Image courtesy Canaan Valley Resort
By MARYANN HAMMERS
West Virginia is scenic and wild, famous for rolling hills, mountain culture, outdoor adventures, and “Country Roads” (John Denver’s song by the same name — now the state’s official song). These military discounts make your vacation even more affordable, too. Mark you calendar: Some inns offer free rooms to veterans during November.
Every year on Veterans Day, Opossum Creek Retreat, a forested hideaway in the New River Gorge, donates all its cabins to veterans and active duty military members. The rest of the year, veterans and active military members get 10 percent off their bill. (Regular rates start at $150.) The area, near Fayetteville (once named America’s “Coolest Small Town”), brims with scenic trails, whitewater rapids, and outdoor adventures. Call (304) 574-4836.
Thomas Shepherd Inn, located in West Virginia's eastern panhandle, offers free rooms to veterans on Veterans Day. The rest of the year, active duty and retired military members get a 10-percent discount on any stay, any day, with no expiration. Regular rates start at about $150, including full breakfast, so that means the military rates start at $135. The six-room historic federal-style building is walking distance to fine dining, unique shops, and local music and is easy driving distance from Antietam National Battlefield and Harpers Ferry. Call (304) 876-3715.
Gillum House, near hiking trails, wineries, and craft shops, offers military members a 15-percent discount year-round. Regular rates range from about $115 to $150. Just mention that you’re a military member when booking. (The innkeepers have a grandson in the Navy.) Call (304) 592-0177.
Canaan Valley Resort, a four-season destination resort in the Allegheny Mountains, offers a 15-percent discount on lodge rooms and cabins and up to a 20-percent discount on recreational activities for active duty and retired military members, plus a 10-percent discount on golf. The resort features three restaurants, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, a full-service ski area, an 18-hole championship golf course (open April through October), an arcade, a spa, a kids’ camp, a climbing wall, and hiking and biking trails. Call (800) 622-4121.
Innkeepers Elisse and Dan Clark love to welcome military members to The Elkhorn Inn & Theatre, as Dan is retired from the Army and Elisse is an official artist for the U.S. Coast Guard. Regular rates are $130 for rooms with a private bath and antique claw-foot bathtub/shower, but active duty and retired U.S. military personnel get a 10-percent year-round discount. Continental breakfast, free Wi-Fi and telephone calls, cable television, and parking are included. The 14-room pet- and family-friendly mountain inn is on the historic Coal Heritage Trail, 18 miles from Bluefield, in an area offering excellent bird-watching, two nearby lakes, a state park and state forest for hiking, a nearby golf course, and historic sites such as the Coal Baron Mansions of Bramwell and the Kimball World War I Memorial. Mention your military status upon booking and show military ID at check-in. Call (304) 862-2031.
West Virginia Adventures (owned by a former Army servicemember) offers active duty military members free guided raft trips on the Lower New River when accompanied by a friend or family member who pays the full price ($129 for a whitewater trip, including lunch). For each paying participant, one active duty servicemember gets a free trip. Or bring along your military buddies: If it is an all-active duty group, you each get 50-percent off and free camping. Valid on any trip, any date (season runs March through November). Call (800) 292-0880.