West Virginia
Two New Gondolas Coming To West Virginia
West Virginia — In the latest sign that West Virginia’s tourism industry is booming, two new gondolas are coming soon to its state park network.
The first new gondola is coming to Pipestem Resort State Park. Beginning in 1971, the state park was home to a scenic tramway. This system only had twelve cabins, each able to accommodate four people. If winds exceeded 24 miles per hour, the lift had to be shut down.
With the old tram in disrepair, West Virginia decided to replace it with a new pulse gondola. The $12.4 million gondola is more efficient and provides greater capacity than its predecessor. It will have a length of 3,410 feet and a vertical drop of 1,200 feet as it will drop into Bluestone Gorge and conclude next to the Mountain Creek Lodge. The gondola will be able to operate with winds up to 54 mph. This new gondola is expected to open this fall.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice explained in the press conference why they decided to add a new gondola:
“When I heard the old tram was in disrepair, I didn’t think twice about replacing it. This tramway has been an iconic spot in West Virginia for many, many years. It’s a place where hundreds of thousands of folks have created memories over the last 50 years, and I’m just thrilled that we’ve found a way to bring it back better than ever before. I’ve ridden it down into the gorge to fish more times than I can remember, and I plan to be among the first to ride it down again this fall.”
The other gondola replacement is coming to Hawks Nest State Park. First opened in 1970, the aerial tram connected New River Gorge on Hawks Nest Lake and the Hawks Nest Lodge. However, it also became inoperable and thus needed replacement.
This month, the state announced that it will be replaced by a $8 million gondola. These new cabins will be able to hold six people each. This gondola project is expected to open in late spring or early summer 2025.
The investment comes as tourism in West Virginia continues to grow. These gondola investments are part of the $250 million the government has invested in its state park systems over the past seven years. The result of these investments is an increase in visitation and revenue. In the past fiscal year, West Virginia’s state parks brought in over $50 million in revenue.
West Virginia Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby described the growth of this sector to WCHS ABC 8:
“I’ll tell you the added benefit that you might not know, which is this is changing the way people think about our state. If you think back to where we were 10 years ago people were not thinking about West Virginia as a popular destination. It wasn’t that we weren’t. It wasn’t that the state’s gotten prettier in 10 years, but we weren’t telling that story. We weren’t putting the funds behind telling that story.”
Image/Video Credits: West Virginia Department of Commerce, Office of the Governor, WCHS, West Virginia State Parks
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BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – We have a traffic alert for drivers in the Danville area of Boone County.
Starting on Friday, they should expect delays as crew perform work on the Jill Micah Hess Bridge along U.S. 119.
According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation, northbound traffic will be shifted from the slow lane to the fast lane.
This will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and drivers are asked to expect delays.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
Community Catalyst Grant applications are open through West Virginia First Foundation through June 30 – WV MetroNews
The West Virginia First Foundation, which was established to use drug lawsuit settlement money to try to alleviate problems related to addiction, reported having access to $378.5 million in financial resources and noted that more than $34 million in grants have been awarded since the organization’s start.
The West Virginia First Foundation met for a few minutes Thursday at Ascend West Virginia in Charleston. The meeting was also available for view through streaming.
Executive Director Jonathan Board highlighted the launch of the Community Catalyst Grant application and a statewide needs assessment intended to identify service gaps.
Designed as a three-year, outcomes-driven investment, the program will support projects focused on public safety response, day report centers and generational prevention efforts. The program opened for applications on June 1 and remains open through June 30.
“We’re very encouraged by the interest and engagement so far,” Board said.
The board also approved a $4 million funding request for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The project is focused on expanding access to innovative addiction treatment and recovery support tools while building the technology and infrastructure needed to support implementation across West Virginia.
Additional details about the project and funding agreement are to be released in the coming weeks following the completion of final documentation. West Virginia First Foundation and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute plan to issue a joint announcement once the agreement process is complete.
“They’ve gone through a very rigorous process for the correct funding,” Board said. “Their team has presented an opportunity to fund a project that will build technology, training and support systems of care needed to expand access to an innovative addiction treatment approach throughout the state of West Virginia, and really beyond.”
The West Virginia First Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2023 to manage and distribute 72.5% of the state’s opioid settlement funds, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The organization is aimed at combatting the addiction crisis through grants and regional projects.
The next regular meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors is scheduled for Sept. 17 although it’s subject to change.
West Virginia may have come up empty-handed in two tries against North Carolina in the College World Series, but they earned the respect of their head coach, Scott Forbes, who was incredibly complimentary of the Mountaineers following Wednesday’s game.
“I want to congratulate West Virginia. A heck of a team, a heck of a run,” he opened his postgame press conference with. “They are very well coached. They just play the game the right way. It’s a credit to their coaching staff. They come at you a lot of ways. A lot of speed, deep pitching staff, so we really had to work in those two games to beat them. I’ve been in their shoes, and I know what that feels like, and it’s a stinker. But man, they got a lot to be proud of, and they should be extremely proud of how they represented their university.”
The culture at WVU is as strong as it gets
Multiple times this season, West Virginia looked like they were well on their way to a loss and were rewarded with a win because they never stopped playing hard. Everyone thinks of the two games against Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional, and rightfully so, but they also came back to win after trailing by eight against UCF and after trailing by five to BYU.
For a moment, there was a belief that the magical moment was going to come again during Wednesday’s game against Forbes’ Tar Heels. With two outs in the 7th and trailing 12-1, Armani Guzman busted his tail down the first base line to beat out a grounder to short. It ultimately led to a five-run inning for the Mountaineers, all of a sudden turning a laugher into a semi-interesting game. Gavin Kelly hit a solo home run in the 8th to make it a five-run deficit, and in the ninth, Ben Lumsden just missed a three-run shot that would have really put pressure on North Carolina, even with two outs.
To have your team still playing hard when trailing by 11 with their season likely about to come to an end, it says a lot about the character of this group, but also how deeply ingrained the culture is at WVU. There’s a reason this program has turned the corner over the last 14 or so years and is continuing to trend up. They’ve had the right people in place leading it.
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