Historic, spring-fed town in West Virginia with metaphysical mystique
When Berkeley Springs was developing into the nation’s first spa in the Colonial era, it was called Bath after the resort town in England. Technically, it’s still named Bath; the region's postal code, a historic state park and centuries of natural spring-driven tourism have popularized the more natural name over the years. Today, as in centuries past, deep forests fill the surrounding Cacapon and Sleepy Creek mountains with wild recreation areas. A modern generation of small businesses maintain the area’s old-fashioned charm and metaphysical mystique. Seasonal and year-round residents continue to flow into this pastoral valley of rural West Virginia that’s only a couple of hours from Washington D.C. “Berkeley Springs is a historic town, and that’s the draw. George Washington visited and took his baths here,” says James Novak, leader of the Novak Team at Mountain Home Real Estate, who has lived in Berkeley Springs for 45 years. “People come to visit in Airbnbs, but what people living here really love is that it’s a small town in a safe, rural county.”
State parks and Morgan County's mountainous recreation areas
Berkeley Springs State Park is in the center of town. The waters of its namesake spring are warm even through the winter and were a mineral-rich attraction for Native Americans long before Bath was incorporated. Visitors might book some time in the park's Roman Baths, swim in a spring-fed swimming pool or take a dip in a reproduction of the bathtub that George Washington used. A gazebo, benches and tree-shaded walking paths offer ways to relax outside the water. Cacapon State Park is the town’s larger recreation destination, covering 6,000 acres of Cacapon Mountain. While it's known for resort-style amenities like tennis courts and a golf course, the park’s forests are also filled with more rugged attractions like hiking and biking trails, a swimming lake and fishing ponds. Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management Area is a less busy natural resource, offering a quieter place to take out the kayak, hunt in the woods or fish in the lake.
Victorian homes in town and rural acreages in the hills
Berkeley Springs has inspired creative architecture over the years; a castle famously looms over the town, courtesy of a well-off resident of the late 19th century. The sidewalk-lined blocks in the town center are filled with single-family homes built in the same era, but tend to be Victorians, Colonial Revivals or National-style homes rather than palatial. Farther from town, housing styles range from manufactured and ranch-style homes to contemporary cabins and old-fashioned farmhouses. Buyers in these areas look for more land, whether that’s a small acreage in a mountainous subdivision or a remote farmstead or forested retreat on upward of a dozen rolling acres. A move-in-ready manufactured home on a quarter-acre lot can cost around $120,000, while custom estates on over 10 acres can go for nearly $840,000. The median single-family home price in Berkeley Springs is around $300,000, lower than the national median of about $400,000. Novak estimates that maybe half of the buyers in Berkeley Springs are looking for a secondary residence. Properties near waterways like Warm Springs Run may be at higher flash flood risk and require flood insurance.
A quirky, walkable business district and nearby groceries
Downtown Berkeley Springs sprouts from its namesake state park, near the intersection of U.S. Route 522 and Fairfax Street. Fairfax Coffee House is known for displaying local art and shelves of board games for patrons, as well as serving classic drinks and breakfast sandwiches. A short walk away, The Country Inn is a grand, pillar-fronted restaurant and hotel that has operated for nearly a century. On a single block, shoppers might walk to the old-fashioned candy displays at Mischief – Sweets & Shenanigans, browse shelves full of crystals at Portals Metaphysical or buy a ticket for a movie at the Historic Star Theatre. Among the quirkier shops, specialty stores like The Naked Olive grocery store and Hunter’s Hardware stock household needs. Farther south, Route 522’s town square-style shopping district turns into a sparser commercial strip. There, shoppers drive to anchors like Food Lion and Tractor Supply Co. Churches of many denominations hold services throughout the town, including St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.
The Apple Butter Festival and other Berkeley Springs traditions
As the mountains around Berkeley Springs fill with the colors of fall, residents and visitors get excited for the return of the annual Apple Butter Festival. “They make fresh apple butter right on the street,” Novak says. “They'll shut down the street for a parade, vendors set up shop up and down the road – tens of thousands of people come, traveling from all over the country.” Parades and holiday decor are hallmarks of many events organized by the town’s businesses and tourism organizations. Local artists and craftsmen display their works at Berkeley Springs State Park during the summertime Art in the Park event. The region’s growers set up booths near the state park during the harvest season’s weekly farmers' markets.
Attending Morgan County Schools
Widmyer Elementary School serves prekindergarten through second grade and earns a C-plus from Niche, as does Warm Springs Intermediate School, which serves third through fifth grades. Warm Springs Middle School and Berkeley Springs High School each earn a C-minus. Older students can apply to take half- or full-day career and technical education programs at James Rumsey Technical Institute.
County seat hubs and I-70 commuting
As the seat of Morgan County, Berkeley Springs is a hub for people employed by the local government, public schools and War Memorial Hospital. Route 522 connects to major interstates nearby, offering access to bigger cities outside West Virginia. "What people love about this county is the easy access to anywhere you want to go. You can be on I-70 in five minutes, but you don’t feel like you’re in the crowded Hagerstown and Martinsburg areas,” Novak says. Baltimore is nearly 110 miles away, as is Washington, D.C. Washington Dulles International Airport is about 90 miles from home. Residents rely on cars rather than public transit to get around.
Traffic on Route 522 and a developing bypass
Route 522 often becomes backed up in Berkeley Springs. “The traffic gets crazy, especially on Fridays. The GPS routes people down through Berkeley Springs on the way to Virginia Beach and Myrtle Beach,” Novak says. The Berkeley Springs Bypass is being developed to mitigate truck and tourist traffic. One leg of the bypass opened in 2025, but the project’s current end date is not until 2027.
Written By
Julia Szymanski
