Find your way
Find the New River Gorge and the capital on a West Virginia map.
Week 7 of 52 · The Mountain State
West Virginia: gorges, coal mines & a little magic
Did you know West Virginia was born during the Civil War? In 1863, the mountain counties of Virginia split off and became their own state — the only state formed by breaking away from another state during the war.
This is part two of our national-park road trip. We stayed in a Harry Potter–themed house near New River Gorge National Park, stood above a bridge taller than a skyscraper, rode a mine car deep into a real coal mine and watched a water wheel grind cornmeal.
Coal built West Virginia's towns, and mining was hard, dangerous work. We'll learn about miners and their families with respect, and celebrate the mountain music, food and pride they passed down.
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
7 days · 26 family photographs · a 10-page kids' kit with a word search
Print, learn & wonder
The West Virginia State Kit
Just 10 pages — print it, then go explore. Map West Virginia, meet its flag, go underground with a coal miner, measure a giant bridge, bake pepperoni rolls and solve a word hunt. Each lesson has choices for K–2, grades 3–5 and grades 6–8, all from home.
Small lessons, big questions
Learn what coal miners did and why the bridge is so special.
Make something
Bake pepperoni rolls, a coal-miner lunch, and color a grist mill.
Mountain State word hunt
Eight West Virginia words to find, with answers for grown-ups.
Week 7 · West Virginia
The weekly guide
The Mountain State
Nickname
Charleston (not the one in SC!)
Capital
June 20, 1863 — the 35th state
Statehood
Black bear
State animal
Northern cardinal
State bird
Rhododendron
State flower
Golden Delicious apple
State fruit
"Montani semper liberi" — Mountaineers are always free
Motto
Flag clue: A white flag with a blue border. In the middle, a farmer with an axe and a miner with a pickaxe stand beside a rock carved with the date June 20, 1863 — West Virginia's birthday. A wreath of rhododendron, the state flower, wraps around them.
Eight things to tell the kids
New River Gorge became a national park in December 2020, one of the newest in the country.
The New River is called one of the oldest rivers in North America — and even though it's 'new,' it flows north, which is unusual.
The New River Gorge Bridge is 3,030 feet long and 876 feet above the river. When it opened in 1977, it cut a 45-minute drive down into the gorge to under a minute!
On Bridge Day each October, the bridge closes to cars and people walk across it — and parachute off it.
At the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, veteran miners drive visitors into a real mine in a 'man car' and show how coal was dug by hand and by machine.
Pepperoni rolls were invented in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1927 as an easy lunch for coal miners. They didn't need a fridge or a plate!
The Golden Delicious apple was discovered on a farm in Clay County, West Virginia, in 1914.
'Take Me Home, Country Roads' by John Denver begins 'Almost heaven, West Virginia' — and it's one of the state's official songs.
Sources & planning links
History and state facts use the sources below. Hours, prices, tours, trail conditions and age limits can change; confirm directly before travel.
Previous week
Catch up on previous states
Week 6
Virginia
Shenandoah, Luray Caverns, Skyline Drive, apple crisp and a 10-page kit.
Week 5
South Carolina
Charleston, the Lowcountry, biscuits and a 10-page kit with detective riddles.
Week 4
Texas
Austin, springs, tacos, music and a 10-page kit with a word hunt.
Week 3
Louisiana
New Orleans, jazz, beignets and a 10-page kit with a word hunt.
Week 2
Florida
Two Florida routes, key lime pie bars and a 20-page kit.
Week 1
Maine
Lighthouses, Acadia, blueberry muffins and a 20-page kit.
Monday mornings · free
One state, in your inbox
A family route, food, stories and a little learning to take home.