Alpine Lake, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Alpine Lake is a private, gated community located in Preston County
, West Virginia
, United States
. It lies to the south of White Oak Springs and northeast of Terra Alta, West Virginia. On one side, the community runs along the actual border line between West Virginia and Maryland. The town of Oakland, Maryland (The county seat of Garrett County, Maryland) is also relatively close by.
Alpine Lake is a 2300 acres (9.3 km²) planned community with several hundred 1/2 acre building lots, a private paved road system, its own public water and sewer system, and a number of restrictive covenants running with the land which are designed to preserve the natural setting. To date, just under 500 homes have been built at Alpine Lake.
The community is built into a series of heavily-wooded hills surrounding a large, 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) artificial lake. To preserve the tranquil mountain setting, no gasoline-powered boats are permitted on Alpine Lake. In addition to the large lake, other amenities of the community include an 18 hole golf course (open to the public along with a mini putt course), a large community lodge with a restaurant and bar, a motel, tennis courts, extensive hiking and cross-country skiing trails, and a beach.
Other amenities nearby include Deep Creek Lake and Wisp Ski Resort.
The community at Alpine Lake is diverse. For many residents, their Alpine Lake home is a second, vacation home, allowing them weekend escapes from either Baltimore/Washington or Pittsburgh. Other owners are retired and live at Alpine Lake year-round or during the summer. Baltimore, Washington DC and Pittsburgh are all 3 hours or less by car from Alpine Lake.
The weather at Alpine Lake is typically quite mild in the summer. The relatively high altitude (c. 2800 ft (853.4 m) above sea level) tends to keep temperatures moderate. However, winters can be very severe, with extensive snow and extremely low temperatures. Prevailing weather patterns run west to east in this area, and as weather systems run into the mountains, turbulent weather patterns can often result. Summer thunderstorms at Alpine Lake can be particularly spectacular.
At one time, Alpine Lake operated a small ski slope. However, the ski operation at Alpine Lake was dismantled several years ago, mainly for insurance reasons. The former ski slope has not been allowed to return to woods, and the top of the old ski slope faces west and remains an excellent place to watch the sun set over the mountains and the lake below. The former ski slope is currently being used as a driving range throughout the day.
Preston County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,334 people, 11,544 households, and 8,357 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 13,444 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It lies to the south of White Oak Springs and northeast of Terra Alta, West Virginia. On one side, the community runs along the actual border line between West Virginia and Maryland. The town of Oakland, Maryland (The county seat of Garrett County, Maryland) is also relatively close by.
Alpine Lake is a 2300 acres (9.3 km²) planned community with several hundred 1/2 acre building lots, a private paved road system, its own public water and sewer system, and a number of restrictive covenants running with the land which are designed to preserve the natural setting. To date, just under 500 homes have been built at Alpine Lake.
The community is built into a series of heavily-wooded hills surrounding a large, 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) artificial lake. To preserve the tranquil mountain setting, no gasoline-powered boats are permitted on Alpine Lake. In addition to the large lake, other amenities of the community include an 18 hole golf course (open to the public along with a mini putt course), a large community lodge with a restaurant and bar, a motel, tennis courts, extensive hiking and cross-country skiing trails, and a beach.
Other amenities nearby include Deep Creek Lake and Wisp Ski Resort.
The community at Alpine Lake is diverse. For many residents, their Alpine Lake home is a second, vacation home, allowing them weekend escapes from either Baltimore/Washington or Pittsburgh. Other owners are retired and live at Alpine Lake year-round or during the summer. Baltimore, Washington DC and Pittsburgh are all 3 hours or less by car from Alpine Lake.
The weather at Alpine Lake is typically quite mild in the summer. The relatively high altitude (c. 2800 ft (853.4 m) above sea level) tends to keep temperatures moderate. However, winters can be very severe, with extensive snow and extremely low temperatures. Prevailing weather patterns run west to east in this area, and as weather systems run into the mountains, turbulent weather patterns can often result. Summer thunderstorms at Alpine Lake can be particularly spectacular.
At one time, Alpine Lake operated a small ski slope. However, the ski operation at Alpine Lake was dismantled several years ago, mainly for insurance reasons. The former ski slope has not been allowed to return to woods, and the top of the old ski slope faces west and remains an excellent place to watch the sun set over the mountains and the lake below. The former ski slope is currently being used as a driving range throughout the day.