The Ultimate Guide to the WV 4848 Music Festival
Where Is It?
My husband has fond memories of growing up in the West Virginia Appalachian Mountains and keeps an eye on happenings there. We both enjoy live music especially at outdoor venues, so when he found out about the 4848 Music Festival on facebook, he said, “let’s go!” It takes place at the Snowshoe Resort in the eastern part of the state. The event gets its name from the mountain’s elevation of 4848 feet. We have skied there several times, but have never visited in the summer. We did a bit of research and found we could also do some decent hiking. This year was the 4th year for the festival. It was well run, takes place on three stages and has a great variety of bluegrass and jam bands.
How To Get There
This is the most important information in this post! Avoid starting your trip stressing out by making sure you know your route before you leave civilization. GPS and cell phones aren’t reliable on the mountain roads heading to the resort. The best directions from any location are on the Snowshoe Mountain Website. Load them before you leave internet access and write them down, old school, just to be safe. Make sure your vehicle has plenty of gas, as well. You will experience several miles of 2-lane, curvy, mountain roads. The scenery is spectacular, but stay focused on the road and take your time!
We left from Wilmington, NC and took the trek from the east. We entered the mountains at the same time as a severe summer thunderstorm. Mother Nature unleashed a driving, blinding rain. My husband who grew up on the mountain roads was up to the challenge, I on the other hand, was having a panic attack. By the time we reached Cass, WV, I was more than ready for a break from the car and weather. There is a very charming General Store in Cass, a scenic steam engine train ride and the Greenbrier River Trial. The store had an amazing candy bin selection.
After catching our breath in Cass, we made the ascent to Snowshoe. If you’re coming in from the south or west the last town you’ll pass through before Snowshoe is Slatyfork.
Where to Stay – VRBO and airbnb Condominiums, Camping
When you arrive at the festival you need to stop in at the Top of the World Box Office. A greeter under a canopy gave us our event wrist bands. Then we drove to the centrally located Allegheny Springs Hotel. Their front desk is the check in point for all of the condominiums. Below is a map of the stages and lodging.
From tent and RV camping to condominiums, the 4848 Music Festival has a wide variety of lodging available. A frequent shuttle system, ski lift and walking paths get concert-goers where they want to be! Once you check-in, you won’t need your car much. Snowshoe consists of three major lodging areas: the Village, the Top of the World and Silver Creek. In addition, the tent-only basecamp is at Shavers Lake.
We stayed at the Soaring Eagle Lodge (the far right side of the map, Top of the World area), as we wanted to be a little away from the activity and noise of the main two stages. There is a path that’s walkable to Snowshoe Village. It’s a little less than a mile and starts to the left of the Top of the World Lodge. It’s not well marked. It just looks like a trail headed into the woods, but you quickly end up at Logger’s Run and the walkway takes on a more legit look. There are also shuttles that frequently run from Top of the World to the Village.
Click here for good descriptions about the condos near the village stage and sky stage. I do not recommend staying at Snowshoe’s base for the music festival.
What to Bring
Music Festivals have a relaxed atmosphere. They take place outside and attendees are subjected to all sorts of weather. Snowshoe, WV gets a lot of summer rain and the festival goes on unless there’s lightening. Here are some must haves:
- Comfortable, casual clothes and shoes
- Portable stadium chairs
- Portable cell phone charger – crucial item! Cell service within the village is good. But just in case, plan a designated meet area if you get separated from your group.
- Small backpack or drawstring bag to tote your stuff
- Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen
- Disposable rain ponchos or a lightweight rain jacket
- Hiking Boots, if you plan to take advantage of the surrounding trails
Click here to check out a much more detailed music festival packing list.
The ‘Facilities’
Good fests are crowded and restrooms can be a bank of port-a-potties. The 4848 has a mix of facilities available depending on which stage you’re visiting. There are some nice indoor restrooms located by the stages along with portables to accommodate the crowds. Night sessions are dark. Don’t forget to bring your cell phone or a small flashlight to illuminate the bathroom.
Where to Eat
The festival has a food court of food trucks serving up tacos, BBQ and the like. This area is located near the Sky Stage by the merchandise tents. The Village Stage area is surrounded by a number of restaurants. We had pizza at Cheat Mountain Pizza and a delicious early dinner at the Junction.
After our dinner at the Junction we headed to the Sky Stage for a beautiful sunset and great show that went into the night.
The Boathouse Stage is located at the Boathouse restaurant overlooking Shaver’s Lake. Summer is Snowshoe’s off-season. The restaurant at Top of the World was closed. For more info about Snowshoe’s restaurants CLICK HERE.
To reach the Boathouse Stage and restaurant you need to take the Ballhooter Chairlift down to Shaver’s Lake. The lift is free to festival goers all weekend. It’s located behind Allegheny Springs and the Mountain Lodge. Shaver’s Lake is the campground location and offers lots of recreation activities. There’s a wide, sandy beach, fun large inflatables, rentals of canoes, kayaks and paddle-boards, a mega playground and the Fairy Diddle Disc Golf Course.
The music starts each day at the Boathouse. We loved this venue! The festival even provided deck chairs. It was interesting to share the lift with mountain bikers, another popular summer activity at Snowshoe.
Beverages
Thankfully there are plenty of places to buy adult beverages limiting bottlenecks usually experienced at festivals. Even a golf cart bar added to the ease of getting a drink! We brought water bottles in our small backpack.
Hiking
Another way to get to Shavers Lake is to hike the Cheat Mountain Ridge Trail and the 6,000 Steps Trail. We did this on Friday morning. The Cheat Mountain Trail begins near the Soaring Eagle Lodge where we stayed. It starts as a service road. Nice and wide and covered with wild daisies in the summer. ATV tours were also on that trail. It eventually headed into the forest and passed the Backcountry Sunrise Hut. There was a view there, but it was covered in clouds the morning we went. Next we caught the 6,000 Steps Trail. It’s more narrow, has some roots and creek crossings to navigate. I was glad I had hiking boots for that trail. We ended up at Shavers Lake in time for the music set, lunch and a cold, adult beverage.
On Saturday morning we took the Ballhooter Chairlift down to Shavers Lake and walked on the lake path until we got to the ‘Bail Out’ trailhead. Shortly after starting Bail Out you need to veer left. We didn’t see that sign behind lots of vegetation and kept walking straight on what looked like a trail. It soon became apparent it wasn’t, lol. Back tracked and found the right path. Bail Out has a big vertical ascent, but the fire tower at the top is worth it!
The Bands
After all, the excellent music is why we went! The 4848 was well organized and I loved all the amenities the Snowshoe Resort setting offered. We hope to go back next year. The line-up has jut been announced and it’s fantastic!
