Published: June 03, 2009 09:31 pm      

Park remains open during facelift

Twin Falls Resort State Park expansion project is about 40 percent complete, according to Scott Durham, park superintendent.

The $7.48 million expansion will include 28 new, spacious rooms on three floors, bringing the total lodge number to 48. It will change the look of the lodge completely.

Additionally, there will be a new indoor pool, a small fitness area, and a small spa constructed as part of the expansion.

The new rooms will also have space for individual amenities such as microwaves and refrigerators.

“The contractors have substantial completion on the foundations, first level floors, water and sewage into the addition, and excavation,” Durham said. “Electrical infrastructure is in place. First floor walls are going up. Work on the courtyard is going well. The roof on the new Azalea Room is going on now.

“Now that better weather is here, we should be able to move faster than they have,” Durham noted.

“It’s exciting for me to watch the activity that’s going on,” he said. “Every day I see progress as new walls go up, floors get poured, and more framework is added.”

Visitors shouldn’t let the construction deter them from enjoying all the amenities for which the park is known.

“Swope Construction, the general contractor, is a great company. They are easy to work with and they are doing a first class job,” Durham emphasized. “They are concerned that they not create any more inconvenience or conflict than is absolutely necessary.”

The park remains open every day for visitors to enjoy all the facilities and activities, including the restaurant and gift shop inside the lodge.

Each of the park’s existing 20 lodge rooms and 14 cabins have also been updated, with paint, new art work, lamps, quilts and draperies. The accompanying bathrooms have also been remodeled, complete with new ceramic tile on the floors and walls, according to officials.

Recent improvements include modern comforts such as 27-inch televisions, complete with cable, in the newly-remodeled existing lodge rooms and cabins.

The cabins feature privacy, stone fireplaces with wood available just off the porch, newly refinished hardwood floors, in facilities that range from two to four bedrooms.

The mountain-top lodge also features two guest suites, a gift shop, a nature center with regularly planned programs, conference rooms with audio-visual equipment and conference assistance from the staff, a banquet room, and a full-service restaurant overlooking the 18-hole golf course.

One of the park’s biggest attractions is the golf course. Year-round maintenance requires a crew of 13 and new specialized equipment has turned the course into a “first class” feature, Durham explained.

The 36 sand traps have all been rebuilt, the bridges have been re-floored and carpeted, and landscaping has been completed at the pro-shop.

The 50-site campground now features one location with a deck for recreational vehicles.

All the sites are paved and have picnic tables and grills.

There are two bathhouses with hot showers and laundry facilities.

Thirteen trails provide 26 miles of picturesque hiking and/or biking across the park, Durham said.

Trails range from the easy quarter-mile Twin Oaks, which is paved, to the very rugged Path Finder, a five-mile trail that is steep and adventurous, Durham noted.

Other trails fall somewhere in between the two. A trail map is available at the lodge’s front desk.

One of the trails winds its way to the two falls — Marsh Fork and Black Fork — for which the park is named. Water flows freely from both locations in the winter and spring, but usually dries up in the summer.

One of the most photographed scenes in West Virginia, the 1930s-era pioneer farm is now accented by a pond. The farm, located on Bower’s Ridge, is a working farm, complete with livestock and gardens, surrounded by the picturesque split-rail and picket fences.

For more information about the activities and facilities at Twin Falls Resort State Park, phone 294-4000 or toll free at 1-800-CALL WVA.