New $12.4 million Pipestem State Park tram will be ready by the fall

PIPESTEM, W.Va. (WVVA) - Gov. Jim Justice and Secretary of Tourism Chelsea Ruby were at Pipestem State Park this morning to talk about the $12.4 million new tram that will open this fall.

Ruby said the old tram opened on Memorial Day in 1970 to transport visitors down to the Bluestone River and Mountain Creek Lodge and has since become a “fixture in West Virginia,” and something that local residents and people from all over the country remember.

That old tram will be replaced by a new one with the “best technology out there,” she said, as well as larger cars that will hold more people and include an equipment cart that will carry things like kayaks, fishing gear and bicycles down to the Bluestone River.

“It’s really a modern-day version of the classic that people have known and loved here for years and years,” she said.

It descends 3,410 feet, an elevation difference of 1,200 feet.

Ruby said the project started about a year and a half ago after initially asking Justice which state park should get a new tram first: Pipestem or Hawk’s Nest, both of which needed to be replaced.

His answer was, “both of them.”

Pipestem is being constructed first and Justice said the Hawk’s Nest tram should be on track in about a year.

“This will be a memory for thousands and thousands of people once they come,” Justice said of the new tram. “It’s an exciting day at Pipestem.”

Justice said the tram has always been a major attraction and will continue to be with the all the upgrades.

“The more money you put into tourism the more it will return you in every single way,” he said.

Ruby said that since Justice took office the state has put more than $200 million into the state park system.

“It’s a really exciting time for parks and tourism in the state of West Virginia,” she said.

Copyright 2024 WVVA. All rights reserved.