The West Virginia park also offers several other easy walks plus golf, disc golf, pools, a spa, bicycle rentals and much more.
WVStateParks.com
West Virginia’s Stonewall Resort State Park is anchored by 2,630-acre Stonewall Jackson Lake.
There are always rewards for taking a walk very early in the day. At the Stonewall Resort State Park in Lewis County, West Virginia, we were rewarded with golden morning light filtering through mist rising off of the lake, goldenrod and wild grape decorating the trailside, the melodious songs and calls of towhees and vireos, a solitary doe gazing down at us on the shoreline and kayakers and paddleboarders gliding silently along the lake’s Carrion Bay.
The park certainly has all of the amenities to rightly call itself a resort. Within its nearly 2,000 acres are a sprawlingly huge, close-to-200-room lodge; lakeside rental houses and cottages; three restaurants; an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course; tennis courts; disc golf course; indoor and outdoor pools with hot tubs; fitness center; bicycle rentals; and a spa complete with massage therapy, facial treatments and sundeck. There is also a marina with hundreds of slips and a bait shop with pontoon, canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals. The campground has full hookups, hot showers and a playground.
Stonewall Resort Facebook
An early-day start on the lake-side walk can often offer golden light filtered through the mist off of the water.
The rewards continued for us as the day moved on, and we turned off the Lakeside Nature Trail to gradually rise amidst the tall and straight trunks of oak and poplar trees. At irregular intervals along the Cairns Trail, which follows the hillside’s contours, were odd shaped piles of rock—obviously stacked by human hands.
Consulting the descriptions on the trail map we had obtained at the park’s contact station, we learned that “approximately 200 cairns have been identified in the park. Some believe they were created by Native Americans, while others feel they had some purpose for the European descendents in the area.” These are definitely not the trail-marking cairns I’ve followed on pathways that rise above treeline, so I hope someone is conducting further research to solve this interesting mystery.
Descending on the Autumn Laurel Brooke Trail’s switchbacks to turn left on the Chipmunk Point Hike (hike is its official name, not trail) we came to the point’s small sandy beach. Here we watched an osprey swoop from the sky moments before motor boaters and jet skiers zoomed by us at such high rates of speed that the wake they created washed onto the shore we were standing upon.
As seemed fitting for the day, there was one more major reward waiting for us after we returned to the lodge via the Lakeside Nature Trail: A lunch of crab rangoons and focaccia bread pizzas accompanied by cold drafts fresh from the tap. We spent the time discussing what route we planned on taking tomorrow on the resort park’s other pathways.
On that second day, we again rose early, walked the Lakeside Nature Trail on Carrion Bay’s southern side (more shaded and lush than its northern counterpart) and, this time, turned left onto the Cairns Trail, rising steeply to Hevener’s Orchard Trail. A right turn would have gone close to the golf course, but would necessitate walking the park road back to the lodge. We took the left option and descended through a forest of black walnut trees and maiden hair ferns to meet up with the Lakeside Nature Trail and return to the lodge—having enjoyed another four-mile outing.
Praise from Someone Who Lives Nearby
“Trails at Stonewall Resort can be enjoyed by any level of adventurer and yet the views remain the same, amazing! Most journeys start along the picturesque Lakeside Nature Trail paralleling the lakeshore with only a few small grades, perfect for a stroll. From there, you can branch out for a more exciting adventure if you wish.”
—Stephanie Wolverton, Walkersville, West Virginia
Stonewall Resort Facebook
The Pedestrian Boardwalk
It’s Not Really a Trail…
... however, be sure to traverse the Pedestrian Boardwalk across the lake from the lodge to the campground. It’s not only constructed in an eye-pleasingly serpentine fashion, but will also bring you by Little Sorrel, the resort’s excursion boat that takes registered guests on a complimentary hour-long tour around the lake on a scheduled basis (spring through late fall).
When You Go
The Walk: Moderate four-mile trek beside the lake and into the forest of Stonewall Jackson Resort State Park.
Getting there: Take I-79 Exit 91 (a few miles south of Weston), drive US 19 South for 2.7 miles and turn left into the resort park.
More information: A trail map is available from the park’s contact station or on stonewallresort.com/i/downloads/Get_Outside_Guide.pdf
Find out more about Leonard’s walking and hiking adventures at www.habitualhiker.com.
The story above first appeared in our September / October 2022 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!