When West Virginia State Parks planners gazed upon the Bluestone River Gorge on the border of Summers and Mercer Counties in the 1960s, they were inspired to construct a large lodge on the rim and an aerial tram that would reach a smaller, more secluded lodge 1,200 feet down at the bottom. It was such a novel idea that to this day, Pipestem Resort State Park’s Mountain Creek Lodge remains the country’s sole state park lodge accessed only by tramway.
Furthermore, the original 1971 tram was thoroughly modernized in late 2025, with sleek new gondolas run by the world’s first high-tech Doppelmayr Next Generation system. “It kind of operates itself,” says park superintendent Aaron England. “It’s continually moving at three miles per hour, with four pods of three gondolas spaced at equal distances.”
Departing from a station with parking at the top, guests descend precipitously for five to six minutes over a distance of 3,500 feet in cocoon-like glass gondolas that provide views of distant mountaintops and dense forest until they pass over the Bluestone River and arrive at the thirty-room lower lodge. If guests bring along bicycles, kayaks, or other bulky recreation gear, a dedicated, open-air freight gondola is on hand to handle the transport. Once checked in, there’s no need to go back up for food—McKeever Lodge houses a newly renovated gourmet restaurant set to open by Memorial Day.
A Day (or More) at Pipestem Resort State Park
With 4,050 acres within its borders and a full roster of activities, Pipestem lives up to its billing as a “family adventure resort.”
Tram Good Times
The tramway isn’t exclusive to Mountain Creek Lodge guests. Visitors who travel to the gorge bottom by hiking trail or zipline—a much quicker trip at 50 miles per hour!—sometimes hop aboard for the trip back up, and others just want the experience and views. (Tickets range from free to $13 depending on age.) England advises all riders to keep an eye out at about the midway point. “There’s a cliffside waterfall with a cave behind it where a man was once known to make moonshine,” he says. “Now there’s a mannequin holding a shotgun in there, guarding a still.”
Water, Water, Everywhere
The park’s dock on Long Branch Lake offers just about every man-powered floatable—kayak, canoe, paddleboard, paddleboat, and rowboat—for rent. Anglers can cast for smallmouth bass and catfish in the lake and stocked trout in the Bluestone River. Adults and big kids might aim for Adventure Lake, with its giant, inflatable water slides and trampolines, while younger kids cavort at a splash park complete with spraying flowers and dumping buckets.
Friendly Competition
Located at the top of the gorge, Pipestem Adventure Zone offers skill activities including miniature golf, disc golf, skeet shooting, and an archery range with 3D animal model targets, including deer and turkey. Golf options elsewhere on the resort include an eighteen-hole championship golf course, a par-three short course, and a driving range.
Accommodations
In addition to the tram-accessible Mountain Creek Lodge, the larger McKeever Lodge houses 108 rooms (including suites), two full-service dining options, and the Mountain Serenity Spa. For a more rustic experience, reserve one of twenty-six cozy cabins or eighty-two campsites.
Steve Russell is a Garden & Gun contributing editor who also has written for Men’s Journal, Life, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. Born in Mississippi and raised in Tennessee, he resided in New Orleans and New York City before settling down in Charlottesville, Virginia, because it’s far enough south that biscuits are an expected component of a good breakfast.
