CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — If you need a quick getaway, two of America’s favorite road trips start and end right here in West Virginia.
According to a survey of regular road trippers conducted by Gunther Motor Company, Huntington to Elkins via Interstate 64 and Route 219 is No. 35 best weekend road trip in the country. The route will take you through “rolling hills, lush forests and charming small towns,” according to the study. It also allowed for a stop at West Virginia’s only national park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, capitol city Charleston and other top tourism towns like Snowshoe.
In total, the route is almost 300 miles, although a slight detour would need to be made to see the New River Gorge, and will take about five and a half hours of driving.
The original study said that the route included I-64 and Route 33, but a correction sent to 12 News confirmed that the route is using Route 219 instead of 33. If drivers want to extend the drive and continue past Elkins, they can enjoy stops like Bickle Knob along Route 33.
The second West Virginia list that made the top 100 weekend road trips goes from Morgantown to Lewisburg on I-79 and U.S. Route 19. Most of the trip is through the West Virginia mountains on I-79, which goes through towns like Weston, the home of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum which is a must-see. After you get on U.S. Route 19, you can make stops in Summersville, Fayetteville and New River Gorge National Park before you take Route 60 to Lewisburg.
The route is just over 200 miles in total and will take a little more than four hours of driving, depending on how many stops you make.
The top weekend road trips in the country, according to the study, are New York City to Niagara Falls, Colorado Springs to Dinosaur National Monument and Dallas to Big Bend National Park.