National Park Week 2025 – New River Gorge National Park!

Continuing our National Park Week series, let’s visit America’s newest national park – New River Gorge National Park & Preserve in West Virginia.

The New River Gorge National River was promoted to a National Park in 2021, but it is actually the second oldest river in the world, estimated to be between 10 and 360 million years old!

This scenic park encompasses 53 miles of the New River, where it has carved the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian mountains, forests, and rivers contain some of the most diverse habitats of endangered mammals, rare birds and amphibians, and aquatic ecosystems.

This park is popular for its many recreational options, such as hiking, camping, boating, fishing, rock climbing, and bird watching. The Lower Gorge of the New River is a premier whitewater rafting location with class III to V rapids! However, the upper part of the river offers somewhat less challenging rapids suitable for whitewater canoeing.

It is also recognized for its cultural and historical significance. Many small towns along the New River supplied the coal and lumber that helped fuel our nation’s industrialization during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Remnants of former homes, farms, and railroad depots can be found throughout the park, showing the coal mining work that took place here.

As usual, we first stopped at a visitors center to learn more about the park and see what we could do there. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a huge map covering the entire floor showing the scale of the river and park. There was also an informative exhibit and video about the park. Very well done!

There are four visitor centers throughout this park – Canyon Rim, Sandstone, Grandview, and Thurmond visitor center – it’s that large! The Canyon Rim and Sandstone centers are open year-round, while the Grandview and Thurmond Depot centers operate seasonally.

There are numerous scenic viewpoints of the New River along the scenic drives through the park. One of the most spectacular ones is the Main Overlook at the Grandview area. If you have limited time, then at least go to this one. This is the one we went to in the pics above.

At 1400 feet above the river, we got a beautiful panoramic view of a horseshoe shaped bend in the river and one of the deepest parts of the gorge. From the parking lot, it is a short flat walk to a wooden viewpoint platform. There are picnic areas and trailheads off this path for longer hikes deeper into the woods too.

Another must-see attraction in this park is the New River Gorge Bridge on U.S. Route 19, just north of Fayetteville, WV. This engineering marvel allowed folks to cross the wide, deep gorge in minutes instead of driving all the way around. It is the longest steel span in the Western Hemisphere and the third-highest bridge in the United States. The Canyon Rim Visitor Center has excellent views of it, and you can drive the Fayette Station Road for some cool views from underneath the bridge.

The bridge itself is a highway, so pedestrian traffic is not allowed across it except for one day a year in October, designated as Bridge Day. You can walk underneath the bridge, though, with a paid tour with Bridge Walk, the only company allowed to take visitors on 3-hour tours on the catwalk underneath the bridge.

Don’t miss Sandstone Falls, the largest waterfall on the New River, Thurmond, the historic railroad town, and the many other remnants of the life of the early settlers in the region as well. Of course, enjoy the many opportunities for outdoor fun throughout the park.

Since this park is so large, encompassing 70,000 acres around the New River, you can enter from any direction and be near a Visitors Center and some hubs of activities. Bonus: there is no entrance fee for this park. Fayetteville, WV, is a town close to popular spots in the park’s northern section and is a good base for day trips to all the others.

I hope you get a chance to explore the national parks, including some lesser-known parks that may not get the attention they deserve. For more details on this park, visit the New River Gorge National Park page.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.