blennerhassett island historical state park

Travelers from all over the world visit Blennerhassett Island.Unfortunately, many locals take the place for granted and never go there. Their loss.The historic value of this piece of early Americana is worth the trip. The restored mansion is magnificent. The regents who work there in period costume are knowledgeable and interesting. Closed in winter, since the only access to the island is by river boat (a treat in itself), many warm-weather activities are available for free to a small fee.If you are going to be traveling near Parkersburg, WV, on Interstate 77 or US50, take an hour or so to visit. You'll remember it forever.

Historical island with a mansion to visit, horse drawn carriage rides and a number of special events throughout the season. Nice boat ride to and from the island.

The island tour all begins at the Blennerhassett Museum. There are three floors of amazing items telling the story of our town's history, and a short film if you choose to watch. Then you get to take the Sternwheeler over to the actual island. Such a treat. It is not only "fun" to ride on this Sternwheeler, but its an opportunity to get amazing pictures along the way. The Ohio River show's off its beauty! The Island is full of great history. The tour guides are wonderful and engage conversations with everyone interested. I had my 2 grandsons along with us. One of the tour guides really brought it down to their level. What started out to be 2 uninterested boys quickly changed. We enjoyed a picnic lunch I brought along. It was just a beautiful day! I highly recommend the trip over to the Blennerhassett Island!

Beautiful scenery and history surround the area. I always enjoy going to the island. The mansion tour in very informative. There are lots of things to do like a wagon ride and bike rentals. I enjoy bringing a pic nic lunch with me in a back pack. Its fun for the whole family.

If you like history you'll love the story about the island namesake. It's beautiful as well, and the tour is quick but thorough. Bring a lunch picnic lunch, do the tour and you'll be home for dinner.

My wife had heard about this event at the Blannerhassett Island where they turn off any lights and only have candlelight and fire during the evening. Thought this would be an awesome to experience and parts of the evening were very cool. We had our fortune told to us right when we got off the boat ride to the island. After that we went on a horse carriage ride around the island and this is where the evening started to lose it luster. First off with it being night time and hardly any light it was very difficult to see what the driver was talking about and I wish he had played the role that others were playing on the island. He wasn't very informative at all and basically seemed like he was going through the motions. After that we went to see the mansion and the wait was over an hour long and on a cold night this actually made me regret even coming. Once we finally got on the tour of the mansion we found some of the staff very informative and playing their rolls way better than others, but overall it was very interesting walking through each of the rooms with all the characters dressed up in outfits from the early 1800's. The ghost stories told by the camp fire was actually the best part of the evening and was very entertaining. Bottom line we are glad we went despite some of the issues described.

short boat ride to the island...great tour of the island on a horse drawn wagon and the historic house was a great look into the way people lived the past.

Not much to see on the island. Yes the mansion is there but never open. At least the times I have been there. If you want a nice quiet place to take a hike and see some wildlife, then its a good trek.

I was looking forward to this trip. The premise is Great...paddle boat ride on the Ohio River to an island with a mansion and wagon ride. Couldn't ask for more.The boat ride was pleasant, 20 minutes so if you have small children is great , too short for them to get bored.The wagon ride was ok. There was too much talk of what used to be there and not much of what is still there, which is not much.The mansion was nice but it is not the original home and even though nicely put together just didn't give me the effect I was hoping for. The best part of house and tour was the kitchen. The older woman was very informative and explained many of the antique gadgets used in a kitchen.Total time spent on island was about one and half hours.It is worth a visit if near by but would not go too far out of my way

Our group called on Friday inquiring about the park. We were told the times it was open and what times the boat went out to the island. When we got there at 2:25 on Saturday, we were told we wouldn't have time to do everything because we were making the last boat out for the day (would've been nice to know that the day before). We opted to go ahead and do the mansion tour but didn't have time for the wagon ride or to tour the island. The boat ride was enjoyable and the staff there were very informative. Once we made it to the island, we met the best guides. They were knowledgeable and very friendly. This was the best tour I've ever been on. I wish we had more time to enjoy more of it. If you go, plan to be there early and spend several hours on the island.

We had been wanting to visit Blennerhassett Island for a long time and just never made the effort. When we discovered that North Bend State Park had a package deal, we decided it would be a good time to visit. The Blennerhassett Museum in downtown Parkersburg, WV needs to be the first stop of your tour. Here you can watch a video for background info about the Blennerhassett's and the island. Then there are several archaeological and historical exhibits on three different floors of the museum. This is also where you will get your ticket for the sternwheeler ride to the island. Once on the island, you can buy your tickets for the mansion tour and a horse-drawn wagon ride. Everyone on the island was very friendly and gave wonderful history about the past. The prices are reasonable and it is a wonderful way to spend the day. You should allow at least 3 hours to be able to experience it all. The island is open from May 1st through the end of October.You can visit this web site for rates and info on the operating schedules.http://www.blennerhassettislandstatepark.com/schedule.html

We visited Blennerhassett Island on a warm Saturday afternoon in September. We saw the sign for the museum and parked behind this building as we didn’t see any other signs for parking. You buy tickets for the sternwheeler and the museum inside the museum itself. You have to buy the mansion and wagon ride tickets once you are on the island. Tickets for the sternwheeler were ten dollars a person. Our only issue here was that the woman at the counter could have been more helpful. We had to ask for directions for where to board the boat and were also told that we couldn’t park behind the museum and had to go down the street a little and park under a bridge where the spots were marked with an ‘M’. After moving the car we came back into the museum to visit the gift shop and the lady working here was unfriendly and didn’t even say hello when we entered. We left the gift shop and walked to the boat (there could be more signs in the area indicating where you board the boat.) While waiting we noticed a little market right next to where you board and decided to check it out. There wasn’t that much inside; two or three people selling some meat and vegetables, a place that was selling lunches and a small gift shop area. We didn’t care for the market so we left and waited outside until the boat came at 1:00. The ride to the island was very pleasant and I would have been happy staying on the boat longer. It takes about a half an hour to get to the island. Once we arrived we were greeted by costumed guides who gave a brief introduction and instructions on what to do and see. We bought tickets for the wagon ride but chose to forgo tickets to the mansion. Since the mansion is a replica (the original one burned down) it did not interest us and instead we chose to tour the Putnam house which is located behind the mansion. This tour was free and very informative. The guides at this house were very enthusiastic and eager to share information about the house. There were three guides and each was supposed to share information about certain parts of the house; however, it was a little disorganized as to who was sharing what so we ended up getting a lot of the same information twice. We did enjoy the house and the tour and highly recommend a stop here when you are on the island. The wagon tour is not to be missed. It cost five dollars a person and was definitely worth it. The horses are led by a guide who takes you around the island while giving a historical summary. This was my favorite part of our day. There is a gift shop right behind where you board the wagons that sells typical souvenir items like magnets, mugs and books; the lady that worked the desk here was unfriendly as well. Perhaps if they were instructed to greet their customers especially while making a transaction it would make the visit much more pleasant. I’m not looking for a full blown conversation but a simple hello is much appreciated. There are restrooms available as well as a concession stand on the island. My husband purchased lunch here and while there isn’t a big selection of items it was reasonably priced. They even offered ice cream. We boarded the last boat of the day at 4:00 and it was much busier than our first trip because everyone needed to be off the island. So, if you want it to be less crowded, I’d suggest boarding the boat earlier. Also, if you’re leery of bugs than I’d also suggest staying on the walkways instead of walking through the grass; I saw the biggest spider while we were walking back from the Putnam house. Also, while walking towards the wagon ride area we were greeted by a child on a bike who informed us that the reason a group of people were standing up ahead was because her parents had spotted a copperhead snake on the walkway. Even though there were a couple of scary critters, I’d still recommend a visit. It was a relaxing and inexpensive way to spend a day.

If you are looking to get out for about a half a day, Blennerhassett Island may be for you. You can buy your tickets at the museum then go to Point Park in Parkersburg, WV where you wait for the boat to pick you up. You then go on a half-hour ride to the island. Once there, you can tour the mansion, take a horse ride, or even rent bikes to tour the island. Please note, there are fees for all those activities charged once you are on the island.You can learn a little bit abou the Blennerhassett family and some of the local history. It was a good trip to make.

If you are in the Parkersburg area, don't miss take a few hours and heading over to the Island.The ride on the Sternwheeler is a great beginning to a relaxing day...just be aware that you get your tickets at the museum and have a block walk to get on the ferry...we cut ourselves a little close on time... Once on the island, you are able to take a tour of the rebuilt mansion and a horse and covered wagon ride around the island. The guides are excellent and really add to the wonderful setting..You simply cannot beat the price..i think it was $23 per person for the ferry, tour and wagon ride! A great deal for a 3 hour activity! Great fun..don't miss it if you are in the area!

The island is very well manicured. I don't know how they keep it so nice. Rivals any golf course. I love that it is laid back, and having a nice canopy, very cool on the hot day everywhere else. I recommend everything. If you ever are in the Ohio river area about half way up between Ohio and West Virginia, this is a great stop for overnight if the Island is open. They are seasonal, so check the website first. I got to it at www.blennerhassett.org. I think that is a mobile only site, but it works fine on computers too.