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Potomac Highlands

Davis & Thomas

Two former coal and timber towns about two miles apart in Tucker County. Thomas has a row of galleries, music venues and restaurants on a single street above the Blackwater River. Davis functions as the trailhead town for Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley and the Dolly Sods access roads. Three ski areas and the White Grass Nordic center are within twenty minutes.

Downhill SkiingCross-Country SkiingBackpackingMountain BikingOutdoor Photography

What's here

  • Ski access to three areas plus White Grass
  • Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley minutes away
  • Dolly Sods trailheads 30–45 minutes out
  • Live music, breweries and coffee out of proportion to population
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Lodging, food and gear in Davis & Thomas

Town-level listings for operators based here. Capped at four per basecamp page.

List your business here

Within reach

State Park · Potomac Highlands

Blackwater Falls State Park

A 57-foot falls where the Blackwater River drops into an eight-mile canyon, its water stained amber by hemlock and spruce tannins.

57 ft falls8 mi canyon
State Park · Potomac Highlands

Canaan Valley

The highest large valley east of the Mississippi, at about 3,200 feet — a 14-mile-long bowl of wetland, bog, beaver meadow and northern hardwood that behaves climatically like central Canada.

3,200 ft valley floor17,000+ ac refuge
Wilderness · Potomac Highlands

Dolly Sods Wilderness

A 17,371-acre federally designated wilderness on a plateau largely above 4,000 feet, containing wind-flagged red spruce, heath barrens, sphagnum bog and exposed rock.

17,371 ac wilderness4,000+ ft plateau
Ski Area · Potomac Highlands

Timberline Mountain

A Canaan Valley ski area with about 1,000 feet of vertical and Salamander, a two-mile top-to-bottom run that is the longest trail in the mid-Atlantic.

1,000 ft vertical2 mi salamander
Ski Area · Potomac Highlands

White Grass Ski Touring Center

The cultural heart of eastern backcountry Nordic skiing — a groomed and ungroomed network climbing the flank of Cabin Mountain from about 3,200 to over 4,000 feet, run out of a converted farmhouse with a soup-and-woodstove lodge culture that people drive four hours for.

50+ km trails4,000+ ft high point
Trail · Potomac Highlands

Blackwater Canyon Trail

Ten miles of former railroad grade from Thomas down the Blackwater Canyon to Hendricks, dropping through hemlock and past waterfalls with the river below.

10 mi lengthDownhill north to south

Best for

Almost Heaven Swings