It isn’t often that I venture north of the Mason-Dixon line, as the good Lord blessed us Southerners with pretty much everything we could want. However, a recent excursion led my wife and me to tiptoe across that infamous demarcation, and it was a rewarding mission.
We began in the small West Virginia town of Berkeley Springs. American Indians knew of the area for centuries and came from hundreds of miles to bathe in the healing warm springs.
In 1748, 16-year-old George Washington surveyed the area, which was then part of the Virginia colony. Washington fell in love with the beauty of the mountains, the nearby Potomac River and the warm springs that flow year-round at 74 degrees. He would return many times over his life, and he even purchased one of the original lots in the new town that developed. You can still see his bathtub carved out of rock that is in the park in Berkeley Springs.
Today the quaint town offers a smorgasbord of spas, antique and art shops, inns and restaurants. We stayed at the Country Inn near the original springs. It is old but comfortably and tastefully updated, and it offers a plethora of spa, bath and massage treatments as well as delightful accommodations and food. During the War Between the States, soldiers from both the North and the South sought accommodation in the original buildings as they fought in the surrounding towns.
Nearby in Hancock passes one of the most scenic and pleasant trails for walking, running or bike riding I’ve witnessed – the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. It tells a rich story from America’s great heritage. Today, the National Park Service maintains the 184-mile trail between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, W.Va. The trail parallels the old canal and includes visitor centers and many historical markers explaining the history. While most of the trail is gravel, it includes many miles that are paved, including those around Hancock. We rode our bikes at least 20 miles along the trail, which provided a glimpse back at a far slower-paced yet significant era in American history. The C&O canal trail also highlights the determination and ingenuity of our forefathers.