Valley Falls State Park

The falls were pretty, and the old mill sites are cool. The park is overall underwhelming, though.

Pros: It would probably be nice for a family picnic or something. The restroom was clean, and there's a nice playground and plenty of picnic tables. The grounds are well-maintained in the main area. There is a snack machine area and a gift shop, so that's neat, too.

Cons: You can't swim! I went to Tygart River specifically to spend a day by the water, wading around when I got too hot. Apparently you cannot even stick your feet in the water at this water-based state park. I guess it's my fault for not looking into the swimming (or lack thereof) more closely before driving almost an hour to get to this park, but it's a river. I never would have imagined not being able to swim in a river-based state park. That seems like it would be half the point of a river-based park to me? I understand not swimming near the falls due to currents, but they really couldn't make a single trail to a different part of the river away from the falls? Both of the trails I walked on were also disappointing. Within half a mile, one ended abruptly, and the other became so overgrown I had to turn around.

In summary: Great if you just want to sit kinda near the water and have a picnic. Not a good place to go if you want to actually do anything active outdoors.