Blackwater Falls State Park

The falls drop about nineteen metres, and the water is genuinely amber-brown - tannic acid leached from the red spruce and hemlock bogs upstream stains it, which is where the river gets its name. Below them the river enters the rugged Blackwater Canyon. A long boardwalk stair descends to viewing platforms at the falls, usually cited as the highest above-ground falls in the state. The park sits high in the Allegheny Mountains, and the falls partly freeze most winters into ice formations that draw photographers. Lindy Point, a short walk from a nearby trailhead, gives an open view down the canyon and is the standard sunset spot.

The landscape

• Amber water - stained by tannins from spruce and hemlock bogs.
• A drop of about nineteen metres - at the head of Blackwater Canyon.
• A long boardwalk stair - down to the viewing platforms.
• Lindy Point - the open canyon view, best at sunset.

When to go

May to October, or midwinter for ice. Half a day.

Things to know

The boardwalk is a long climb back up. Winter access can be icy and the steps close in bad conditions. The plateau gets heavy snow and roads are affected. Summer weekends fill the small lots.

Nearby

Dolly Sods is east; Canaan Valley is south.

Key facts