New River Gorge National River

This place is beautiful and huge! We are traveling through to Ky from NJ and stopped in to check out the overlooks and trails. Views are great wish we had more time to explore. Plenty of things to do here for a long weekend.

I love stopping by the New River Gorge Bridge. Amazing structure with a great boardwalk down to an observation area. The great thing is it’s immediately off the highway. This was my third visit and enjoyed it just as much as the first. I recommend the bridge tours.

New River Gorge is fabulous… and huge! There are tons of things to see and do here. The part that the National Park Service administers has over 70,000 acres alone, and that doesn’t include the multiple state parks and recreation areas that border it. Nature lovers, those interested in action adventures/​thrills, and history buffs should definitely make it a point to check this place out. There are miles of trails, camping, fishing, preserved areas like an old coal mine and town, and plenty of options like climbing, ziplining, white water rafting, and more in the area.
Honestly, I could probably write a whole essay on this place, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of it, so I’m going to limit myself to highlights only! The main section of the park has a couple of basic areas — Sandstone, Thurmond, Grandview, and Canyon Rim, which is where you will find each of the four visitor centers. The exhibits, videos, and other offerings are not the same — we made it to two and found them to be very different. Sandstone is gorgeous with its fabulous rain garden, a map of the area embedded in the floor, and a video/​exhibits focused on the natural aspects of the area. Canyon Rim’s has some nice overlooks down into the river and its exhibit and video focuses more on the history of coal mining and the train coming to the area.
In Sandstone, one of the best views is of Sandstone Falls, which is the largest waterfall in New River. It is wide rather than tall, but still makes for an impressive and beautiful sight. It has a nicely accessible boardwalk trail for closer up views. The signature sight in Grandview would be the great view down into the Horseshoe Bend as the river flows through the gorge. There is a great overlook a short way from the parking lot, and also many trails that let you get some different views of it. Canyon Rim gives you a good look at the famous New River Gorge Bridge and is also the place to start the Fayette Station Road scenic drive, which highlights both natural and historical aspects as it leads you through the gorge on the old bridge. This has a nice audio tour that you can download in mp3s from the NPS website — be sure to start track 1 while you are in the parking lot of Canyon Rim because it is an intro to get you oriented to where you are going. There are also some exhibits along the route — grab the scenic drive map to assist with locating them (it’s a narrow road, one way for a lot of it, so it’s good to know in advance if you want to pull over)!
Keep your eyes out as you go through the park, especially when driving — I can’t tell you how many times we stopped for unexpected crossings by deer, chipmunks, a turtle, and a wild turkey with her babies!

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. I hiked for a full 3 hours before enjoying my picnic lunch. So worth the time! Next time I am in town, you can bet I’ll be back!