Pipestem Resort State Park is West Virginia’s premier family adventure resort. Sitting on the east rim of the Bluestone River Gorge, Pipestem offers something for everyone including exhilarating zipline tours, guided trout fishing trips, mountain bike excursions and more. Spend some time on the water at the park’s new adventure lake and splash park or set out on a kayaking and stand-up paddle board tour, tubing or whitewater adventure on the Bluestone River.

The sprawling 4,050-acre park is located on the border of Summers and Mercer counties and features 26 cabins and two lodges, one of which can only be accessed by riding the park’s aerial tramway to the bottom of the Bluestone River Gorge. Just 20 minutes down the road you'll find even more to do at Bluestone State Park on the banks of Bluestone Lake.

HISTORY
Pipestem Resort State Park gets its name from the native pipestem or meadowsweet plant. Native Americans and early pioneers used the hollowed-out twigs as shafts for tobacco pipes. For generations, the descendants of Scotch, Irish and English farmers farmed the relatively flat plateau on the east side of the Bluestone River Gorge. The land was rich in beauty but poor in jobs. In the 1960s, West Virginia received financial assistance to buy property to create a park that would attract visitors who could help grow the local economy. The park was built with grants provided by the Area Redevelopment Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce under the administration of President John F. Kennedy. The park officially opened on Memorial Day 1970.