Celebrating Mother’s Day with an active mom opens the doors to an outside family adventure.
Living in the Greenbrier Valley we have access to splendor within our home state, but it’s also a short trip over the border into Virginia and the Alleghany Highlands to discover its glory. It’s there that Falling Spring Falls welcomes visitors to view “a breathtaking 80′ waterfall that is one of the most visited and photographed spots” in the region, according to virginia.org. “One of the largest falls in Virginia, it cascades from an overhanging ledge, and is easily visible” from Route 220.
Thomas Jefferson described the Falling Spring Falls as a “remarkable cascade…falling over a rock about 200 feet to the valley below.”
Situated approximately five miles north of Covington, the recently renovated waterfall overlook, grounds and picnic area are custom made for a lunch carried in from one of the city’s restaurants, or take advantage of the close proximity of the James Burke House Eatery, Double C. Cafe, or even McDonald’s. All are within 3.5 miles of the falls.
The family picnic can be enjoyed at Falling Spring or eaten along the river. Nearby Jackson River offers prime fishing in the stocked river surrounded by the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest.
Petticoat Junction provides an access point along the Jackson River for canoes and kayaks (one could put in at Gathright Dam and float down the Jackson to this point). Petticoat Junction is the last pull out before floating down into Covington.
For those not in possession of water conveyances, Alleghany Outdoors rents kayaks, rafts, tubes, and mountain bikes for a variety of trip lengths and formats. The outfitter company specializes in running river trips on the upper Jackson River and the Jackson River Scenic Trail below Lake Moomaw and Covington. A shuttle service is also on hand to move customers upstream to launch areas.
Alleghany Outdoors “is the contracted concessionaire outfitter of Alleghany County parks and recreation department to provide both river paddling and bike trail experiences for locals and tourists visiting the Jackson River scenic valley.”
Mom may desire to make a few furry and feathery friends on her special day and the Jackson River, as a designated Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail, will make her wish come true.
According to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “These surroundings support anticipated birds such as indigo buntings and song sparrows. Along forest edges these birds can be heard singing from prominent points and popping out of denser patches of scrub and grass. The woods ring with the familiar calls of Carolina wren, northern cardinal and northern flicker, while the river hosts great blue and green herons, wood duck and belted kingfisher. Butterflies such as eastern tiger swallowtail and red-spotted purple float between cardinal flowers and black-eyed Susans. The glittering ebony jewelwing sticks to shady sections along the stream, often sharing their perch with eastern painted turtles.”
If mom loves natural beauty, then a visit to Falling Spring Falls and surrounding area will make her Mother’s Day the ideal gift, and the pictures and memories will last a lifetime.
