Cradled in the soft rolling hills of northeast West Virginia, Berkeley Springs is a haven for Washingtonians seeking the creature comforts that act as a tonic for mind, body and spirit.
Art and culture thrive here in this seat of the Morgan Arts Council, located in the Ice House Co-op Gallery. Moreover, visitors are renewed by partaking of the town’s natural springs — the very ones enjoyed since the early 1800s by young and old.
Winding streets are lined with galleries, breathtaking scenic overlooks, homey cafes, historic inns, a history museum, day spas and bath shops.
“Berkeley Springs is both a family place and a lovers’ place,” said Laura Smith who lives and works in town. “There is so much to do and much of [these attractions are] free.”
For example, the Morgan Arts Council presents the 24th season of Summer Concerts in the Park with a seven-concert lineup that includes two pre-concert jam sessions and a show-stopping array of local roots music. In between, the audiences will enjoy a variety of programming that includes everything from Balkan music to an African drummer backed by a Manhattan jazz quartet.
“We begin the summer with a Berkeley Springs-based band that is kicking off its national tour and end it with a concert featuring more than a dozen local musicians ranging in age from eight to eighty,” said Mary Hott, MAC’s executive director.
These free Saturday evening concerts (beginning at 5:30 p.m. and running approximately to 7:30 p.m.) are set against the backdrop of the mountainside that makes up the western border of Berkeley Springs.
“My kids would play in the run with twenty to thirty other kids, making new friends while all the adults got to sit and listen to the music,” Laura Smith remembered.
The town’s unique water attraction Smith refers to is the very splashable spring channels and pools in Berkeley Springs State Park.
The indoor baths contain tubs filled with 750 gallons of spring water directly out of the ground, where visitors can relax and renew themselves for night life that includes Thursday night jamming at Tari’s Cafe (where Laura Smith, a member of the wait staff, takes care of guests) and Friday and Saturday night music at any number of night spots including Fairfax Coffee House and Earthdog Cafe.
Maybe shopping, gallery hopping and clubbing aren’t in the agenda for your getaway weekend. In that case, seek to be soothed.
“Berkeley Springs has a feeling of healing,” said Smith. “You can come to the town and feel very relaxed. There’s enough to keep you busy but it’s also a great place to stroll and soak in the waters.”
