A friend is planning a trip to the States. She’ll be staying in Washington DC for a few days (she has friends at Georgetown University and will be giving a talk there). She’s been told that Monongahela Forest is a good place to visit within a couple of hundred miles - she’ll be hiring a car and wants to get out into the hills. She wants to know if there are any decent places to stay (private hotel/inn-style accomodation) in the area.
roger thornhill, Sorry, I don’t but you would get better responses in the right forum. 
I know, you’ll wake up in a minute and wonder how you got here in GQ.
Moved to IMHO.
-xash
General Questions Moderator
I went to college in West Virginia and used to go camping in the Mon Forest all the time. It is so beautiful! I don’t know of any hotels or inns because I always camped, and the Mon is much more remote/rural. I would actually suggest she visit Shenandoah National Park instead because (1) it’s a much shorter drive from DC (about 2 hours compared to 6 hours) and (2) I know there are some nice lodges along the main drag, Skyline Drive.
IMHO, it’s fun to say “Monongahela.”
Topic? I got nuthin.
Thanks. I’ve passed on the advice.
Thank you for your opinion, and I’m curious how you pronounce it – I was born and raised a few hundred yards from the Monongahela River, and we pronounced it:
Muh nong yuh hee la
IIRC, it is a Cherokee word for “River that cuts through the mountains”.
I just wanted to resurrect this one since I was down in the Mon National Forest area, and it’s truly a spectacular view, at least from 219. I went down to check out the new Mountain State Brewing Company in Thomas, WV
http://www.mountainstatebrewing.com and it was a spectacular scene.
As far as accomodations go, I saw at least two B&B (Bed and Breakfast)s down that way, both in the Thomas, WV area.
The Purple Fiddle, the local bar/music house/country store has a B&B next door
http://www.purplefiddle.com, and I saw another one, but I can’t remember the name offhand.
Thanks - still in time, my friend doesn’t go till towards the end of the month. She’s still intent on going to Monongahela, for “sentimental reasons”, as she put it. Any other small towns, she wonders, like Thomas, that would make a good base for exploration?
Re-reading, I noticed that you’ll likely be driving on US Route 50 west of the Washington, DC area.
IMO, there is no more beautiful highway on the planet, especially on the portion between Winchester, Virginia and Grafton, West Virginia.
(Disclaimer: I am prejudiced. I grew up there, and my Greek immigrant father got off the train for a few hours in the late 1930s and loved it so much he decided to stay).
There are lots of small towns along the way. Not tourist traps – they’ll treat you the same whether or not you look like money. Call people “Sir” and Ma’am", and you will leave amazed at how nice everybody is.
If you drive all the way to Grafton, turn right on US 119 (north) to Fairmont/Morgantown. If you want to eat or sleep cheap, email me for some local contacts.
PS: Based on your name, I really hope you will be taking a train from NYC to Chicago.
My last girlfirend had a nice set of monongahelas.
She intends to walk the trail between Thomas and Elkins, and has already booked a place via the Internet in Thomas. Does anyone know of a good place to stay in Elkins? She’s still got a few days before she leaves for the conference.
BTW, she sends her thanks to all, especially beergeek.