Ally Jaksen

What makes a good road trip? Good snacks, good music, and good company for a start. But of course the most important element of any good road trip is the road itself, and the Seneca Skyway is a really good road. Winding around the southeast region of West Virginia, this road trip will take you from towering rock spires to charming small towns in a matter of hours, showcasing the best of the state’s outdoor adventures. I tackled this iconic road trip over the course of a few days.

If you subscribe to the road-trip theory of travel— that an independent, self-paced drive is the best way to explore a place—then you’ll love to discover that it doesn’t get any better than in West Virginia. The Mountain State has some of the most well-maintained and well-preserved byways in the U.S., country roads that take you not just to and from places, but through them.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway, I saw above me that endless skyway; I saw below me that golden valley; and I really thought: This land was made for you and me. The song is maybe a little bit earnest, definitely a lot nostalgic, but rings totally true when driving the Capitol Circle in West Virginia.