Thursday, May 26, 2011

Cool Springs Park, Rowlesburg, WV

This is the first in a new series I'm doing on my blog of some of the things to do in the North Central West Virginia and Western Maryland area.  I decided to make Cool Springs Park the first post because I think it is one of the most interesting places I've ever been and it amazes me how many people who live in this area have never been there! It is located near Rowlesburg, WV and is about 11 miles from my home.


From where I live, Rowlesburg, WV is almost entirely down a mountain.  Because of this, our car gets 81.5 miles per gallon on our descent to the park.  (Let's not discuss the gas milage on the way UP the mountain!)



The park has a lot of trees, and parts of it are just beautiful.




But the real fun is for kids!  As I was there yesterday, I heard a little boy looking at all kinds of old  farm equiptment that is rusting through the park and exclaiming "Wow! Look!" at everything he saw.  Supervision is a must at the park because of the rusting equiptment, and children can play on the equiptment.  Also there are animals at the park that wander around.  Yesterday I saw some donkeys or burros.  They were big with hooves and looked equine-esqe but were not horses.  Because they can wander around you need to watch where you step!  There are fish you can feed as well.  (The store next to the park sells small bags of fish food for 10 cents a bag!)



These guys were in a cage.



In addition to farm equiptment to play on you can play on trains!  What little boy wouldn't adore spending time in this park?






It's not just children who love playing on the old tractors.  This guy was running all over one of them!


I used to love playing in the caboose when I was a child.  I didn't go inside yesterday to see how it has weathered the years, but do remember standing in it when I was little.



There is also an old-fashioned water wheel in the midst of the park.


Across the road there is a teepee up on a hill.  I've heard there is a geocache hidden right behind it, so if you're into geocaching then you might want to try and get this one, but one word of warning, the hill is very, very steep.  I've never walked up there myself and used to marvel when I would see people at the teepee!


Before you leave be sure and stop in the store and order a foot long hot dog.  They have great food, and the atsmophere is none like you'll find anywhere else.  There are taxidermied animals who keep watch over you and some of the most unique items ever sold in one place.  When was the last time you ate at a place with a cow on top of the building?



7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. REAL LIVE GOATS on roof of this restaurant in Sister Bay, WI. Quite a sight to see! http://www.aljohnsons.com/

    Susan C.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for your post. I grew up in WV and we often went to cool springs on a Sunday drive. Can't wait to check it out again with my boys!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been there many times and I still love it. It's for all ages and there's lots to do. Pet the animals, feed the donkeys or the fish, make a wish in the well, eat some great cooking, take in the sights. Wonderful place to spend time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Have stopped there several times since I was a little kid. One of my great childhood memories.....stopping at Cool Springs to relax and eat a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. (Brought there by us.) :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I use to go here when i was a lil kid and i loved it ... Great childhood memories

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thankyou for all the nice things you said. I'm the owner's granddaughter and we are very proud of our store. Everyday we are happy to greet, serve, and talk to anyone that comes through the door. It's a fantastic place to grow up. My family works very hard to make sure each and every customer has a good time and a good memory by the time they leave. It's good to hear that it's paying off =) please stop in anytime.

    ReplyDelete