“Summersville Lake WV,” says Tony Benton who’s been boating on it for 30 years, “is a sort of paradise right here in the mountains.” You’ll hear a lot of that tone around the lake as visitors and residents enthusiastically play on what’s been called “the most beautiful Corps of Engineers project” in the country and which Skin Diving magazine called “the Bahamas of the East” and “the clearest, cleanest lake in the U.S. This is a pristine lake built in 1967 with 65 miles of shoreline, a 13-mile diameter at one point and 320-feet depth at its dam base. The surface temperature during recreation months ranges from a chilly 70 degrees to a swimmer-comfortable 85 degrees. Summersville Lake WV is the largest lake in West Virginia.  That temperature, clarity and expanse has created a recreational center for those who dive or snorkel, ski or boat, swim or fish. There is even rock climbing on the [...]

    Back to top