The sun crests the horizon line formed by the hulking mass of Cabin Mountain and the Allegheny Front, illuminating Sue Haywood and her pup, DD, in golden light as they suit up for an early morning ride from her home atop Canaan Mountain in Tucker County.

Almost a thousand feet below in the wide bottom of Canaan Valley, a sea of mist laps at trees still huddled in the shadows. By the time the sun’s potent rays evaporate the low-lying fog from the valley floor, Haywood and DD will be miles out in the Canaan Mountain Backcountry.

“No matter where you live around here, whether you’re in Davis or in Canaan Valley or up on the mountain, access is pretty much instantaneous due to the sheer amount of public land we have,” says Haywood.

Despite Montana’s claim to the name, Canaan Valley really does feel like big sky country. At 13 miles long, five miles wide, and boasting an average valley floor elevation of 3,200 feet, Canaan is the highest large valley east of the Mississippi. Canaan Mountain, a broad-shouldered ridge reaching 4,145 feet in elevation, forms the western rim of the valley.

“I just really love the sky here,” Haywood says. “A lot of places in West Virginia, you’re just in the woods, but the sky and the lighting in Canaan Valley is really special. We get a lot of epic sunrises and sunsets.”

Beyond the world-class views, a major draw of Tucker County is the patchwork quilt of public lands that offer something for every form of outdoor recreation: Federal tracts include the Monongahela National Forest and Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge (CVNWR); state lands include Canaan Valley State Park (CVRSP), Blackwater Falls State Park (BWFSP), and the Little Canaan Wildlife Management Area; and nonprofit organizations such as the West Virginia Land Trust offer public access to the Yellow Creek Natural Area.