Beckley

Beckley is a city of 17, 256 (as of 2020) in West Virginia, and is the county seat of Raleigh County pop. 74, 591 (2020). It sits on a high plateau above the New River Gorge at an elevation of 2,418 feet. It was founded in 1838 and named for John J Beckley, the first Clerk of the House of Representatives and the first Librarian of Congress.

Once a major coal industry hub, Beckley contains a small historic downtown and many suburban neighborhoods. The Beckley area serves as the overall regional commercial center for Southern West Virginia region, and has many big box stores and chain restaurants, in contrast to the small-town nature of its surrounding communities. Beckley sits as the closest town to the Grandview portion of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, and has easy access within 40 minutes to the park's 2 other visitor centers near Fayetteville and Hinton.

Get in

By car

Beckley is situated along I-77 and I-64. Both enter the Beckley area from the northwest twinned on the West Virginia Turnpike from Charleston. From Charleston, I-64 heads west towards Huntington and I-77 heads northwest towards Parkersburg. Leaving Beckley to the east, the highways split: I-64 continues to Virginia Beach, Virginia in the east, while I-77 heads south, continuing as the West Virginia Turnpike towards Charlotte, North Carolina.

By bus
  • Greyhound, 105 3rd Avenue, +1 304-253-8333. Open 7AM to 5:30PM Monday to Saturday; and 7AM to 10AM, and 2PM to 5PM on Sunday.

By train
  • Amtrak, WV-41 N by Depot Road in Prince (about 30 minutes northeast), +1 304-253-6651. Open 9:30AM to 9:30PM Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

By plane

Get around

See
  • New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Grandview Visitors Center offers a view of the deepest part of the New River Gorge, and several hiking trails.
  • Uptown Beckley includes the brick-paved Main Street with shops, galleries, eateries and the courthouse. The area is undergoing revitalization and features events throughout the year, including a chili night when visitors can sample the entries in a chili-judging contest.
  • Theatre West Virginia, 4700 Grandview Road, ☏ +1 304-252-6800, toll-free: +1-800-666-9142. In Beaver. A professional touring and historical outdoor drama theatre company, holding performances in a dramatic amphitheatre. Among their outdoor musical dramas: "Honey in the Rock", which tells the story of the birth of West Virginia, and "Hatfields and McCoys", which relives the famous feud. Tickets $15. 
  • Beckley is the northern terminus of the Coal Heritage Trail, a 97-mile scenic drive that passes mine-owners' mansions, miners' homes, company stores, coal tipples and state parks, before ending in Bluefield.
  • 🌍 West Virginia University Institute of Technology, 512 South Kanawha Street. (updated Mar 2019)

Do
  • 🌍 Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine (Phillips-Sprague Mine), 513 Ewart Avenue, ☏ +1 304-256-1747. Tours available 10AM to 5:30PM daily, April 1 through November 1. Visitors get a realistic look at coal mining as it was at the turn of the century, by travelling 1500 feet underground in authentic mining cars and touring the historic coal camp on the grounds, with veteran miners as guides. Be sure to bring a jacket, as temperatures underground stay at 58 degrees year-round. Adults $15. 
  • 🌍 Winterplace Ski Resort, 100 Old Flat Top Mountain Road, ☏ +1 304-787-3221. In Ghent, or 800-607-SNOW (7669). Open 9AM to 10PM on weekdays, 8AM to 10PM on weekends and holidays, December through March. 27 trails, a terrain park, 16 snowtubing lanes, 9 ski lifts and 5 tubing lifts, and a vertical drop of 603 feet. Rental shop and four restaurants on-site. Skiing and snowboarding lessons available. $27-137 (lift tickets, including multi-day), $22-71 (rentals), $42-104 (lessons). 
  • 🌍 Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia, 513 Ewart Avenue, ☏ +1 304-252-3730. Open 10AM to 6PM daily, April through October; and 10AM to 5PM Tuesday through Saturday, November through March. Four railroad boxcars, a planetarium, a recreated Appalachian mountain homestead, and three rotating exhibits designed to entertain and educate on subjects like biology and art. 

Buy
  • 🌍 Tamarack, 1 Tamarack Park, toll-free: +1-88-TAMARACK (82627225). Open 8AM to 7PM January through March, and 8AM to 8PM April through December. Selling "the best of West Virginia", Tamarack offers a one-stop-shop for high-quality and authentic West Virginia culture, heritage, handcrafts, fine art, regional cuisine and music. It's one of the best places in the state to stop if you're looking for a really nice souvenir: you can buy hand-carved furniture, glass, pottery, Appalachian quilts, and regional specialty foods. The food court features signature dining options from the Greenbrier Hotel. There are six resident artists on-site who give demonstrations throughout the day, and Tamarack boasts a 178-seat theatre for live musical, theater, dance and storytelling performances. 

Malls
  • Crossroads Mall, 2 Crossroads Mall in Mount Hope, ☏ +1 304-255-6176. Open 10AM to 9PM Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6PM on Sunday. Over 45 department and specialty stores, and a six-screen cinema. 

Eat
  • Char Restaurant, 100 Char Drive, ☏ +1 304-253-1760. Open 5PM to 10PM Tuesday through Saturday, and 5PM to 9PM on Monday; closed Sundays. A family-owned and -operated restaurant since 1965, voted "Best Restaurant in West Virginia", with excellent food, friendly service and inviting ambiance. Steaks, chops, seafood and traditional Italian favorites. Try the fried olives, brascioli and their bread pudding. 
  • King Tut Drive-In, 301 N Eisenhower Drive, ☏ +1 304-252-6353. Open 10:30AM to 11PM daily except Wednesdays, weather permitting. A family-owned drive-in since the early 1940s, serving recipes handed down for generations. Sandwiches, pizzas and full dinners, with freshly-baked bread, soups made from scratch, and homemade pies. Try their award-winning pork barbecue sandwiches, stone-baked pizza and twice-baked potatoes. $1.50-8, pizzas $11-17.50. 
  • Young Chow's, 219 Pikeview Drive (Off Harper Road (I-77 exit 44)), ☏ +1 304-253-CHOW (2469). Chinese-American and Japanese appetizers, soups, salads, vegetables, poultry, beef, pork, seafood, rice, noodles, grilled dinners, sushi and desserts. Meals come with free fried noodles with dipping sauces, and Chow's spicy cabbage. Try the fried ice cream. $5-25. 

Drink
  • Daniel Vineyards, 200 Twin Oaks Road, ☏ +1 304-252-9750, toll-free: +1-877-378-1990. In Crab Orchard. Open 10AM to 5PM Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 5PM on Sunday. International award-winning estate-grown wine, with a tasting room. 11 red and white wines, including one made entirely from blackberries. 

Sleep

Mid-range

Splurge
  • The Resort at Glade Springs, 255 Resort Drive, toll-free: +1-866-575-0866. In Daniels. Lodging for up to 350 people in The Inn, Manor Houses, Oak Lane Villas, Executive Suites, Chestnut Hill Lodges and Stone Manor. Two golf courses, fitness center, spa offering massages and facials, whirlpool, steam room, sauna, canoe and kayak rental, paddle boats, fly-fishing, clay skeet shooting, horseback and pony rides, bike riding, walking trails, day camps. Four on-site restaurants. $119-509 (double occupancy), $1000 (9-person manor). 

Bed and breakfasts

Cope
  • The local newspaper is the Register-Herald, +1 304-255-4400 or +1-800-950-0250, .

Go next
Routes through Beckley
Lexington ← Charleston ←  N  E  → Lewisburg → Charlottesville
Parkersburg ← Charleston ←  N  S  → Princeton → Wytheville


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