OVERVIEW

Within the nation’s newest national park, this seemingly remote seven-acre retreat is only four miles from Interstate 64 and twenty from Beckley, the largest city in southern West Virginia. In a forest valley surrounded by park, it’s ideally suited as a home or vacation property.

Most recently used as a single-family vacation camp, a terraced one-acre clearing along the road overlooking Meadow Creek Falls was once the site of a historic farmhouse and includes a well. Trails wander the remaining six-acre woodland and ascend into the uninhabited park backcountry. Backcountry status ensures the surrounding woodlands will not be developed.

The retreat is located in the southern section of the national park, an area prized by anglers, kayakers, hikers, and hunters. Tourists visiting the area are also fond of visiting epic nearby attractions such as Grandview, Sandstone Falls, and the Glade Creek Gristmill. Winterplace ski area is a 30-mile drive from the retreat, and The Greenbrier at White Sulphur Springs and the New River Gorge Bridge at Fayetteville are an hour’s drive.

ATTRIBUTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

• Overlooking Meadow Creek Falls
• Surrounded entirely by national park
• Hunting, fishing, and kayaking destination
• Within national park backcountry zone
• Accessible by paved country road
• A 10-minute drive from I-64
• A 30-minute drive from the City of Beckley

ABOUT MEADOW CREEK

Meadow Creek is a popular public trout stream stocked February through May. It takes its name for a large area of meadows on its gentle upper course. Its lower course descends swiftly through falls, pools, and boulder-strewn uplands forests. A single lane country road follows the creek between the towns of Meadow Creek, on the New River, and Meadow Bridge, near the source of the stream. Meadow Creek is sometimes mapped as Little Meadow River, a smaller counterpart of the Meadow River, a popular whitewater kayaking stream.

ABOUT THE MEADOW CREEK BACKCOUNTRY

The property is unique in its situation in a remote section of the new national park. Bounded on three sides by the park, it descends out of a remote highland in which no human habitation has likely ever been built. The water that descends across the property sources in a little-explored highland of cliffs nearly a thousand feet above. The retreat is bounded on three sides by what’s officially designated by the park service as the Meadow Creek Backcountry, an area of park that will continue to be left natural.

ABOUT THE NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE

This retreat is located in the southern district of the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve in the midst of one of the fastest-growing tourism economies in West Virginia. Congress established the 70,000-acre park in 2020. The designation has resulted in a revolutionary interest in the region as a destination for travel and residency. Articles in Time, Vogue, and USA Today over the last year have accelerated interest in the area globally, as has television coverage by major networks. Time has since named the park one of the “World’s 100 Greatest Places.”

Long a renowned destination for hiking, biking, rock-climbing, and whitewater rafting, the park has been attracting more than two million visitors annually in recent years. Officials had predicted an increase of more than 20 percent in visitation in its first year; however, the increase appeared to be nearer 50 percent as of October 2021.

Park officials are proceeding with the development of the southern section of the park near Meadow Creek as outlined in the park’s 2011 Development Plan. Notably, backcountry trails are being built into the mountains to the north and south of the retreat. Copies of the 2011 Foundation Plan for the New River Gorge National Park are available through this listing agent.

LOCATION

Google Coordinates: 37.824219, -80.906324
Address: 1499 Claypool Road, Meadow Bridge, WV 25976
Elevation Range: approximately 1,440 to 1,640 feet above sea level

MINERAL RESOURCES

West Virginia law provides for separate ownership titles for surface rights and mineral rights. This property is being conveyed as surface only.

BOUNDARIES AND SURVEY

The property is being sold by the boundary and not by the acre.

ACCESS/FRONTAGE

The property fronts Claypool Road, a paved single-lane road that follows Meadow Creek six miles between the towns of Meadow Creek and Meadow Bridge. The property is approximately 1.5 miles from the post office at Meadow Creek and 4.5 miles from the post office at Meadow Bridge.

UTILITIES

Water: Well
Sewer: Septic
Electricity: American Electric Power
Internet: Satellite service may be available
Fire Service: Meadow Bridge
Cell: Various carriers; may require booster

ZONING

Summers County is subject to zoning regulations. All prospective buyers should consult the county commission, the National Park Service, and the county health department for details regarding zoning, building codes, and the maintenance of septic systems.

PROPERTY TYPE/USE SUMMARY

The property is mostly forestland with a one-acre clearing near the frontage.

DEED and TAX INFORMATION

Summer County, West Virginia
Green Sulphur District
Acreage: 7.44
Tax Map 8; Parcel 34
Deedbook 253; Page 359

2021 Real Estate Taxes: $126

SURROUNDING AREA

The retreat is located in an increasingly popular vacation destination area surrounding the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve. The region around the southern park is renowned for its scenic mountain landscapes, which descend to the gorge of the New River from mountain peaks that approach 4,000 feet above sea level. Three remarkable river converge nearby—the New and its tributary Bluestone and Greenbrier rivers. Much of the canyon of the Bluestone is protected as the Bluestone National Scenic River. Large parts of the region are protected as state and national park. Bluestone and Pipestem resort state parks both attract thousands of vacationers annually. Hinton, the seat of Summers County, is a drive of about 20 minutes from the retreat and is the cultural center of the upper New River Gorge region.

HEALTHCARE

Four full service hospitals with emergency rooms and surgery centers operate within a drive of 35 to 40 minutes of the retreat, including Summers County Hospital (54 beds), near Hinton, Greenbrier Valley Hospital (122 beds), near Lewisburg, and Raleigh General and Beckley Appalachian hospitals (300 and 160 beds), at Beckley. The region’s principal Veterans Administration Medical Center (80 beds) is also located at Beckley. State medical centers at Charleston and Morgantown are an hour’s drive and a three-hour drive respectively.

TRANSPORTATION

The retreat and New River Gorge region are located near the center of the eastern U.S. and are within a day’s drive of more than half the U.S. population. Motor Traffic: Expressway I-64 passes within four miles of the retreat at its Sandstone/Meadow Creek exit. An average of more than 24,000 vehicles pass the exit daily. Air Traffic: The Beckley-Raleigh County Memorial Airport is a drive of about 30-minutes from the retreat. An hour’s drive farther, Yeager Airport, at Charleston, is the largest and busiest flight-service center in the region, while the Greenbrier Valley Airport, at Lewisburg, provides flight options to Atlanta and Washington. Rail Traffic: The Amtrak passenger station at Hinton is a drive of about 20 minutes from the property and provides direct access to Washington, Chicago, and New York City. Approximate hourly drive times to regional U.S. cities include Charleston, W.Va., 1.5; Morgantown, W.Va., 3; Columbus, Ohio, 4; Pittsburgh, Pa., 4.5; Cincinnati, Ohio, 5; Charlottesville, Va., 4; Richmond, Va., 4.5; Winston-Salem, N.C., 3.5; Charlotte, N.C.: 4; and Washington, D.C., 5.

CLIMATE

The steep-walled valley of the New River near Sandstone sustains a microclimate more typical of warmer, more southerly latitudes due partly to the sheltering nature of the valley and river waters that have gathered radiant heat from sunlight over a long upstream course. Though the river here may appear a large mountain stream, it has already traveled more than 300 miles from the summits of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina. The valley is a preferred location for gardens as the warm microclimate accommodates a longer growing season. It remains relatively free of the heavier snows that blanket the surrounding highlands more than 1,000 feet above.

PUBLIC & PRIVATE SCHOOLS

The area is well-served by public and private schools, and students may opt to attend public schools in either Summers or adjacent Fayette counties. Most students in Summers County are bussed to Hinton, which boasts adjacent campuses for grade, high, and vocational schools, all approximately 12 miles from the property. Students may also opt to attend schools more near-at-hand in adjacent Fayette County, in which case they would attend public schools only five miles away at Meadow Bridge, though school bus service would not be accommodated. Several accredited private schools operate in the region and in at nearby Beckley and Lewisburg, while the the Ballard Christian School, Danese Christian School, and the Greenbrier Academy for Girls are located within the county.  Homeschool programs are supported through the state Board of Education.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Beckley is the higher-education center of southern West Virginia and home of the southern campus of West Virginia University. The WVU Institute of Technology and New River Community & Technical College both maintain campuses at Beckley, and Concord University and Bluefield State College offer courses through the Irma Byrd Educational Center near Beckley. Appalachian Bible College is also located near Beckley. The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine is located at Lewisburg, a drive of about 45 minutes from the property.

THE GHOST TOWN OF MEADOW CREEK

The Town of Meadow Creek (population 228), is what’s often termed a ghost town—a once-populous unincorporated community of which little is left. Established in 1875 during construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, it grew as an important local trade center and railroad terminal. The Sewell Valley Railroad joined the C&O there in 1910, providing access to thousands of square miles of forest. The town owned its own water and electric power. The Sewell Valley Bank Building may be the best known historic building in the town. Several inns, campgrounds, and airbnbs now operate in the community, and the National Park Service operates a 20 site primitive public campground and maintains a boat access here.