mmarshall

Sports cars, per se, were never really my cup of tea, and still aren’t to this day, although I have sampled and test-driven a number of them in my lifetime. For the money, you probably can’t beat the Mazda Miata and the Miata-based Fiat 124 Spyder, or, if you can spend some more, the Porsche Boxster/Cayman. But, this is not a sports-car review, but a road-review, so let’s get to the core issue…..the pavement.

More specifically, two-lane winding pavement, with hills, tight-S, and hairpin curves, little traffic to contend with, reasonable speed-limits, places to stay for the night, and places to refuel if needed. Put all of this into the Genie’s Bottle, rub it once or twice, and, POOF…….out comes West Virginia.

Or, at least, that part of West Virginia in the East-Central, North-Central, and Eastern parts of the state comprising the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley area, Appalachian (Allegheny)-Plateau, and Laurel Mountain to the west. Now, of course, West Virginia is not the only place one will find nice sports-car roads in the Appalachians….one of the most famous is the Tail of the Dragon, farther south in North Carolina/Tennessee, with its 318 curves in 11 miles., or some of the roads through the Hocking Hills, at the extreme western limit of the Appalachian-Low-Plateau, in southern Ohio. (Car and Driver Magazine likes the Hocking Hills for some of their tests). But, given West Virginia’s notoriously rugged terrain, almost no significant areas of level ground except the Shenandoah Valley in the extreme Eastern part of the Panhandle (Jefferson/Berkeley Counties), and the fact that many of its roadways are old, and except for the newer Interstates, still maintain much of the winding, terrain-following character they did when they were first paved in the 1920s and 1930s, here is the place to take your sports car if you not only want to have some fun with it but enjoy sometimes-excellent scenery as well. The mountain views are not as stunning as in Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive, further East in Virginia, but there is still a lot of nice mountain scenery to take in…..particularly in the fall, when the tree-foliage has its most stunning colors. The rest of the year, the mountains will generally appear blue or green, depending on how far away you are from each ridge.

There are many winding roads throughout these parts of the state that you could try (and the more remote ones are not as likely to have trucks or commerce on them), but, in general, I’d recommend three main roads. First, U.S. 50, in the North-Central and Northeast part of the state, Second, U.S. 33 from Skyline Drive in Virginia, across Shenandoah Mountain and several other ridges to Elkins, West Virginia. Third, U.S. 250 from Staunton, VA Northwest and North to Elkins….this is probably the most challenging of the three, for several reasons. I’ll cover these three routes with a general explanation, and some pictures/videos. These descriptions are for one-directional travel…..you can drive the opposite way, of course, if desired.

From the West, U.S 50 (originally named the Northwestern Turnpike) enters the state from Ohio at Parkersburg, crosses the Ohio River, and, despite a lot of low plateau-dissected hills, is a relatively dull and uneventful four-lane highway as far east as the city of Clarksburg. There, just east of the I-79 interchange, things start to get interesting, as the road narrows to two lanes and winds through small towns and a culture/environment still steeped somewhat in the past. A few more miles to Laurel Mountain, the first major Plateau-Ridge going east, (Elevation 2700 feet+/- at the top), and you have a very interesting winding descent, with two tight 15-MPH hairpins, one right and one left, (the famous Rt. 50 Horsehoe-Curve) at about the 2200-foot level, and then a further descent to the valley of the Tygart River. The road follows the river for a few miles, crosses it, then splits off through a narrow valley towards Cheat Mountain. The steep climb up Cheat Mountain is a classic…a series of almost endless series of sharp S-curves one behind the other, although trees tend to block the view of the valley below. Again, once reaching around 2700 feet or so, you find the top of Cheat Mountain is a level plateau (the Allegheny High-Plateau), and the road is uneventful except for crossing Backbone Mountain, at 3050 feet, in a short stretch through the tip of Garret County in Maryland. The crossing of Backbone Mountain is somewhat steep, but with no curves….its summit is the highest point on Rt. 50 East of the Mississippi. Further to the East, at the edge of the Allegheny Front, a long and very high escarpment at the edge of the Plateau, is perhaps the most dramatic spot of the trip….a stunning view to the east, with Saddle Mountain and the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley region ahead and below. The road drops some 1800 feet in 4-5 miles (a 9% grade), on the edge of the drop-off, (although some of the view is blocked with trees), with curve after curve, and a couple of sharp hairpins, although not quite so sharp as the hairpins coming down Laurel Mountain. East of the Front, the terrain is much lower, the road tends to skirt the long/parallel ridges through gaps and creek/river-crossings, and you tend to look more up at the ridges than down from them. The are some curves, but nothing like further to the west. Some low parallel-ridges are crossed at the summit, but with relatively straight road-paths, not sharp curves. The road stays more or less that way across the state line into Virginia, then becomes four-lane again through a couple of small towns into the city of Winchester, by which time you are generally out of sports-car country unless you head south on U.S 522 for Front Royal and Skyline Drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains.


For the most fun on U.S. 33, start just East of Swift Run Gap on Skyline Drive in Virginia, perhaps at Standardsville or Lydia, and drive up and over the winding Gap in the Blue Ridge to Skyline Drive at the top, then down the Western side of the Gap to the wide valley below. The road in the valley will not be winding, but the Shenandoah Valley is stunning in its mountain scenery. Continue Northwest through the valley to Harrisonburg and Rawley Springs to Shenandoah Mountain, up a roughly 9% grade 4-mile ascent and 4-mile descent of endless S-curves and a hairpin turn at the 3450-foot summit, where you will cross into West Virginia. U.S. 33 mostly winds around the next several smaller ridges and creek/river gaps and goes through the the town of Franklin, but then encounters a major winding climb at North Fork Mountain, up to a sharp curve at the 3580-foot summit. Partway down the long winding S-curves descent to Judy Gap, there is a pull-off scenic overlook to the picturesque Germany Valley below….you’ll want to get a shot of that. The route then skirts the base of the aforementioned Allegheny Front some distance to the Northeast, to Seneca Rocks (another camera shot you will probably want to get), then turns Northwest and starts a long ascent up the Front with some extremely sharp curves and hairpins (there have been some serious truck-accidents on this section from loss of brakes). The top of the Allegheny Plateau, here, is more rugged than further north along U.S. 50, but the road still is not as winding here as further East, so the rest of the trip into Elkins won’t be quite as fun. Still, a lot to look back on.

For U.S. 250, I have not actually driven it or ridden on it, but have followed and examined it closely on Google Maps, Google Earth, 3D views, Satellite views, videos, and images, and, in some ways, it may actually be the most challenging of these three routes. Going west, there’s no need to go over Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge in Virginia, since that gap is not particularly twisting….you can start at Staunton, in the Southern end of the Shenandoah Valley, and go west from there. On this road, you will be in Virginia more than on Routes 50 or 33, because of the way the boundary with West Virginia shifts West to basically the Allegheny Front, with the parallel Ridge and Valley region East of the Front virtually all in Virginia. Starting in Staunton, and leaving the Shenandoah Valley, the terrain rises at the edge of the valley, but the road at first is not too unassuming. As you get deeper into the ridges West of the Valley….Shenandoah Mountain, Bull Pasture Mountain, Jacks Mountain, Lantz Mountain, the Allegheny Front, and the southern end of Cheat Mountain, the road becomes basically a winding/twisting snake (sometimes steep) for miles and miles, almost like an elongated version of the famous Tail of the Dragon farther South. A number of very tight hairpins and switchbacks are in the middle of the tight-curve areas, and, as with Route 33, these have been the scene of a number of truck-accidents…many truckers, today, avoid this road, as it is simply too dangerous for large heavy trucks. The last part of the trip into Elkins, where 250 joins with U.S. 33, is picturesque but uneventful, as the road follows the Tygart Valley in between Cheat Mountain and Rich Mountain. At Elkins, of course, you put up for the night in a motel if you are tired from the day’s run.

Last, keep in mind that this part of Virginia and West Virginia has rather severe winters, and is subject to a lot of freezing/thawing on the roads, particularly at high altitudes, so it is perhaps to advisable to plan a long drive on them during the winter or early spring, where not only winter storms could be a problem, but also potholes and frost-damaged road surfaces, at least until road crews can get to them in the spring. Snow, at the higher elevations, can start as early as October. In the summer, thunderstorms can form quite suddenly from mid-day through late afternoon, particularly near and along the Blue Ridge in Virginia, and these storms can sometimes get severe, wth hail and winds…so keep tabs on the local weather with your smartphone.








^^^^^Germany Valley from U.S. 33 on North Fork Mountain.









^^^^ U.S. 50 across West Virginia



U. S. 250 is an official Motorcycle Road (so are parts of 33 and 50)

mmarshall

I should probably add that another excellent stretch of sports-car /mountain/winding road is not that far from the D.C. area....U.S. 211 going East/West through Thornton Gap in the Blue Ridge, in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, where it crosses Skyline Drive at the top, and has sharp curves and hairpins on both sides on the way up and down. Unlike the three routes I mentioned above, though, Thornton Gap is a relatively short drive (maybe 10 miles) although, if desired, one can drive west across the Shenandoah Valley, through Luray, and over Massanutten Mountain, which is not as high as the Blue Ridge in that region, but 211 has some pretty good winding curves and a couple of moderate hairpins across Massanutten, too.

scojay

Almost Heaven!! My MX-5 Miata loves those WV roads. Let's Go!

mmarshall

Yes, a Miata is one of the best cars for navigating those tightly-wound mountain roads, and the manual-transmissions in most of them also help with engine-braking on steep hills. But its firm ride and high noise level can get tiring after a long trip....I guess you are used to it if you drive one every day.

SW17LS

I would add WV Rt 60, the Midland Trail from Sam Black Church off of I-64 ultimately to Charleston. Lots of great places to stop around there, Hawk's Nest, Gauley Bridge, Cathedral Falls, the New River Gorge, Babcock State Park, Chimney Corner, to name a few.

http://www.midlandtrail.com/

When I was a kid 64 ended around Sam Black Church and we used to have to get off and take 60 up over the mountain to Rt 19 to get to where we're from (Fayetteville). Road was a lot less enjoyable back then with all the tractor trailers that stay on 64 now. I usually stay on 64 but I do get off and take 60 occasionally if its a nice day when I'm going down there.

Lwerewolf

I'm not anywhere near (halfway across the globe), but... How about Virginia's reckless driving classifications?

Och

iTrader: (3)

There are some amazing roads in upstate NY and nearby PA as well.

mmarshall

The old U.S. 30 (Lincoln Highway) over Tuscarora Mountain, between Ft. Loudoun and McConnellsburg, PA, used to be a classic road for sports-cars, but, some years ago, Highway crews straightened out the worst of the old hairpin curves, rerouted the road over the lower-west side of the ridge, and by-passed the extremely steep 14% grade on the last stretch down into McConnellsburg. That part with the relatively straight roller-coaster grade still exists, but it now is a branch-off road has a different route-designation.

The Weatherly Hill, in the Pocono Mountains of NE Pennsylvania, is also an interesting sports-car road. Here's a video of the Hill-Climbs.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Whenever I go for a fun car or motorcycle ride, as soon as I am out of NYC, I set my GPS to avoid highways, and take local roads. Easy way to discover amazing routes.

mmarshall

In Virginia, Reckless Driving is 80+ MPH, and/or anything more than 20 MPH over the posted speed limit.

West Virginia has no set legal standard for Reckless Driving...most of it is determined by the police, the Traffic-Court, and the specific circumstances in the violation.

But, trust me, on some of the roads I've described in this thread, the last thing you will want to be doing, even in highly-capable sports-cars, is trying to negotiate some of those hairpins and sharper curves at high speeds, especially on Rt. 50 at Laurel Mountain, the Allegheny Front, and a number of places on U.S. 250. Even driving sports-cars takes some caution and common sense when dealing with the laws of physics.

mmarshall

Oh, sure, there's plenty of other roads that can be added....particularly some of the secondary roads. I chose 33 and 250, though, because they seem to cross some of the highest terrain, particularly on the Allegheny Front.

SW17LS

Its amazing that people so often don't understand this....but Virginia and West Virginia are different states with different laws.

Seriously, I have told many people in my life that West Virginia is not "western Virginia".

I mean...it only happened in 1863 so I guess it hasn't gotten around yet lol

scojay

... John Denver is rolling over in his grave.

SW17LS

And John Denver wrote that song about a road in Maryland! Right near where I live now actually.

Everybody's all over the place!

Lwerewolf

Just realized that the first picture in this thread has a flag stating "State of West Virginia" on it... and the t-shirt... Ah well.