Camping at Seneca State Forest

I finally checked one item off my bucket list - T and I got to spend the night in a fire tower!

Thorny Mountain is one of two fire tower rentals in West Virginia, the only ones in the eastern United States, and it's hard to get. You have to log on the moment rentals open for the year and be ready to go. Even so, we were only able to get a midweek date near the end of the season. Since we were driving that far, we rounded out our plans with a couple of nights in a cabin in the same state forest.

The trip was spectacular. First, the Pioneer Cabins at Seneca State Forest are great. They are somewhat primitive - no electricity, gas lights - but they are well thought-out. We found out only after arrival that cabin rental allows you to use their boats on the lake for free, with life jackets provided.

There is plenty of hiking in the park, although we didn't do much of it. The Allegheny Trail passes through there, and maybe someday I'll get around to hiking it.

While not in the forest itself, we visited the nearbyGreen Bank Observatory. We got to see the big radio telescope being repositioned after maintenance, which was cool. (Actual science is cool but less visible on a tour!) Because of the telescopes, the state forest is in the national radio quiet zone. A byproduct of this is few people and little light pollution. We would have had great stargazing if it hadn't been just after a full moon.

The tower itself was a great experience. To be fair, there was one downside - lots of houseflies and even some wasps trying to build a colony. Luckily, we had brought the electric swatter, which kept the tower buzz-free. We were worried it might get cold at night, but it was actually warmer than our cabin. Walking down 69 stairs in the middle of the night to use the bathroom wasn't fun, admittedly. But it was a small price to pay.

With 360 degree views, we got to see both sunset and sunrise from the tower, with a magnificent view of the foliage. It was past fall peak but still vibrant.

We would definitely go back here.