okay, i am sure we have been over this before, but i cant seem to find it on the site. what really is the best/shortest distance to snowshoe? i am considering going opening day (whenever it is). last year i drove out through staunton on 255 and am now sure that must NOT be the quickest route. i have heard that strasburg to parkersburg and south is better. has anyone timed the various routes?

Last year based on advice from Lbotta and other Snowshoe regulars, I took I66 out of the DC area to 55 near 66/81 intersection, then leave 55 near Seneca Rocks and go south on 33/28. Stay on 28 until Greenbank, then head west on sr66 through Cass and follow signs to Snowshoe. This route ain't exactly expeditious either, but I was told it is the fastest, took about 5 hours with some short stops.

Without looking at a map, I can't remember exactly which route it is - but - I would *avoid* taking any route that takes you through Wardensville, WV. That town is known for its speed traps, and if you're an out-of-stater with skis on the top of your car, it seems you might get a speeding ticket regardless of whether you're speeding. I have heard a lot of negative comments about this town, and it's best just to avoid it.

Wardensville W.V. is a very big speed trap for skiers. Locals know that the cops target them. Proceed extra slow through this town.

I think JimK has got it. I've never had a problem in Wardensville.

My route to Snowshoe depends largely on how bad the weather is out there. It is almost impossible to get a decent forecast for the mtn. of eastern West Virginia beacuse the weather is so unpredictable. However if there is any chance of snow in the forecast I would take JimK's route because that allows you to stay east of the Allegheny Front for most of your drive and therefore in the snow shadow. But if the weather is nice(quite rare) I'd just take 66-250-219 up to Snowshoe, or get off at 33 west at Harrisonburg to Elkins then south on 219 to Snowshoe(probably the quickest in ideal weather) Let me warn you though never to take the 33 route if there is any chance of snow because that route gets incradible amounts of snow in the wintertime and you will often find it to be sunny and warm at Harrisonburg, only to fing a whiteout and 10 degrees with 40 mph winds in the mtns. east of Elkins.

I've driven to Snowshoe 10-15 times over the last 5 years. I think that Jim K's route cited in his message is the fastest.

Wardensville speed traps are for speeders...why is anyone here worried? If you go the limit (or below) in WV you don't have a problem. After years of 66/81/55West I pretty much know all the monitored areas and recognize the individual cops! Be advised - in Grant county you have to appear in court in person just to REQUEST a court date to come back. I do still laugh when someone passes me going down a hill...I know what's waiting for them. I'm especially carefull to keep it at 50-55 down hills...that's their favorite pickup spot. Smokers shouldn't complain about their cough...speeders shouldn't complain...

Rich, I have to respectfully disagree. I was the "lucky" recipient of a speeding ticket in Wardensville - the first and only speeding ticket I have ever received - and I can assure you I was not going over the speed limit. (It went from 55 to 40 to 25 - as did I - I'm not naive about these small towns and sudden speed limit changes. I had been following an 18-wheeler truck the entire way through, which was going well below the limit, too.) I am so conscientious of speed limits that my friends call me a "granny driver." I had two witnesses that were just as baffled as I was that I was pulled over, and the cop was very vague about where he had seen me speeding and how he had determined it. (I was pulled over two miles outside of the town limits. I'm not even sure he was anywhere near the town. It was very odd.)

Since I have always gone way out of my way to follow the law to the letter, I was very upset about this. I contemplated canceling a non-refundable western trip and making the 5 hour drive to Wardensville for a court appearance (and my two friends - equally upset - were willing to do the same), but then I researched and found a web site devoted to Wardensville's apparent "side income" endeavor. There were dozens of stories from people in similar situations (although I'm sure some *were* speeding, but not all), and many indicated that the officer that wrote the ticket was *also* the presiding judge, and the whole thing was a joke! In any case, no Wardensville court appearances had any positive effect. So, I resigned myself to the fact that it would be better and less stress on me just to let this one go.

But, two years later, I'm still mad as hell when I think about it. I assure you I wouldn't be if I had in fact been speeding. I will never, ever drive through Wardensville again, and feel obliged to warn others about that corrupt town. Based on my experience alone, I believe there might be some representatives of that town that are overly eager to pull over an out-of-stater skier, knowing that it's unlikely they will go to the effort to fight the ticket. I would hope not all of their police force is this way.

Scott, I got a speeding ticket in the exact same place... it went from 55 to 40 to 25 and I was clocked at 61 in the 25. Then the cop tried to tell me that there was no such thing as snowshoe and i was making the whole thing up. i was mad as hell... anyway, I'll never drive through there again either. Damn hicks.

yea i have heard stories bout them west virginians....well not the nice folks at Snowshoe, they are the greatest. but the folks in the small towns, it doesnt surprise me that they do this. sorry ya'll got a ticket

You should research a little better! An editor should know better than to rely on silly websites for their info. There is one officer for the town of Wardensville, there are 2 judges and they do not overlap. For you to have written this is just silly. The Town of Wardensville is not a speed trap it is a small town with lots of houses on Main Street! That is why the speed limit changes. You say in your post that you were SOO upset about the ticket and that you KNEW you were not speeding, then why not go to court? Big plans it says, well have you ever heard of calling and asking for a continuance? They will gladly grant one especially for out of towners. You have a right to your opinion that Wardensville is a speed trap but to write a bunch of lies and say that you did research is unethical! Try actually doing some research and you would find that locals are WAY more likely to get tickets than non-locals. You have a lot of nerve calling Wardensville a corrupt town with out any REAL evidence. Glad to see that a slime ball like you won't visit us again!

Congrats Mommer! You just created a username for no other reason than to make a rant on a thread that hasn't seen a post in nearly 7 years. And I thought I spent too much time on the internet.....

About three years ago I bought an Escort (no, not what you think, those have moved to New York Ave and Bladensburg Ave NE) and it has paid itself off. I make it to the Shoe in 3:50 to 4:00 real time except that I always stop at Aromas or Sheetz as they now have espresso too. The Escort sometimes goes nuts in Wardensville, (much more infrequently nowadays) so I am always at 25 there until the speed goes to 40 and then 50. They use an old X or K-band radar which gives you a warning on the next county. After Wardensville, it goes off almost automatically on the Ka band right outside of Petersburg. Ka is a little more accurate but it still gives you plenty of warning. The ones that I'm really concerned about are the VA folks. They now use laser, which is undetectable until you get illuminated and then you're a gonzo. And then they can take your Escort away.

Are you all talking about my hometown again? lol Seriously, there has been a major speedtrap problem in Wardensville for years and I've personally noticed more out of towners getting nailed than locals. I'm kind of curious of who mommerof4 is because it sounds like she(?) is a full time Wardensville resident. More than likely I probably know that individual in person from living and working in Wardensville so I'll keep my behavior on here top notch.

Most of these traps were located on the edges of the town on both the north and south sides where you are still slowing down when entering. One of these notorious traps was in the 40mph zone on the western side of the town when driving past the WV-DOT state shed. The current one and only town cop usually parks there in a gray unmarked Crown Vic. So if you are heading east you can usually be nailed just after you cross the tiny bridge over Trout Run. The same cop used to park on the east end of town by the old Wardensville Elementary school, right beside the baseball dugouts. However ever since the speed limit in that area went from 25 to 35, I've noticed less camping out there. The one other place that has been notorious for all past town cops to park was at the brick Methodist church on the turn before getting to 7-11, Post Office/Bank.

As for getting pulled over 2-3 miles outside of town, I personally have seen that NUMEROUS times and am NOT a fan of it. Back before Corridor H was opened I would see cars pulled over by the town cop up on Sandy Ridge and I had heard from some who HAD been pulled over that the cop was camping outside of town limits on the western side of town. I actually had a discussion with a gentleman who is running for Hardy County Sheriff who said that behavior by the town cop is very odd and could be illegal... unless the county and town have reciprocal agreements. That is it's very possible that the town cop can have temporary jurisdiction outside the town limits for catching speeders to assist with the county sheriff's department. If such an agreement does NOT exist and the town cop is pulling over outside the jurisdiction then I do believe a traveler can not be legally ticketed.

In recent years the speed limits have been altered giving what I think is a more gradual slowdown so you aren't going from 55 to 25 in a heartbeat. Prior to the opening of the Wardensville section of corridor h, the speed limit from Baker to Wardensville was 55mph with a slowdown to 40mph outside town limits approximately at the entrance to "Jerry's Auto Body". However prior to the opening of Corridor H, the speed limit changed from 55mph to 45mph at the base of Sandy Ridge at the 259/Trout Run Cut-Off intersection. After a few weeks that limit was upped from 45mph to the now current 50mph. The current limit of 65mph on Corridor-H ends at the end of the freeway where it drops to 50mph and stays that way until the start of the 40mph zone. **WATCH OUT** STATE TROOPERS ARE NOW PARKING BEHIND SIGNS ON CORRIDOR H AS YOU GO DOWN HILL IN THE 50MPH ZONE CATCHING PEOPLE GOING OVER.

That zone is 40mph until dropping down to 25mph at the Mountaineer Restraunt and staying 25mph until you reach Fox's Pizza Den on the eastern side of town. From there the speed limit raises to 35mph past the school until you reach the Y intersection (where CaCapon Used Cars is). For those taking 55 west your speed limit raises to 45mph until crossing the bridge past the Shell gas station where your limit increases to 55mph. For those taking 259 north, the limit is 35 until you reach the Assembly of God church 100 yards past the car lot and it raises to 55mph. Rarely do I see the cop parked on the eastern side of town.

I usually hang 25 in the 25 zones and never had a problem as well as staying 35 in the 40 zone and driven past the cop numerous times with no problem.

Overall, I can't say what the motives and agenda is for those on the town board as well as for the cop and what instructions he's been given regarding ticketing. I have indeed heard from many with well founded reasons that the practices of ticketing certain demographics of speeders seems to be in place, but I can only go on them as rumors for now.

C'mon, mommerof4, tell us how you REALLY feel!

Jeez.


aaron

How do we know that mommerof4 isn't the Wardensville town cop?

Probably the judge too.....

Baywalker better mind his P's & Q's..He just could be one of them "4's" Daddy

I echo your logistics bawalker. I've often had my detector go off about going East on the new 55 a quarter mile before the big turn to the left that then drops off into the two-laner. And yes, the State Police is there.

I don't speed in Wardensville as there are too many pedestrians. But on the other hand, I can see the reason for the perception among many people that small towns like Wardensville are sort of "redneck" Mayberrys. The profiling may not be just but it is indeed a perception, and perception is reality. And I can see Scott's point that a police officer may abuse his or her power with impunity much easier than in larger towns, given the familiarity among town leaders. I saw this recently in a federal trial where I testified for the prosecution in Abingdon VA, where the county managers in a particular SW Virginia area, decided to devote federal funds to purchase jeeps and even hunting coon dogs for each other. Well, pretty much the entire county board and the chairman went to jail for a looooooong time, but the fact of the matter is that this happened because of the seeming impunity under which county leaders labored, given their friendship network among city and county leaders. I'm not saying that Wardensville is that cavalier, but I have a healthy respect for small town politics.

The good thing is that Hardy County's demographics are changing as there are numerous newcomers with different ideas about citizen participation in community affairs, and these new folks also dispose of resources to influence the political process. I guess I'm optimistic about the future.

LOL last time I checked I haven't fathered nor attempted to father anyone. :P

Last night on the way home from the Valley, Wardensville's finest had someone pulled over just east of the True Value Hardware/Auto Parts store. He must have been sitting at the used car dealership or at the True Value.

Why would anyone think Wardensville is speed trap?

Hey, they are just trying to supplement the revenue stream and keep the criminal justice system viable. After all, how many robberies, assults, and murders take place in Wardensville to keep their lawmen busy????

Mmmmm, I used to stop and spend $$$ in that town. I think I too will not visit again. Thanks for the heads up.

Hey now, don't lump me in with the rest of them, although MOST of them are good. It was because of a friend in Wardensville that I got addicted to snowboarding.

woah, old thread! had to double-take when i saw this on page one. why would i be asking for directions to snowshoe?

If you notice, the last post had been 2001. Then the mommer, mummy or a ghost from Hades resurrected it almost 8 years later with a diatribe towards Scott. Wardensville is a different town now, although the lady there probably wanted to be picked as a Vice Presidential candidate.