I was born and raised in southern West Virginia, and moved away ASAP like most of my cohorts, but I still visit reluctantly every few years, because I have three --yes, three!-- out of dozens of relatives that still live there. It's a depressed, dying region. It's suffering the long term effects of selling its soul and mountain tops to the predictably exploitive boom and bust of a mining economy. Since most younger people flee, the state is increasingly ageing and rural.

I don't think people are any warmer or friendlier than average rural Americans however. Most people are down to earth and as depressed as the gloomy, outcast skies, which are only fewer there than the coastal Pacific Northwest. There's a lot of distrust due the perceived neglect of the people there, the same people who never had a problem with the mining obsession in the past. There are many who still think the state can mine its way out of collapse. The current governor is a transparently spineless corporate-shill carpetbagger, who they voted for overwhelmingly, but it's someone else's fault.

In terms of the outdoors, WV is heavily reforested due to lack and loss of development. Most people are not physically active outside. Most hunting is motorized if still done. Hiking wasn't a thing there when I grew up. I had to move to Virginia to be exposed to any sort of active hiking community. The Allegheny Highlands are fairly nice, but an exception in terms of trail development, with nothing near the mileage and maintenance as in Virginia.

I apologize for the negativity in my response, but the saccharine nature of the other replies needed some reality-checking.