They Stocked Williams and Cranberry Rivers

Today, January 25th, the DNR stocked the Williams and the Cranberry Rivers.

The Cabin Reopens March 1st, 2012

We have closed the cabin to rentals for the next two months.  During the previous two years the cabin was snowed in and not accessible throughout most of January and February.   We are prepared to accept reservations for Spring 2012 beginning with March.  We are looking forward to the spring trout stockings for the Williams and Cranberry Rivers.

On a side note we really appreciate all of the recent inquiries about the cabin.  It is supporting our belief that the economy is improving.  Regarding another measure of activity, on the day after New Years we had 148 people hit this webpage.  The previous record was 123.  We wish for all a great year.

Welcome to Williams River 2011

SPECIALS  – Ask about our DISCOUNTS  for rentals of 3 or more nights.

We are looking forward to the cooler Fall weather, and our return trip to the luscious Appalachian mountain highlands of the East.  We are looking forward to the color of fall.  We are looking forward to West Virginia DNR’s fall trout water stocking of the Williams River, the very special Cranberry River, the Cherry, and the Forks of the Cherry as well.  Life is good.  For detail about the fall stocking of trout see their Web page.  www.wvdnr.gov/Fishing/Stocking/DailyStock.shtm  For a quick overview of our cabin and photographs, scroll down to the August 2009 post.  All of the posts between here and August 2009 are about our recent experiences  with the cabin and the great Monongahela National Forest.  James has made a video of the cabin and the surrounding area that explores the various aspects of the cabin.  He has set the video to music, and if you want to see it go to this link: http://vimeo.com/20651993 .  The video shares a great deal of detail about the cabin in an entertaining way.  To rent the cabin check the “Availability” page to see if your  dates are available, and then email us at livingwatercabins@comcast.net   Let us know the nights you want to rent, how many adults, and children in your party, and we will send you an email with the cost, answer your questions, and provide additional detail.

Those West Virginia hills are home to us, and it will be good to get away from all this economic turmoil to the sanctuary of our personal mountain playground.  We look forward to a cool fresh air walk in color, and the opportunity to catch another golden rainbow trout – the gold standard of recreational value for West Virginia.  The golden trout are heavily pursued for the obvious reasons.  We always like to remind ourselves that for each of those easily seen pretty golden trout placed in the waters, WVDNR puts 9 other trout of various species along the side of it.

We would like to thank you for considering our home for your get-a-way, and thank you visiting our pesonal web page.

Kayaks on the Williams River

One of our favorite things to do on the Williams River is to kayak, and the river supports this great outdoor activity wonderfully.  The road parallels the river, and the terrain offers easy access every 100 yards or so.  This feature of the river provides many options to choose the distance of the journey back to the beach at the cabin.  One of our favorite points to enter the river is just about one mile above the cabin.  A sweet longer run on the river is from the east side of the river at the bridge five miles above the cabin.  There is an easy spot to unload and access the river.  The true opportunity for experts and white water is up the  river about 10 miles where the slope of the terrain greatly increases.  The foundation of the river bed is significantly rougher and the structure to creates challenging water for the kayaker is on the upper sections.

Great Fishing on the Williams River in West Virginia 2010

We really would like to rent our cabin to you. (For photographs and direct information about the cabin itself scroll down to the June 14th post.)  However,  we want to tell you a little about our visit to this great region of West Virginia the week of the Memorial Day holiday.  The natural characteristics of the weather is the first thing you notice about the West Virginia mountains this time of year.  It is constantly changing literally by the hour.  The intriguing thing is that the changes are captivating and only the extremes urge one to seek momentary shelter.

This year the trout fishing is unbelievable on the Williams River.  It was so great that we could not pull ourselves away from the Williams to experience what the Cranberry River had to offer, which we would expect to be equally marvelous.  Our thanks to West Virginia’s Department of Natural Resources for their commitment to stock all of the 2010 quota of trout that was planned, produced, and raised for the Williams.  DNR usually begins stocking the Williams in January, but do to the extreme depths of snow in the mountains this winter they could not begin their stocking schedule for the Williams until the middle of March.

Though my boys, Dona and I returned all of the trout we caught to the stream Phil, who rented the cabin the five days before our arrival, kept two of his fish he caught in the morning before leaving.  He cleaned the fish, and put them in a bowl of ice in the refrigerator for when we arrived that evening.  We grilled those two trout along with the shrimp we had bought for dinner that evening along with the corn on the cob, coleslaw, and strawberries.  Dinner evolved into a very healthy feast.

Following is a photograph Tyler shot of a beautiful Golden Rainbow Trout that I caught on a very small fly that presented as a close match to the current hatch.  In the evening as these small insects emerged the trout had no use for anything else and a fly rod with the little floating fly was the only opportunity to attract a strike.  I have more success with a fly rod than a spinner on the Williams River.  There are other photographs of our trip as well.

Joey’s Trout from the Cabin Hole

Joey caught two great trout from the “Cabin Hole”, which is the name of the first deep pool down  stream from our cabin.  Though The Department of Natural Resources stock the trout upstream from the cabin, what we love about the Williams River is that we are likely to catch some really nice size trout anywhere.  In fact the larger trout seem to be found where they are not expected, which is fine with me.

The Cabin and Trout Fishing the Williams River

Scroll down a few posts to learn about the cabin, but …This time of the year it is all about The River. The River is beautifully pleasing to all the senses.  The time spent at the cabin was fabulous and rejuvenating, but the Williams River was in its glory and so captivating.  The heavy snows rendered it impossible for WV DNR to stock the river as planned in January, February, and March, but they have launched a strong initiative to fill the  Williams River with beautiful trout including the Golden Rainbow that was discovered, developed, and eventually stocked in the cold clean rivers and streams of West Virginia.

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While we were on the river late in the afternoon on Saturday the first insects began to emerge from the water giving the fly fishing men and women something to work with to match the hatch.  Though there were many people on the river fishing with natural baits and spinners there were those who pursued the trout with  fly rods and flies.  The Williams River is perfectly suited for fly fishing.

Virtually the full length of the Williams River is accessible by a recently paved road paralleling on one side of the river and then the other. Though the paved portion of the road is thin, those using the area are very courteous and safe while passing each other.

Thanksgiving at the Cabin

For a quick overview of the cabin scroll down a few posts to August 13th and June 14th.  There are several photographs and other information.  To contact us regarding reservations or questions you can email us at livingwatercabins@comcast.net You can also find our cabin on www.VRBO.com under West Virginia, under Cowen.  We will consider discounts for stays that are longer than three nights.  See the “Rates” page.

It was almost heaven in West Virginia over Thanksgiving up at the cabin.   We hiked along the Cranberry River up into the primitive Cranberry Backcountry.  We were mesmerized by the views of the Monongahela National Forest from the Red Oak mountain fire tower in a chilling free wind.  The Williams River before and after the snow was absolutely beautiful.  We ran down to Clarksburg to my sister’s home  for Thanksgiving dinner with about 20 family members assembled as her guests.  In the evening we took time out  to see the movie The Blind Side, which was excellent.  On the drive home we saw 35 deer.  Four of them were in front of the cabin when we drove up.  Later from the hot tub we were able to see them continuing to feed in the field in front of the cabin.

Our Recent Fall Stay

A Beautiful October Morning

For a quick overview of the cabin quickly scroll down a couple of posts.

Dona and I had a chance to run up to the cabin during her fall break to catch the tail end of some spectacular color.  Dona has always liked to fish particularly from the pier at the seashore, but this fall I bought Dona her first pair of waders, which was a new fishing sensation for her.  We went up river to a pretty nice place where we could get into the Williams River for a little light fishing.  She loved it.  Earlier this fall we walked around the neighborhood to break in her new hiking boots and on our second day we drove up over Red Oak Mountain to the Cranberry Back Country Gate, parked, and walked in about three miles behind the gate along the river.

To get to the Cranberry River and the entry into the back country drive from the cabin down-river 2.8 miles to where the “Low Water Bridge” crosses The Williams River and where the forest service road heads up over the mountain.  From the bridge it is 7.4 miles up over the mountain and down to the parking lot at the gate that stops motorized vehicles from entering the back country .  The forest service road behind the gate provides easy and safe access for hiking or biking along the Cranberry River.

Note that there are handicap accessible outdoor style toilet houses near the parking lot.  Remember to take towelettes as there is no running water available.

Williams River

Mules at the Cranberry Back Country

Our Cabin Driveway Marker

Cranberry River

Williams River

Cranberry Back Country

Williams River

A Beautiful October Morning

Dona trying out her new waders and felt sole boots

Gracie anticipating a trout dinner

Adding a PayPal Option for Payment

We are now able to accept Visa and MasterCard credit card payment utilizing PayPal.  Please see our Rate Page for more detail.