Trip Report: Cacapon Resort State Park in West Virginia

Cacapon Resort State Park in West Virginia offers up an outdoor getaway full of hiking, golfing, fishing, and mountain biking. With a stop in nearby wellness hub Berkeley Springs, your weekend will be complete!

History and Location

Cacapon Resort State Park is located just outside of Berkeley Springs in northeast West Virginia. The town and park are about 3 hours of Pittsburgh and 4 hours from Philadelphia.

Cacapon Resort State Park began with the hard work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. By the 1970s, the park had already added a lodge, cabins, and a golf course.

Now at over 6,000 acres, the park has exclusive areas for mountain biking, horseback riding, dog frollicking, clay shooting, and disc golf. We’ll get into those more later!

Two lakes offer guests the chance to boat, kayak, canoe, fish, and swim.

In addition, you’ll find different sports courts, shelters with picnic tables, and an overlook area worth the drive to the top of the mountain!

Just 10 miles to the north, Berkeley Springs has a tiny state park right in the middle of town. The highlight of the park is its mineral rich warm spring waters, first discovered by Native Americans. George Washington later frequented “America’s first spa” as well.

While Berkeley Springs is a pet-friendly town, pets are not permitted in the mineral springs area.

Accommodations

We had never visited Cacapon Resort State Park back when we had our RV, Axl Roads, because the park does not have a campground.

But it does have a new lodge complete with spa and golf course, plus cabins and an inn!

The 120-room lodge is the newest in the WV State Park system, but it does not allow pets (womp womp!). It has a full-service restaurant, library, fitness center, pool, and hot tub.

For large groups, the inn has 12 bedrooms and 8 1/2 bathrooms. It was the original lodge for the park and also has a large commercial kitchen and televisions.

Cabins are in three different sections of the park: 7 in the Middle Fork Cabin Area, 5 in the North Fork Cabin Area, and 18 in the Main Cabin Area. 13 of these can be rented year-round.

We stayed in Legacy Cabin#11 in the North Fork Cabin Area. Our group of cabins was up on the mountain and quite private.

If you are staying in a cabin, you will still check in at the lodge. Our attendant drew the route to our cabin from the lodge on this map:

The North Fork Cabin Area is up a long winding road. Cabin #11 has a porch with two adirondak chairs, a charcoal grill, and fire ring outside.

Inside, you’ll find a full kitchen, bathroom, fireplace, queen bed, nightstands, and two armchairs. Linens and towels are provided. A wall heating and air conditioning unit will keep you comfortable, and the overhead fan can provide a breeze.

Franklin and Hazel made themselves right at home!

We appreciated that our cabin had both a charcoal grilling area AND a fire ring.

We’ve been finding out that Maryland state parks only have a grill at their cabins, so you miss out on the campfire at night- but not in West Virginia!

Hiking Trails

Cacapon Resort State Park has 23 miles of hiking trails, some which share or intersect with mountain biking and horseback riding trails.

During this visit, we covered about 5-6 miles or so, marked in green:

The North Fork Cabin Area wasn’t a great starting point for hiking, so we drove down to the game courts parking lot.

From there, we started the rocky 2-mile long Laurel Trail next to cabin #25.

You’ll have a gradual uphill before leveling out at the top of the mountain, passing some interesting rock formations.

You’ll wind back downhill and end between cabins #21 and #22.

Next, we took the multi-purpose trail near the sports courts and part of Ridge Trail around the swimming beach.

A short walk from the swimming beach will find you at the Nature Center.

The Nature Center features a large pollinator garden outside and exhibits inside.

It also has two strange little Hazel-sized log cabins in its side yard.

You can create a loop back to the sports court parking lot by walking along the road.

Next, we drove up to the other lake that is nearest to the North Fork Cabin Area.

While there’s no official trail around the lake, you can make it about 3/4 of the way before having to turn around and retrace your steps.

You can also use part of Central Trail to get a better view.

Finally, we made the long (driving) trek up an uneven gravelly road just past the Batt Picnic Area to see the Cacapon Mountain Overlook.

The elevation here is almost 2,300 feet!

The sign at the overlook deck notes that you can see four states from this vantage point: West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

In addition to the West Virginia sign I posed with Hazel next to above, there is also an “Almost Heaven” swing for photos at the overlook.

Extras!

Cacapon Resort State Park has a lot of extras! Not just extra activities like golf and horseback riding, but also extra places to explore like the mountain bike area and dog park.

First, you can visit the mountain biking area on the west side of the park, complete with a large network of trails and a pump track.

I didn’t know what a pump track was. Turns out, it’s kind of self-explanatory once you see it…

And get ready, mountain bikers!

The large network of mountain biking trails will only be getting larger. A new grant will add 35 more miles of trail.

If you brought your furry friends, walk them to the other side of the parking lot to see the impressive Bark Park!

Tell them Franklin left them some pee-mail…

The Bark Park has separate areas for large dogs and small dogs, and is situated right inside the forest.

Your dogs will love romping around the rocks, trees, and logs!

Wildlife and Fauna

During our visit to Cacapon Resort State Park, we saw many squirrels, chipmunks, and deer.

We also had a friend (?) in our cabin who tried to eat our chips! We had left them on top of the refrigerator, which I’d advise against.

Put all your food into the cabinets!

Orange seemed to be the color of the weekend for mushrooms…

SIDE TRIP! Berkeley Springs

On the way to or from Cacapon Resort State Park, make a stop in Berkeley Springs.

Not only will you find a really original, wellness-focused small town, you’ll also appreciate its good food and artsy vibe.

Franklin even calmed down long enough to pose next to this giant apple…

You’ll enjoy browsing some fun and quirky shops, getting into some mischief, and posing under a STAR.

On the way home Sunday morning, we stopped in town again to walk through the Farmers Market.

That made us so hungry that we dropped by the very dog-friendly (inside and out!) Fairfax Coffee House.

Their coffee is delish, and the biscuit sandwiches with pickles are to die for!

PIT STOP! Berkeley Springs Brewing Company

If you are ready to try some local beer, pull over for Berkeley Springs Brewing Company! Dogs are allowed both inside and out, and there’s plenty of variety on tap and on the menu.

Given Franklin’s sometimes wild disposition, we opted for the outside seating. We chilled in some adirondak chairs and tried the beer flight and spinach artichoke dip. Franklin and Hazel split the dog platter. Winners all around!

You can even pick up a 6-pack of your favorite brew to go. Here I am with runaway Hazel carrying Runaway Beer Truck Beer.