In 2021, West Virginia’s New River Gorge grew to become the 63rd nationwide park within the U.S. It affords whitewater rafting, free primitive tenting, and way more.
The identify New River is a misnomer, because the river is without doubt one of the oldest on this planet. New River Gorge Nationwide Park covers 53 miles of the 320-mile-long river.
Probably the most iconic picture of this park is the New River Gorge Bridge, which is 3,030 toes lengthy and has a 1,700-foot arch span. Yearly on the third Saturday of October, Fayetteville, W.Va., hosts Bridge Day, the place BASE jumpers leap off the bridge, others rappel, and hundreds of individuals watch from above.
Right here’s our insider’s information to the place to go and what to do at New River Gorge Nationwide Park.
A Information to Exploring the New River Gorge Park and Protect
When to Go to
Most exercise within the park occurs from spring by means of fall, when it’s extra pleasant to raft, hike, camp, and climb.
This park is open year-round, however Grandview Customer Middle and Thurmond Depot are solely open seasonally from Memorial Day by means of Labor Day.
We visited throughout a weekend in June when there have been loads of individuals however nonetheless discovered a campsite at Meadow Creek on a Friday evening with none points.
New River Gorge Park and Protect: What to Do
Whitewater Rafting
You’ll be able to run the river your self or go together with a licensed clothing store with guided journeys of various ranges and lengths. The northern a part of the park has rapids starting from Class III to Class IV. The southern half has rapids starting from Class I to Class III.
My dad went rafting on “The New,” as many individuals name it, again in 1980, and he stated it was one of the best ways to see the gorge. I didn’t go, so rafting is certainly on the prime of my checklist for our subsequent go to.
As an alternative, we noticed the rafters go below the bridge once we drove throughout the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge on the Fayette Station scenic drive. There are many put-ins on this space of the park as nicely.
Everytime you plan for water exercise, it’s a good suggestion to verify the water ranges and up to date closures or park alerts.
Climbing
This park is a well-liked vacation spot for climbers, because the Nuttall sandstone cliffs are excellent for climbing. There are over 1,400 established rock climbs inside New River Gorge Nationwide Park and Protect.
Of the routes, 51.2% are sport climbs, 32.4% are trad, 13.8% are bouldering, and a couple of.5% are toprope. Most routes are 5.9 and up.
For last-minute gear and maps, take a look at Water Stone Outdoor in Fayetteville. No allow is required to climb.
The Definitive Information to Climbing Jargon
Climbing
The park is large, so in the event you solely have sooner or later, decide just one or two of the seven completely different areas to discover.
We selected the Sandstone-Brooks space within the south as a result of it has a waterfall, 1,500 toes throughout, and it was nearer to the place we began our day. The path is a 0.4-mile ADA-accessible boardwalk roundtrip out and again.
On the finish of the boardwalk, stairs go down towards rocks, the place you’ll be able to discover extra.
If in case you have extra time, we suggest the three.2-mile Grandview Rim Path hike to see the river bend in addition to the 1-mile Tunnel Path.
Campgrounds and Primitive Tenting
One among my favourite elements about this park is that there’s loads of free primitive tenting, and also you don’t want a reservation. The 9 areas that provide this are Stone Cliff Seaside, Military Camp, Grandview Sandbar, Glade Creek, Conflict Ridge/Backus Mountain, Brooklyn, Thayer, Meadow Creek, and Gauley Tailwaters.
The Burwood Group Campsite close to Canyon Rim Customer Middle requires a Particular Use Allow. Contact the allow workplace at 304-465-6517 for extra data.
We stayed on the Meadow Creek campground by the Sandstone Falls Customer Middle. It was an excellent keep, however there are prepare tracks close by, and a prepare glided by at 11 p.m. every evening.
The positioning is first come, first served, and you’ll keep as much as 14 days. There have been particular person fireplace pits, picnic tables, grills, parking spots, and pit bogs, and it was proper by the river.
This park primarily affords day hikes, however steered trails for backpacking are Glade Creek, Kates Plateau, and Polls Plateau.
Tips on how to Get There
If it’s good to fly, Yeager Airport in Charleston, W.Va., is the best choice to get to the park. It’s about an hour away by automobile to the New River Gorge Bridge and Canyon Rim Customer Middle, conveniently positioned on U.S. Route 19.
My boyfriend and I drove from Shenandoah Nationwide Park to Meadow Creek Campground within the southern a part of the park, so we took Route 64, the place the campground and Sandstone Customer Middle have been proper off the exit.
Customer Facilities
There are 4 customer facilities to go to for maps and historic displays. Canyon Rim Customer Middle is within the north by the bridge.
Grandview Customer Middle and Thurmond Depot are in the course of the park and are each open seasonally. Grandview affords grand views of the river bend, and Thurmond Depot is a restored railroad depot. This web site is without doubt one of the many historic websites of this park that displays the state’s coal mining historical past.
Lastly, Sandstone Customer Middle is within the southern a part of the park. It has a TopoBox, an interactive sandbox with a projector that helps educate about watersheds and topography.
Driving from the Canyon Rim Customer Middle to the Sandstone Customer Middle takes about an hour, and it’s one other half hour to Sandstone Falls, so plan accordingly.
This go to was my first time on the park, and whereas it was a brief go to, it was a beautiful one. I hope you take pleasure in your journey whether or not you hike, raft, climb, go to historic websites, or the entire above.
Go to America’s Latest Nationwide Park, Get 2 Nights of Free Tenting
