Summersville Lake State Park in Nicholas County has completed a major expansion that opens three new campgrounds and the Mountaineer Mile hiking trail, a project celebrated at a ribbon-cutting led by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, according to a WSAZ report. Phone and online reservations for the additional sites went live the same day, positioning the park to capture peak 2025 travel traffic.
The upgrade roughly doubles the park’s overnight capacity and, in the governor’s words, “is going to send a message around the state and across the country that West Virginia is investing in tourism.”
Overlook Campground headlines the expansion with 38 luxury RV pads that include full utility hookups, a bathhouse, a playground, two laundry rooms and an outdoor sink, the station said.
A short walk away, Deer Run offers nine premium RV sites with the same full-hookup convenience but in a smaller, more private setting.
For tent campers, Joe Branch introduces 10 primitive sites—no hookups—and four stand-alone bathrooms with showers and outdoor sinks, bringing a rustic option to the mix while rounding out the park’s “good, better, best” lineup.
“This is a good opportunity, and it’s extra special because, that way, it’s a new campground, and I spent a lot of time out here as a kid growing up — and to spend time with my family, especially with Mother’s Day,” camper Jaxon Wilkinson said during opening weekend.
Operating such a wide price and service spectrum under one brand can confuse guests and erode margins, but park managers can sidestep those pitfalls. Best practices include segmenting each campground in the property-management system so amenities and promo codes stay distinct, maintaining roughly a 20-to-30 percent spread between tiers to encourage upsells, and standardizing signage and confirmation emails to keep the brand voice consistent.
Housekeeping should match demand—quick-turn cleans for luxury pads, consolidated sweeps for primitive sites—while separate tracking of average daily rate, length of stay and ancillary spend helps decide where future dollars go. Cross-campground add-ons, such as paid access to Overlook’s bathhouse for tent guests, can lift revenue without raising nightly rates.
The debut of the one-mile Mountaineer Mile trail builds in a health component and advances Morrisey’s goal of placing a similar loop in all 32 state parks. “Some days have been harder than others, but I think if I can do it, with all the challenges in place, certainly everyone in West Virginia, if you have the chance get out and walk a mile,” the governor said at the ceremony, as reported by WCHS Network.
For park operators elsewhere, a mile-long loop can be more than a fitness perk. Guided sunrise walks, smartphone scavenger hunts tied to QR-code trail markers, revenue-share yoga sessions and two-night packages that include a finisher badge all turn foot traffic into spend. Mobile surveys at the trailhead reveal which retail items—hydration packs, branded hats—deserve shelf space, while recycled-plastic benches position the loop as a sustainability showcase.
The entire Summersville project was financed through a public-private partnership that Morrisey called a model for future park work. “There will be more public-private partnerships. There will be more opportunities to further expand our state parks for the kind of things that are going to attract more West Virginians and folks from across the country to visit,” he said, according to Public Broadcasting.
Local operators are already feeling the momentum. “Having more options for people to stay at with different types of amenities and types of camping is a fantastic thing to have anywhere,” nearby campground manager Dave Rideway said, adding that the broader inventory “just attracts more people to the area.”
Fayette County residents Michael and Alexis Nalevanko, who brought their children to break in one of the new sites, said the location puts them closer to the rock-climbing routes they frequent. “Yeah, I love to camp and love being out in nature with the kiddos and take them camping, too,” Michael said. Alexis added, “We can camp a lot closer to his rock climbing, so he loves to rock climb and he has been coming up here for years, so I’ll be able to stay with them closer.”
With opening weekend in the books and summer on deck, park officials expect the tiered inventory to serve as a real-time case study in pricing diversity. For campground owners watching from afar, Summersville Lake’s blend of luxury pads, premium RV slips and tent meadows may offer the clearest view yet of how mixed-class inventory can fill more sites, sell more add-ons and keep guests—and accountants—happy.