Aurora, WV

Tucked high in the mountains of Preston County along Route 50, Aurora is a quiet community just minutes from the Maryland border. Home to around 200 residents, it offers peaceful rural living surrounded by cool mountain air and Appalachian scenery. The area is best known for Cathedral State Park, which preserves West Virginia’s largest stand of virgin hemlock trees with miles of shaded walking trails. Originally settled by German families in the late 1700s, Aurora later became a popular summer retreat, and its preserved historic district still gives the town a relaxed, classic countryside charm.