West Virginia Botanic Garden

Tibbs Run Reservoir supplied clean drinking water to Morgantown, West Virginia from 1912 until 1969 when upgrades in the water system meant the small pond was no longer needed. Locals came to have fun fishing, swimming, and picnicking until city drained the pond in 1980. The land has been leased to the garden, which is a work in progress, since1999.  Most of the planned gardens are located in a small area near the lower parking lot. The rest of the garden has been left natural - a mixed deciduous, hemlock, and rhododendron forest; and wetlands created when the pond was drained.

 

              

The garden is accessible with assistance. Park in the lower lot to avoid the steep Hillside Trail from the upper lot. The crushed stone trail from the lower lot to the Reservoir Loop Trail, the only trail designated as accessible, is fairly steep and most wheelchair users will need assistance. The trail itself is level and composed of hard packed crushed stone. The seven other trails are each under 1/2 mile in length but not accessible due to the terrain or trail conditions. Mason Dixon Rifle Club is adjacent to the park so you may hear gunshots. We visited on the weekend and the shooting was pretty constant.

The lower lot is large enough for RVs if parked parallel to the road. Garden  39.6293, -79.86785