Certainly 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. Awesome Canoe trip down the Smoke Hole Canyon in West Virginia! Others say it was the moonshiner's stills that gave the gorge its name. It rained off and on while were paddling but it was pretty warm and the company and scenery was nice. The political situation in the Smoke Hole is certainly unusual; until a few years ago it was said the Smoke Hole had "only one Democrat and lightnin' killed him", but recently there has been some swing of political allegiances. Here is a very different world from that of the sunlit surface above. Formerly, the area was home to a scattered community of family homesteads, storied for their isolation, traditional lifestyles, and skilled production of the illicit liquor known as "moonshine". Pre-modern English homes with unglazed . Adjacent to this northwest limb is a highly folded and faulted zone that is representative of the designated Blue Rock synclinal "shear zone" complex of macroscale structures between the Cave Mountain and the Wills Mountain anticlines. They employ 'clumb' for 'climbed', 'wrop' for 'wrapped', 'holp' for 'helped', and such redundancies as 'rifle-gun', 'rock-clift', 'ham-meat' and 'tooth-dentist'. 200 Sycamore Street The South Branch of the Potomac River is sandwiched between North Mountain and Cave Mountain, creating a half-mile deep canyon with nearly vertical walls. Help the paddling community! virginica) is another rare plant known from the Smoke Hole. White-tail deer were also exterminated from the area, as they were from the entire state, by about 1900. DeepWoods_Adventure Kayaking Smoke Hole Canyon WV - YouTube (304) 636-1800, Cheat-Potomac District In West Virginia, Big Bend Campground lies along the South Branch of the Potomac River at Smoke Hole Canyon. But limestone soil is not acidic and tends to be richer in certain nutrients than are other soils, thus supporting a different type of plant life. Water Levels.Friday put on @ 12:30 was 389 cfs @ Franklin (Plenty of Water)Saturday @ 12:30 was 307 cfs @ Franklin (still plenty of water)Sunday @ 12:30 was 249 cfs @ Franklin (scrappy on the shoals and some rock scraping on some of the shallow spots.) A man from Oklahoma, claiming to have been a member of Dillinger's gang, hired a local in 1965 to help him locate the legendary loot. The canyon is known for its scenic beauty, including rock formations, waterfalls, and a river that runs through it, which could provide a fun and educational experience for children. Bartow: (304) 456-3335, Marlinton-White Sulphur District He helps Eagles nest out in the summer on occasion. The oldest explanation appears to be the story that Native Americans used a well-known cave in the gorge (Smoke Hole Cave) for smoking meat; this cave has a room shaped like an inverted funnel with a hole at the apex through which smoke could escape and be seen from some distance. Smoke Lake to Ragged Lake. (The riverbed is at about 1,100 feet (340m) above sea level and the summit of Cave Mountain is 2,470 feet (750m).) In addition to moving forward with traditional acquisition and protection of core parcels, our plan includes researching and restoring key ecological processes such as fire, reducing competition from non-native weeds, and creating a deeper public understanding of this landscapes ecological values and conservation needs. Smoke Hole North Fork Mountain | The Nature Conservancy In recent years, the Canyon has been overwhelmed with this invasive species, first introduced into the state in 1980. Bat guano and other organic debris support an array of invertebrates specially adapted to this bizarre ecosystem. This area was the center of the "town of Smoke Hole" proper, site of an official post office for a time. connected to the .gov website. [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. We had two boaters come all the way from Tennessee! Each site has a picnic table, lantern post, fire ring, and parking place. Last updated on September 24, 2021. In 1965, much of the Smoke Hole gorge was included in the MNF's new Spruce KnobSeneca Rocks National Recreation Area. 250cfs is my lowest starting point. Fruit of common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) in the lower Canyon. Enter a search term like, Seneca Rocks, or Coopers Rock State Forest., Adventure WV Two paddlers and heavy on the camping gear. Peeing in Smoke Hole Canyon, WV - YouTube Help the community if you have information to share! Did not see a trout after the put in at Big Bend. Turn left onto the Smoke Hole Road, Route 28/11, and travel for 13 miles to County Route 2. On Saturday at noon the Franklin gauge was reading 2.64 ft and 68 cfs. Two other non-native, invasive plants seriously threaten the rare limestone plant communities in the Canyon spotted knapweed and viper's bugloss and are also the objects of Nature Conservancy abatement projects. We ended up taking 3 canoes with Wingman Cooler stabilizers. The marvels even extend underground, into extensive limestone caves. We had two boaters come all the way from Tennessee! See all. The Smoke Hole bergamot (Monarda fistulosa var. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ive done it in kayak, pontoon, and raft. The scenery is spectacular with steep canyon walls and tall rock spires and cliffs. The blue-blazed trail follows the river upstream, ascends part way up Cave Mountain, passes fields and old farms on its way back downstream, and then drops back down to the river nearly opposite Shreve's Store. Smoke Hole Canyon West Virginia - YouTube Smoke Hole is a rugged canyon formed by the , data:image/jpeg;base64,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, data:image/jpeg;base64,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, data:image/jpeg;base64,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.