Orchids at Babcock State Park

Mention Babcock State Park and most people immediately think of the Glade Creek Grist Mill. Visited by more than 200,000 people every year, the mill is one of the most photographed sights in West Virginia.

But there’s more to Babcock than the mill. Waiting to be explored is a Babcock that most visitors never see--it’s behind the scenes so to speak. As it turns out, Babcock has some of the most interesting and diverse hiking trails in southern West Virginia. Moreover, it is home to some amazing flowering shrubs such as Catawba Rhododendron and Flame Azalea as well as wildflowers such as orchids and trillium. You just need to know when and where to look for them.

Today I want to talk about orchids at Babcock. Yes, wild orchids! In the spring, a popular wild orchid called Pink Lady’s Slipper is sprinkled throughout Babcock. But yesterday (August 2, 2016), Phyllis and I went looking for and found a rarer sight—yellow fringed orchids. Besides Babcock, I know of only two other locations in the New River Gorge.

It is a small plant, about a foot tall, yet exceedingly colorful. The flowers are a brilliant orange with delicate yellow fringes. They are about an inch long and dozens of them hang from a central stem. Blooming time is generally the first and second weeks of August. They are at peak bloom right now.

To find these orchids from the Babcock campground entrance, turn left on to Old Clifftop road. After about 1/4 mile turn left onto Camp Carver Road. After going about 200 feet look to the right for a road with a gate. The flowers are right there in a small clearing (GPS: Lat. 38.00805, Long. -80.95302). For a full color guidebook of Babcock State Park see http://www.blurb.com/b/5541280-explore-wv.

PS. On the way home from Babcock we spotted some Tiger Lilies by the side of the road. They are on WV route 41 near Layland about 100 yards south of Bowyer Mine Supply on the left side of the road as you’re heading to Beckley. GPS location: Lat. 37.89348, Long. -80.97048. There were plenty of blooms and the promise of a lot more to come.