Most photographers are looking for
great sunrise/sunset shots. With plenty of deep mountain vistas, West Virginia
is a great place to find perfect sunrise and sunset locations. Bear Rocks at
Dolly Sods in Tucker County is famous for its glorious sunrises as is Grandview
National Park in Raleigh County. Beauty Mountain in the New River Gorge in
Fayette County is known for its fabulous sunsets.
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| Snowshoe Mountain |
Snowshoe Mountain Resort
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I
went looking for sunset shots at Snowshoe Mountain Resort. Sitting at
elevations of 4700 to 4800 feet, Snowshoe Mountain towers above neighboring
ridges and highlands. I felt this mountain had to have great sunset or sunrise
potential. My hunch proved correct. Checking Bing Images I found a sensational
shot taken at Snowshoe by master photographer Ed Heaton.
11,000 Acres of Beauty
It couldn’t have been more perfect. Mountain ridges receded into the horizon, the valley lay below, flowers graced the foreground, and the sky was ablaze in orange and red. But I didn’t know exactly where at Snowshoe this shot was taken. Covering 11,000 acres, there was a lot of territory to check out at Snowshoe. |
| Snowshoe Mountain |
Fortunately, Charleston photographer and
musician Al Peery had visited Snowshoe in the spring and posted some of his
shots on Facebook. One of his posts caught my eye. It was from THE SPOT where
Heaton took his epic sunset. So I messaged Al, and he was kind enough to give
me a “scouting report” of scenic shots at Snowshoe, including the sunset
locale.
Look for the Helipad
To find this location look for the Helipad
below South Mountain. Its GPS coordinates are Lat. 38.401956, Long. -79.995285.
Al Peery says this is the old Hawthorne Trail. It obviously was a ski run at
one time. At any rate, the location is picture perfect. There’s a long grassy
slope with wildflowers for foreground interest. The view descends into a series
of valley bottoms backed by multiple ridge lines. Below is a sunset I got on the second evening at Snowshoe. It isn't epic, but I like it. And I can't wait to go back and try again!
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| Snowshoe Mountain |
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