Babcock State Park

Located in Fayette County in south central West Virginia, Babcock State Park is easily accessible from Beckley and points south by following US 19 north.

At the US Rt. 60 exit travel east 10 miles to State Rt. 41 South. Babcock's campground is 2 miles south of Rt.60 at Clifftop, while the main park entrance is 2 miles south of Clifftop.

From Charleston, follow Rt. 60 East to Rt. 41 South.  From the east, follow I-64 to the Sam Black Church exit, then follow US Rt. 60 West to Rt. 41 South.   From the north take US 19 exit off I-79 and follow US 19 to US Rt. 60 East to Rt. 41 South.

Babcock State Park is a state park located along the New River Gorge on 4,127 acres wooded in Fayette County, West Virginia. Located near the park headquarters, the Glade Creek Grist Mill is among the most photographed tourist sites in the state of West Virginia. It was named in honor of Edward V. Babcock.

The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a replica of the original Cooper's Mill that was located nearby. The current grist mill, completed in 1976, was assembled from parts of three other West Virginia mills.

The Glade Creek Grist Mill
The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a new mill that was completed in 1976 at Babcock. Fully operable, this mill was built as a re-creation of one which once ground grain on Glade Creek long before Babcock became a state park. Known as Cooper's Mill, it stood on the present location of the park's administration building parking lot

Of special interest, the mill was created by combining parts and pieces from three mills which once dotted the state. The basic structure of the mill came from the Stoney Creek Grist Mill which dates back to 1890. It was dismantled and moved piece by piece to Babcock from a spot near Campbelltown in Pocahontas County. After an accidental fire destroyed the Spring Run Grist Mill near Petersburg, Grant County, only the overshot water wheel could be salvaged. Other parts for the mill came from the Onego Grist Mill near Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County.

A living monument to the over 500 mills which thrived in West Virginia at the turn of the century, the Glade Creek Grist Mill provides freshly ground cornmeal and buckwheat flour which park guests may purchase. Visitors to the mill may journey back to the time when grinding grain by a rushing stream was a way of life, and the groaning mill wheel was music to the miller's ear.

Features

• 28 cabins

• 52 campsites

• gift shop

• 20 plus miles of hiking trails

• outdoor sports facilities (basketball court, tennis court, volleyball court, horseshoe pit)

• 19-acre Boley Lake

• rental watercraft (paddleboats, rowboats, canoes)

• swimming pool

• fishing (lake and stream)

• horseback and pony rides

• naturalist led hikes and presentations

• picnic shelters

• corn meal and buckwheat flour made at the Glade Creek Grist Mill are available for sale

• scenic overlooks