to bring your own. This landscape contains some of the most stunning beauty found in our state, from the 11-mile long Smoke Hole gorge along the South Branch of the Potomac, to the dramatic, 4000+-ft. peaks on North Fork Mountain. If things go south, hike up any drain on the left side of canyon (looking downstream) and you'll eventually (couple miles uphill) hit SmokeHole Road and can flag someone down. The canyon is steep sided and 11-12 miles long. I would not have enjoyed running those areas in anything other than a raft. The Monongahela National Forest (MNF) extended its boundaries in 1927 to include the Smoke Hole and in 1930 the first improved (graded) road was extended into the southern half of the gorge. Cart. The area is known for its unique rock formations, including towering cliffs and natural arches. According to Peter Fischer, MNF Fire Management Officer, it was the largest wildfire in the Monongahela National Forest since the 1950s. Formerly, a primitive wagon road threaded its way through the lower Canyon, but most traces of this are long gone. Anyway, one of the most beautiful floats I have ever floated in WV. I have heard it from a lot of guys that 250 cfs on the Franklin gauge is the lowest level you want to put on at Big Bend. Located at the end of Smoke Hole River Road, the Big Bend Campground contains 46 campsites in three loops. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. smoke hole canyon by tonylehr61 A self-supported trip created by tonylehr61 Trip Overview Got a nice weather window and the river flow was excellent for a run through smoke canyon. If you put on at 7-8am and dont paddle but dont stop (just go with the water), youll pop out at Petersburg around 5-7pm depending on how many Eddys you stopped in (I cant not stop on at least a few good looking holes lol). Having evolved in an eternally dark environment, most are blind and lack pigment. Parsons: (304) 478-3251 This relatively low precipitation permits a small haven for these unusual species. "This is something quite different," he said. Canoeing, fishing and hiking are popular activities. Did it last year in a 4-man shredder and camped near Blue Rock. Its not a difficult float. 21 miles. Many features may not work properly without it. in Smoke Hole Canyon, WV a couple class II + (Landslide Rapid upstream of Blue Rock and an old dam soon after joining the North Fork. Fruit of common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) in the lower Canyon. It is defined by North Fork Mountain to the west and Cave Mountain to the east. This species is so uncommon that the few small patches found among the rocks of the Canyon walls are thought to be the largest population in the world. White-tail deer were also exterminated from the area, as they were from the entire state, by about 1900. Save to Bookmarks. As you leave the Smoke Hole Campgrounds, you will enter the most scenic, most historic, and most famous run in West Virginia. Obviously anything higher than 250 youd be fine longer. After seeing the tree I decided to portage with the rest of my group. It included the Canyon as part of the greater Smoke Hole-North Mountain Bioreserve during its "Last Great Places" campaign. Youve already signed up with this email address. (Not uncommonly, an offender would serve his term, be released, and promptly resume production.) A visitor in the late 1930s observed that: Their speech is quaint, containing many archaic forms handed down from the first settlers of the eighteenth century. We had rain most of Saturday afternoon and during the night, but it did not bring the river up very much. It was wonderful! Before running the rapid I took a look from the river left and noticed a NASTY STRAINER that was just below water surface extending right out in the tongue that you need to run. Views of the Canyon can be had along the 24-mile (39km) long North Fork Mountain Trail to the west where sods and cedar barrens can be visited. We will camp Friday night near the put in at Jess Judy Group Campground and then Saturday night on the river. Furthermore, this region provides detailed insight into the lowermost roof-sequence cover above the suspected duplex of Cambrian-Ordovician horse-blocks and blind-thrusts at depth. Share sensitive information only (NB: Both Grant County Route 28/11 and Pendleton County Route 2 are indicated on maps as "Smoke Hole Road". Turn left onto the Smoke Hole Road, Route 28/11, and travel for 13 miles to County Route 2. Email:alex.kew@mail.wvu.edu. Deer and bear hunting is popular in late fall. rock formations and great camping spots. ? The main and traditional entrance into the Smoke Hole is from the south through a water gap between Big Mountain and Cave Mountain about two miles north of the community of Upper Tract. This landscape contains some of the most stunning beauty found in our state, from the 11-mile long Smoke Hole gorge along the South Branch of the Potomac, to the dramatic, 4000+-ft. peaks on North Fork Mountain. Photos? [23], During the Great Depression, many of the few people then living in the Canyon left to find better jobs, and their homesteads were consolidated among a smaller number of landholders. Bald eagles also nest in the surrounding mountainsides and great blue heron can be seen hunting at river level. Thus, for the first four decades of the 20th century, young Smoke Holers only knew about these "exotic" animals from the nostalgic hunting stories of their fathers and grandfathers. brevis), a member of the mint family, has some of its few worldwide occurrences within the Smoke Hole area. (Eagle returned after the war and is buried near the 300-foot-high crag that bears his name. Production on a small scale had been a local tradition long before the institution of Prohibition (1919) and continued to be so long after its repeal (1933). I looked at my notes and we did a three day float back in 2015. Smoke Hole Canyon About 185 million years ago, a seven-mile thick sheet of sedimentary rocks began to buckle and fold. A smoke hole ( smokehole, smoke-hole) is a hole in a roof for the smoke from a fire to vent. About a dozen species of plants and animals in Smoke Hole Canyon are considered to be "globally rare". The cedar glades support a number of species restricted to this part of the Appalachians including Smoke Hole bergamot a lovely, strikingly aromatic mint. The understory of the Canyon woodland includes such low-lying, fruit-bearing vegetation as huckleberry, blackberry, raspberry, teaberry, and wild grape. A remote canyon lined with cliffs and caves, mountain lore, and pioneer haunts, join us as we explore the Smoke Hole Canyon to learn of its history and of it. You can grab a canoe from the Canoe Lake Portage Store, and put in at Smoke Lake, across the highway. Bing Maps has a collection of great trails with directions to trail heads as well as photos. virginica) is another rare plant known from the Smoke Hole. At this period, local grade school children could attend a long-established local, one-room schoolhouse, but those few who were ambitious enough to try and attend high school had to walk seven miles (each way) to catch a school bus. Hot showers are also provided. Hey wooden nickel. To manage or opt-out of receiving cookies, please visit our. No information on Parking & Fees has been added yet for this paddling location. Phone:304.293.5076 | Anthony Creek (Neola to Greenbrier River), Bluestone River (Spanishburg to Eads Mill), Bluestone River (Eads Mill to Bluestone SP), Dry Fork of the Cheat(CR 26 to Hendricks), Gauley River (Curtin Bridge to Persinger Creek), Meadow River (East Rainelle to Russellville), New River (Glen Lyn, VA to Bull Falls, WV), North Branch of the Potomac (Styer to Shalamar), North Branch of the Potomac (Barnum to Bloomington), North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac (Judy Gap to Seneca Rocks), North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac (Seneca to Hopeville), North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac (Hopeville Canyon), Shavers Fork (Stuart Rec. ), From the Shreve's Store intersection, CR 2 continues north another two miles along the river (past Old Mines Cave Rocks, mile 4.1 and Old Mines Cave, mile 5.8) to the abandoned town of Ketterman (mile 6.3) also site of an erstwhile post office and then a final mile to Big Bend Campground (mile 7.3) where the motorable roadway ends. Kayaking and whitewater canoeing provide the best ways to see the canyon, particularly the lower section where there are no roads nor trails. This run is perfect for an intermediate paddlers first try at a small river/creek experience that includes fairly continuous rapids. McColloch, Jane S. (1986, revised edition), Calhoun, H.M. Sr. (6 November 1930), "Tales of Historic Smoke Hole and Seneca Rocks Interestingly Told", from a column in. Over the next 12 days, more than 190 personnel were dedicated to fire suppression efforts. The weather service measured about 0.5 inches at Franklin, WV from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. | In the 1920s, sympathetic Franklin attorney H. M. Calhoun Sr. (18661933) became a public champion of the Smoke Hole and its people. I did the upper portion of the canyon to eagle rocks in a traditional kayak in the early/mid 90s in early June. [27], On 10 November 2013, a fire started on private land adjacent to USFS land in the Smoke Hole. 2023 West Virginia University. Grant County Route 28/11 also proceeds from this intersection and traverses the northern half of the Canyon well above the river level for about 12 miles (19km) where it exits the Canyon at WV Route 55/28. Discover trails like Potomac Highlands Loop Seneca Rocks and Smoke Hole Canyon West Virginia, find information like trail length, elevation, difficulty, activities, and nearby businesses. A bit further on, Cat Path Rocks, a perpendicular cliff, has been partially cut through by the roadbed and is followed by another outcropping known as High Rocks. It lies in the Allegheny Mountains and was created by the flow of the South Branch Potomac River. Home Forums Trip Reports Smoke Hole Canyon, West Virginia, May 11 and 12, 2019. A third popular story is that the fires of moonshiner's stills during prohibition days (and before) gave the gorge its name. One such gorge is the Smoke Hole, where the South Branch of the Potomac River squeezes between North Mountain and Cave Mountain. I guess he just could'nt hold it!! |. 1 reply. Today the Canyon still has significant black bear and bobcat populations and is known for its large number of timber rattlesnakes, a species now scarce elsewhere in the state[citation needed]. Petersburg: (304) 257-4488, Gauley District wefully swamped 2 canoes, that still refrained from fully sinking. [32][33], Unnamed cliff (part of the Alt Cabin Anticline) along Smoke Hole Road, Exposed rock layers near Big Bend Campground, Blue Rock, composed of the Late Silurian Tonoloway Formation limestone, in the lower Smoke Hole Canyon, Bottomland in the lower Canyon (looking upstream). Class I-II+, Camping (Big Bend), Camping (Jess Judy), Fishing,Whitewater, https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/3329/, Book A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to West Virginia. It was made for local consumption as well as distributed (on the black market) for hundreds of miles around. He served in the 3rd, 4th, 8th and 12th Virginia Regiments and was present at, Calhoun, H.M. Sr. (13 November 1930), "Tales of Historic Smoke Hole and Seneca Rocks Interestingly Told", from a column in. Summer brings jack-in-the-pulpit, trilliums, anemones, wild geraniums, wild roses, lady slipper, wild columbine, rhododendron, black-eyed susans, field lilies, and ox-eyed daisies. If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. If walking up an drains on the left to smoke hole road be careful of rattlers. Union-supporting Home Guards known locally as "Swamp Dragons" destroyed the works. The best time to go camping in this area is during the summer months, from June to August, when the weather is warm and sunny. Take a camera. Some old timers call the canyon "Smoke Holes" and claim Native Americans used the caves for smoking meat. Difficulty ranges from Class I to Class III+. The earliest settler families the Steeles, Fulls, Eagles, Coxes, Boars, Shreves, and Van Meters were sustained by smallholder farming, supplemented by hunting and fishing. The North Fork Mountain Trail follows the ridge top along the western rim of the canyon. Smoke Hole Caverns and wonderful gift shop, Seneca Rocks and Seneca Caverns, Explore Nelson Rock's rock . As you can imagine, there was no shortage of help (and helpful advice) in jacking up the car and changing the tire. Smoke Hole Canyon Photo Jim Hopkins Tucked away in the Monongahela National Forest, Smoke Hole Canyon is unlike any place you've ever visited. The Cave Mountain anticline is further structurally bounded to the northeast and southwest by major cross-strike structural discontinuities: the nearly east-west trending Petersburg lineament and an extension of the northwest-southeast trending Parsons lineament, respectively. maybe 2)and made it out with *just* enough water. I *think* you can park at welton park overnight there's a fair amount of parking someone more local might know better. The anticline appears to divide into several plunging folds upsection, at the Lower Devonian strata level, toward each end of the fold. Smoke Hole Canyon is a hidden gem that offers a breathtaking hiking experience in the heart of the Monongahela National Forest,. Visitors can explore the canyon on foot via hiking trails, or by water via kayaking or canoeing on the river.
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smoke hole canyon canoe trip