Cheating the hustle and bustle
Cheat Lake has both wide and narrow parts, allowing for various types of boating, kayaking, fishing and other water activities.
Stand-up paddleboard yoga is one of the myriad recreation options available at Cheat Lake.
Amy Johns is a devoted employee and artisan. She has been director of public affairs and creative services for WVU Medicine for 26 years, and designs jewelry for a shop she owns in Morgantown.
Leisure isn’t always in abundance, but Johns appreciates it in any measure, especially when she is home with her husband and dog. They live along Cheat Lake, where she never feels cheated.
“I’ve lived across the street from the lake since 2002,” Johns says. “It’s awesome. It’s a lot like being on vacation year-round because it’s so beautiful.”
A man-made reservoir built nearly a century ago, Cheat Lake is a pristine oasis nestled among the mountains northeast of Morgantown. It is a recreation mecca where one can boat, fish, kayak, canoe, paddleboard, hike, bike, swim and explore – in more-seasonable months or year-round.
There are three marinas, three restaurants, four posted swimming areas, a playground and a 4.5-mile hiking trail that ends at the Pennsylvania state line in Fayette County.
And while the lake itself has a lot to offer outdoor aficionados, it is not the only recreation destination in this part of West Virginia – just the lowest lying.
Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa overlooks the lake. Coopers Rock State Forest, a short pop east on Interstate 68, has hiking, biking, climbing, camping and striking panoramas of the Cheat River valley. Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area, immediately south of Coopers Rock, offers hiking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding and more views from above.
Then there is the Cheat River, where whitewater kayaking and rafting is big. The river flows 78 miles, past the dam that formed Cheat Lake and, eventually, into the Monongahela River in Point Marion, Fayette County.
West Penn Power built the hydroelectric dam, which became operational in 1926. The resulting reservoir was initially named Lake Lynn, after company president Albert Lynn. Locals, however, preferred Cheat Lake, a nod to Cheat Mountain, where Coopers Rock sits. In 1976, the locals won.
The dam is now owned by Allegheny Energy Supply, which, like West Penn Power, became a subsidiary of FirstEnergy.
Living lakeside has been a sweet experience for Amy Johns, who surely knows sweet experiences. She grew up in Canonsburg and is a niece of the late Frank Sarris, who founded Sarris Candies in 1960. Johns’ mother – Frank’s sister – worked in the store for decades.
“It’s beautiful here, and things change all the time: the color of the water, birds we see – even seagulls once in a while,” she says. “It’s a very lively place in the summer, especially on weekends.”
She and her spouse, retired Pittsburgh journalist Pete Zapadka, have a lot of permanent neighbors. But the local population increases dramatically during the pleasant months. Cheat Lake is a real estate hot spot, with clusters of rental units and upscale homes that appeal to full-time residents as well as those seeking a vacation location.
The area, not surprisingly, draws scads of Southwestern Pennsylvanians. Greg and Beverly Ryan of Pleasant Hills have had a second home off the lake for 13 years. They are avid boaters who get together there at all times of the year with their two adult sons.
“We go all winter long. Our cabin is winterized,” Greg says.
“We go kayaking, water ski, paddleboard and have a pontoon boat. We take our Harleys for Mountainfest (in July), go to some (WVU) football games to tailgate.”
He says the family has been boating for three decades, but it took them seven or eight years to find an ideal location for a second home. They landed at Cheat, closer to Coopers Rock, “where it’s quieter than most of the lake.” Cheat Lake, he adds, isn’t overly commercialized like other resorts.
Until she enrolled for classes at WVU years ago, Dorothy Measures of Bethel Park had never been to the lake and its environs. Now, she, husband Rick and their three children “from May to October, go almost every weekend if we can. The leaves in the fall are just wonderful. We’re there less often in the winter.”
One time, though, “we got snowed in and had the best time, tubing and sled riding.”
They have had a second home at Cheat for five years, and often met their two older offspring while the kids were going through WVU. Dorothy and Rick have a pontoon boat and like to water ski. Dorothy also likes lakeside yoga and the trails at Coopers Rock and Snake Hill.
“There is a ton of things to do in this area,” she says.
A ton may be a little light. Amy Johns has lived at this lake resort for 15 years, and has seen its population, popularity and recreation opportunities grow and grow. The state slogan, she says, applies to her slice of Almost Heaven – “It’s really wild and wonderful.”