Tygart Lake State Park in northern West Virginia is a boating paradise with a unique waterpark just an hour south of Morgantown!
History and Location
Tygart Lake State Park in West Virginia is about 2 hours south of Pittsburgh and just 1 hour outside of Morgantown.
Tygart Lake was created by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam built in 1938 to control nearby rivers and creeks. It is known as one of the clearest and deepest lakes in West Virginia!
People enjoyed the lake so much back then that one of the first campgrounds in the state was established here in 1953.
Soon after, cabins and a lodge were built to accommodate even more guests looking for a scenic mountain getaway.
Visitors now enjoy boating, fishing, and swimming on the lake, plus hiking, biking, and golfing in the surrounding park.
The more daring can try out Tygart Adventure Lake, an inflatable waterpark right on the water!
You can also stop at the Nature Center attached to the Park Office to talk with a naturalist and look at examples of local wildlife (alive and stuffed!).
Accommodations
Tygart Lake State Park has three different options for overnights.
A pet-friendly campground is laid out with 10 electric and 20 non-electric sites, plus a bath house with showers.
Eleven cabins sleeping 2-6 people are found on the east side of the park before the campground. Pet-friendly cabins are available.
Finally, the lodge features 20 air-conditioned rooms with full bathrooms.
The lodge has lounging areas inside and outside, as well as a full-service restaurant, deck overlooking the lake, and a gift shop.
We opted to stay in the lodge with our two dogs, Franklin and Hazel. (But we also scoped out the cabins, keeping in mind cabins 6 and 10 for our next visit.)
On the map, the lodge is starred on the left, while the campground and cabin area is starred on the right:
We were assigned room 15, with two queen beds and a full bathroom. The room was clean and included a microwave and small refridgerator.
With two dogs and hiking shoes, I appreciated the floor was not carpeted.
Unfortunately, room 15 does not have a deck like all the other rooms.
We just had an open grassy area, and we were missing a lawn chair. Womp womp.
But who cares?! The slider makes it easy to take dogs outside, and the lodge is really quiet at night. The beds are comfortable, and the showers have great water pressure (always important!).
Lodge Restaurant
While the lodge restaurant is not pet-friendly (duh!), you can order to-go and sit on the patio right next door with your furry friends. There is also a hightop table on the deck of the stairs down to the lake and a large table inside the gazebo.
The lodge restaurant food is delicious!
I enjoyed the steak quesadillas and toasted walnut and cranberry salad, while Russ gobbled up the hot roast beef sandwich and shoreside burger during our stay. He also liked the buttermilk pancakes and french toast for breakfast.
Franklin and Hazel give high marks to the roast beef, which they enjoyed as a topper later.
As an added bonus, the wait and kitchen staff were super pleasant and helpful. One waitress kindly served our dinner by passing it over to the patio. The kitchen staff had a bench near our room door, and they were outgoing and friendly with Franklin and Hazel.
Extras!
If you have a boat and want to take advantage of Tygart Lake’s deep (up to 130 feet!) and clear waters, there are boat ramps and free parking open to the public.
The Tygart Lake Marina offers boat rentals and boat slips- and there’s a small concession stand right on the docks.
And even if you don’t plan to launch yourself from the top of the highest inflatable, you will want to at least go look at Tygart Adventure Lake!
For just $20, you can put on the required lifevest and play on 25 inflatables spaced out on the lake.
If taking it easy is more your style, there is also a beach area.
Your dogs will find plenty of places around the lake to take a dip, too!
Trails
Tygart Lake State Park has 6 hiking trails ranging from 1/2 mile to 2 miles long, totalling around 7 1/2 miles.
Since we were staying in the lodge, we opted to do the trails near us the day we arrived. The next day, we tackled the trails in the center of the park. And finally, on the day we left, we went to the area near the cabins to complete our last trail.
Here’s an outline of our hikes in green:
Near the lodge, you can start with the Tygart Dam Trail. You’ll follow along the lake, doing a 3/4 mile, mostly flat stroll to see the dam.
To return to the lodge, you can follow the road at the end of Tygart Dam Trail to the right to find the start of Dogwood Trail.
Dogwood Trail stretches 2 miles up and down along a ridge and will drop you right back down to the back of the lodge facing the lake.
In the middle of the park, you can tackle both Lake Trail and Ridge Trail.
You can park at the Park Office and Nature Center, and head right behind Pavilion 1 to find 1/2 mile long Lake Trail.
At the end of Lake Trail, you can cross the street to find a short connector trail leading up to 3/4 mile long Ridge Trail.
Ridge Trail is an out and back, so you can choose to go left or right, depending on how far you’d like to go.
Part of Ridge Trail is lined with interpretive tree signs, and Hazel found this shredded, busted one to pose next to:
Finally, at the eastern end of the park near the campground and cabins, you can hike the 2-mile long School Bus Loop.
Why the name, you ask?!
There’s an actual school bus that was converted into a shelter but is now just an old fenced in school bus right along the trail!
And even though we didn’t see any slithery friends, it shared a dire warning:
Wildlife and Fauna
While visiting Tygart Lake State Park, you can expect to see the usual deer and groundhogs.
If you’ll be fishing in Tygart Lake, expect to find variety including walleye, perch, bullhead catfish, carp, and panfish. You can view the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources fishing map here.
Along the trails, we saw many small toads.
And of course, a few interesting mushrooms…
PIT STOP! The Gourmet Express
If you are looking for a quick, dog-friendly lunch in between hikes, drive just 5 miles south to The Gourmet Express in Grafton.
We enjoyed two delicious grilled chicken salads right on the front porch while the dogs relaxed beside us.
The salads were fresh and delicious, and the dressing was very ranchy 🙂 The waitress even filled up our dogs’ water bowl.
The Last Word
Tygart Lake State Park is a little remote, but well worth the weekend trip!
If boating, fishing, and waterparking are your thing, this park is a must-see.
We want to commend all of the staff at West Viriginia State Parks!
They are always so pleasant and helpful- whether we’re calling to make reservations, asking questions, checking in/out, or just meeting in passing.
They make every visit to West Virginia a great one!
