Elakala Falls

Elakala Falls is a waterfall in West Virginia, at a modelled elevation of 935 m. Mount Porte Crayon stands 1,452 m to the south, 13 miles off. The nearest named place is Harold S. Walters Nature Center, a attraction 0.7 miles away. Northwestern Turnpike passes 14 miles off.
The story
The Elakala Falls are a series of four waterfalls of Shays Run as it descends into the Blackwater Canyon in West Virginia. They are within Blackwater Falls State Park and are quite popular among photographers, with the ease of access for the first waterfall, and the relatively low traffic of the other waterfalls in the series.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37322, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 14.4 mi off the Northwestern Turnpike
- 17.8 mi off the Cheat River Byway
- 18.8 mi off the Mountain Maryland Byway
- 21.5 mi off the Old Route 7 Byway
Named places within 25 miles
- Cooper Knob: 3.6 mi
- Bearden Knob: 3.9 mi
- BearDen Rocks: 4.1 mi
- Pointy Knob: 5.3 mi
- Canaan Mountain: 5.3 mi
- Tucker Boulder Park: 2.2 mi
- Davis Riverfront Park: 2.4 mi
- Davis Park: 2.4 mi
- Fred Long Centennial Park: 4.9 mi
- Fairfax Stone State Park: 6.1 mi
- Historic Coke Ovens: 1.9 mi
- Historic Coke Ovens: 1.9 mi
- Stony River Dam: 10.9 mi
- Stony River Dam: 11.0 mi
- Highest Point on the Maryland State Roads System: 14.2 mi
- Generation Museum: 19.0 mi
- Sites Homestead: 19.9 mi
- Seneca Rocks Discovery Center: 20.0 mi
- Garrett County Historical Museum: 21.4 mi
- Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station: 21.5 mi
- Blackwater Falls: 1.0 mi
- Douglas Falls: 1.6 mi
- Albert Falls: 1.9 mi
- Falls of Seneca: 20.0 mi
- Small waterfall: 23.2 mi
- Bubbling Springs: 6.5 mi
- Harlan Irons Spring: 13.3 mi
- Ernest Carr Spring: 17.9 mi
- Lorraine Burke Spring: 19.3 mi
- Pat Spring: 20.3 mi
- Lower Slabs: 20.1 mi
- Seneca Rocks: 20.2 mi
- Seneca Rocks: 20.2 mi
- Southern Pillar: 20.3 mi
- Eagle Rock: 22.5 mi
- Mill Run: 6.9 mi
- Kempton: 6.9 mi
- Stringtown: 8.3 mi
- Smoke Hole: 20.8 mi
- Harold S. Walters Nature Center: 0.7 mi
- Pleasant Valley Dreamrides: 17.9 mi
- Seneca Caverns: 24.5 mi
- Canaan Valley Resort State Park: 6.8 mi
- Dobbin Slashings Preserve: 8.5 mi
- Herrington Manor State Park: 24.4 mi
- Bear Haven Day Use Area: 15.6 mi
- H.G. Davis "Iron Horse" Statue: 22.4 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 17.0 miles of Elakala Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Porte Crayon | S 169° | 1,452 m | 12.5 mi |
| Green Knob | SSE 168° | 1,424 m | 14.7 mi |
| Haystack Knob | SSE 167° | 1,376 m | 14.4 mi |
| Weiss Knob | SSE 155° | 1,359 m | 8.7 mi |
| Job Knob | S 184° | 1,353 m | 16.6 mi |
| Brierpatch Mountain | S 184° | 1,348 m | 14.9 mi |
| Bald Knob | SSE 151° | 1,332 m | 7.9 mi |
| Cabin Mountain | SSE 149° | 1,331 m | 8.3 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:22 | 18:55 | 19:30 |
| June solstice | 05:53 | 20:08 | 20:48 |
| September equinox | 07:06 | 18:42 | 19:17 |
| December solstice | 07:34 | 16:17 | 16:59 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 24 | 26 | 34 | 45 | 55 | 62 | 66 | 64 | 59 | 48 | 37 | 29 |
| Precip in | 6.2 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 5.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Davis 3SE, 4 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–May — fullest in Mar, leanest in Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 274 | 322 | 382 | 294 | 233 | 148 | 109 | 96.9 | 77.7 | 107 | 170 | 250 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Blackwater River AT Davis, WV, 2 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/4012068153
Day trips start here
- Kingwood · 27 mi
Take the scenic way to Elakala Falls.
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