A Beacon of Light - WV Living Magazine

Summersville Lake Lighthouse literally shines a light on the five-time Best of West Virginia Best Campground.

written by kaylyn christopher
photographed by CARLA WITT FORD

A WIND TURBINE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT gone awry is responsible for one of Summersville Lake’s most noteworthy attractions: the Summersville Lake Lighthouse. “I love telling people the story about where the lighthouse came from,” says campground manager and lighthouse tour guide Bill Elliott. “It started out as a joke.”

As the story goes, a 2009 guest at Summersville Lake Retreat named Rick was working on the installation of wind turbines at Beech Ridge, a wind farm project in nearby Greenbrier County. Each day, campground staff would watch as the project’s construction crew transported wind turbine components, including steel towers, along the highway to their destination. Campground staff would joke with Rick that one of the towers would make for a nice lighthouse at the lake. Then, one fateful day, a combination of misfortune and rainy weather caused one of the 72,000-pound towers to slip off its base and roll 75 feet downhill, rendering it unusable for the wind farm—and granting the campground staff their wish.

The tower was erected at Summersville Lake Retreat in 2012. A beacon made in 1941 by General Electric Company found at an abandoned warehouse at Summersville Airport was donated and installed at the top. And now the lighthouse, standing 104 feet tall, is not only an attraction, but it’s registered with the Federal Aviation Administration as a navigational aid. “It shines every night and can be seen for 30 miles,” says Elliott.

Inside the lighthouse, a spiral staircase comprised of 122 steps leads visitors to the top, where they can step out onto a 360-degree gallery deck offering stunning views of Summersville Lake and Gauley River National Recreation Area. “It’s not an easy climb, but it’s such a beautiful view,” says Elliott. “You can see six counties from the top.”

Daytime, sunset, and moonlight tours are available daily, weather permitting, April through October, and tickets can be purchased at the Lakehouse Gift Shop. According to Elliott, the sunset tours are particularly popular. “You know how beautiful those West Virginia sunsets can be.” The Lighthouse Cam at summersvillelakeretreat.com displays the view from the gallery deck 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One of few landlocked lighthouses in the country and the only one in West Virginia, the Summersville Lake Lighthouse will celebrate National Lighthouse Day on Saturday, August 8. The free event will feature vendors, live music, and food trucks.