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Editor’s Note: Michele Sons was the first of three 2022 New River Gorge Creatives-in-Residence at Lafayette Flats. Michele is an exhibiting fine art landscape and portrait photographer originally from England and currently based in southwest Virginia. This is a excerpt from her recent blog post. I am recently home from a cold, beautiful, snowy month […]
Did you just give that title a double-take? It may be because you aren’t used to rivers flowing north; not many do. But the New River does, so head south from Fayetteville to explore the upper section of the New River Gorge. You’ll find a very different landscape upriver. Immediately, you’ll see a much wider, […]
Rail trails are former railroad corridors that have been converted for hiking & biking. These types of trails often have three tremendous advantages over regular hiking trails. First, rail trails often contain substantial infrastructure left behind by the railroad companies, like trestle bridges over creeks. These provide easy access to rugged areas of the forest. […]
Michele Sons of southwest Virginia, L. Renée of Columbus, OH and the creative partnership of Nevada Tribble and Andre Hoyos of northeastern West Virginia have been selected for the 2022 New River Gorge Creative Residency at Lafayette Flats Boutique Vacation Rentals. Michele Sons Michele Sons is an exhibiting fine art landscape and portrait photographer originally […]
America’s newest national park has received lots of media attention since its designation was announced in January 2021. As long-time New River Gorge enthusiasts, we are thrilled to share our playground with a wider audience and are thankful for the well-deserved media coverage, but we’ve found that many of the stories miss the mark. It’s […]
In 2013, when we began renovating the building that is now home to Lafayette Flats, vacation rentals were starting to really take off. But the idea of having several in one building was a complete novelty. We found ourselves in need of a quick way to accurately communicate what we were creating. Was it just […]
The best way to truly experience the New River Gorge National Park is to take the trails less traveled. By avoiding the most popular hiking areas – and other humans – you are much more likely to see wildlife, find undisturbed flora, and experience the natural rhythms of the forest. Here are five less traveled […]
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been married; your wedding anniversary is always special. But planning a weekend getaway can be daunting. Well, worry no more! With these helpful tips and our insider info, you can easily put together an engaging trip you both will enjoy – all without stress or cliche romance. Request our […]
Each year since 2015 we have allocated a portion of our vacation rental income to our West Virginia Art Fund. The purpose of this fund is to support West Virginia artists by purchasing a new work to display in Lafayette Flats as part of our effort to create an alternative narrative of the state’s culture […]
Editor’s Note: Jessica Sands is the first of two 2021 New River Gorge Creatives in Residence at Lafayette Flats. Jessica was born in WV and raised in Southern Pennsylvania. She received degrees from Bethany College and West Virginia University, and she is currently working as Senior Lecturer, Multilingual Writing at Cornell University. This is Jessica’s […]
