Babydog watched Gov. Jim Justice as he spoke. (Photo by James Dobbs)

CAIRO — State officials and citizens gathered for the arrival of Gov. Jim Justice at the North Bend State Park Lodge on Friday, where Justice would cut the ribbon which marked the grand re-opening of the lodge after a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Justice said he has always believed in West Virginia, even when others may have viewed it as a diamond in the rough. He said he is proud of West Virginia and how far it has come.

“People on the outside are really finding out just how good we really are,” he said Friday during a visit to the state park in Ritchie County.

Justice said the renovations that they are doing to the parks and at North Bend are creating more hospitality and tourism for West Virginia, which in turn will help grow the population and the economy.

“It’s a real opportunity for all of us in every way,” he said. “I congratulate you on incredible work.”

West Virginia Department of Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby discussed West Virginia’s beautiful lands at the North Bend State Park Lodge. (Photo by James Dobbs)

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Director Brett McMillion described North Bend State Park as a family style park that has a feeling of a small town park.

“This facility is ready to serve our park system,” he said.

McMillion said the lodge staff would be more than happy to give tours of the newly renovated hotel rooms to see what has changed.

“Take a peek at it, look at the actual construction and the time that went into this place,” he said. “It (the lodge) went down to the bare bones in many pieces and came back magnificently. I think we got the most bang for our buck in this particular lodge, as far as any other across the state under this transition.”

McMillion said North Bend has received over $5.7 million in upgrades between the lodge, the cabins and the new picnic shelter construction. He reported that the park system revenues at the end of March for the fiscal year were $4 million above the number reported in March 2021.

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Director Brett McMillion talked about the upgrades the park received at the North Bend State Park Lodge. (Photo by James Dobbs)

“I truly believe that this will be a showcase or a showpiece for Ritchie County,” he said.

West Virginia Department of Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said every major tourism magazine has said that West Virginia is one of the top places to visit for 2022.

“In West Virginia, we’re blessed, we’ve got more than 1.5 million public acres, and the thing that has always set us apart from the rest is the beauty of our public lands,” she said. “But now we have one more calling card, it’s the quality of these public lands. Over the last several years, we’ve put more than $150 million into these parks, incredible.”

Ruby said she looked at advanced reservations for the summer Friday morning, and announced that they are 31 percent ahead of the reservation numbers in 2019, before the pandemic hit.

“It’s not only providing a great new place for residents and locals like all of us to come and get outside, but it’s also making West Virginia a showcase to the nation and to the world,” she said.

Babydog admires new toys she received as a gift for visiting North Bend State Park. (Photo by James Dobbs)

This year alone, Justice has hosted similar ribbon-cutting ceremonies at Hawks Nest, Blackwater Falls, and Canaan Valley state parks to celebrate nearly $18 million in improvements.

James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com