COOPERS ROCK STATE FOREST IN WEST VIRGINIA | PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

I visited Morgantown, West Virginia, home to one of the nation’s top party schools, on St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone must’ve shamrocked a little too hard the night before because the place was eerily quiet. I’m a 45-year-old University of Pittsburgh alum, so spending a lowkey Sunday on High Street was fine with me.

Perhaps the silence had something to do with the fact that a statue of Deputy Barney Fife keeps watch over the business district. The bumbling law enforcement officer from “The Andy Griffith Show” was played by Morgantown native Don Knotts, a 1948 graduate of West Virginia University.

In addition to the bronze Barney outside of The Metropolitan Theatre, a venue that’s celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the city honored its favorite son by naming one of its major roads Don Knotts Boulevard. I couldn’t help but whistle “The Andy Griffith Show” theme song from the 1960s sitcom as I cruised down the boulevard looking for a place to eat.

A STATUE OF MORGANTOWN NATIVE DON KNOTTS, WHO PLAYED DEPUTY BARNEY FIFE IN “THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW” | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

My culinary journey through Morgantown started with advice from Matt Welsch, a Marshall County native who owns Vagabond Kitchen in Wheeling and is executive chef for West Virginia’s state park system. The Mountain State’s motorcycle-riding culinary ambassador — he’s known online as The Vagabond Chef — recommended I visit Table 9, Morgantown’s first gastropub. It sits on the banks of the Monongahela River. Even if you can’t snag an outdoor seat, the building is mostly glass, so every spot has a spectacular view. It’s a great place to kick off your visit because it feels like the town’s unofficial visitor’s center. It’s also where I discovered Devils on Horseback — bacon-wrapped dates with pepper jam. They’re sinfully good.

Work off those calories by taking a walk on the Caperton Rail-Trail, a 5.7-mile asphalt path that parallels the Mon River with shops and eateries along the way. Get even deeper into nature by heading 13 miles outside of the city to Coopers Rock State Forest in Bruceton Mills. While you’re exploring 50 miles of hiking and biking trails, stop and take selfies at scenic overlooks, historical sites and Messinger Lake. If you want to cast a line, you’ll need to purchase a current West Virginia fishing license. Bonus points if you catch “The Incredible Mr. Limpet.” (Don Knotts made a splash as a talking fish in this 1964 Warner Bros. comedy.)

Did you know West Virginia is a hotbed of cryptid activity? From Sasquatch and Mothman to Snarly Yow and the Grafton Monster, these creatures aren’t just part of the state’s folklore, many locals have claimed to have encountered them.

“Some say the location itself invites strangeness,” says Matt Tolliver, who, in addition to owning Tolliver Counseling and Consulting Services, runs Cryptid Mountain Miniature Golf. “It may be because of the remoteness of the state, specifically the heavily wooded Monongahela National Forest where creatures like Bigfoot could lurk about unbothered.”

Tolliver grew up in French Creek hearing stories about the legendary beasts. In August, he opened his putt-putt business, a 13-hole, family-friendly, ADA-compliant, indoor mini golf course with blacklights, video and audio systems and a cryptid at each fairway. Even if your short-game is horrific, this is a fun place to spend an afternoon. It’s like Noah’s Ark at Kennywood — if Noah was a cryptozoologist.

Sheepsquatch, a bipedal creature purported to have white fur, horns and an appetite for farm animals, is Tolliver’s favorite cryptid because it’s the one that would terrify him the most if he came face to snout with it.

Believers say its existence is due to a chemical mutation caused by an old TNT factory. Others chalk it up to stories brought to West Virginia by Irish immigrants. For the record, I did not see any leprechauns or other mythological creatures during my visit. However, as I headed home on Interstate 79 I passed The Blues Brothers in their 1974 Dodge Monaco police car. Forget cryptids, perhaps Jake and Elwood have joined forces with the ghost of Barney Fife!

Where To Stay

Morgantown is 75 miles from Pittsburgh, so it’s close enough for a day trip, but if you want to truly experience wild, wonderful West Virginia (and commune with cryptids), go camping! Coopers Rock has a primitive campground and an RV campground that open the first weekend in April. If your idea of “roughing it” includes indoor plumbing, Wi-Fi, a hot tub and local pizza delivery, Mountain Creek Cabins is a family-owned retreat with eight luxury log abodes. Sadly, there is no statue dedicated to Ralph Furley, the loveable landlord Don Knotts played in ‘70s sitcom “Three’s Company.” 

Where to Eat

In addition to your trip to Table 9, you should indulge in a hand-cut fry plate and a gourmet sandwich at Von Blaze and be sure to track down Hill & Hollow, a free-range kitchen and catering business offering farm-to-fork Appalachian eats. For a fine dining experience, Marilyn’s of Morgantown specializes in scratch-made foods with Italian influences.

When to Go

Weather permitting, campsites at Coopers Rock State Forest open the first week of April and close during the winter months. That’s the best time to experience the wilds of West Virginia, which locals and license plates refer to as “Almost Heaven.”  Morgantown also has a Primanti’s Bros. restaurant selling “Almost Famous” sandwiches year-round — in case yinz guys get homesick.