New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

The heart of the park is the gorge itself, a canyon roughly 876 feet deep where the New River runs through ancient rock. The New River is a bit of a puzzle. It is called new, but geologists count it among the oldest rivers in North America, and possibly the world, older than the mountains it now cuts through. Because it is so old and so powerful, it carved straight down as the land rose around it, leaving the steep, dramatic walls you see today. The water at the bottom is famous for its whitewater, some of the biggest and most reliable in the eastern United States.

The park's signature sight is the New River Gorge Bridge, which spans 3,030 feet across the canyon and rises hundreds of feet above the river. When it opened it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world, and it is still one of the longest anywhere. It has become the symbol of West Virginia and the star of Bridge Day each October, when the road closes to cars and people BASE-jump from the deck and rappel down ropes into the gorge. From the Canyon Rim Visitor Center you can look out at the whole span and understand at a glance why it draws crowds.

Beyond the bridge and the river, the park spreads along more than fifty miles of gorge and rim. Sandstone cliffs make this a premier rock-climbing destination, with hundreds of routes on hard, grippy stone. Trails wind out to overlooks like Long Point and along the airy edge of the Endless Wall. Old railroad grades follow the water past the ghosts of coal towns, and side canyons hide waterfalls and rhododendron thickets that bloom pink and white in early summer. It is a big, layered place, and every level of it, river to rim, has something worth the trip.

• Canyon Rim Visitor Center, off US-19 near Fayetteville, is open year-round and is the main gateway. It has the classic overlook of the New River Gorge Bridge and is the best first stop for maps, rangers, and orientation.
• Grandview access, off I-64 near Beckley, is open year-round and reaches the southern rim, where wide overlooks look down on a long horseshoe bend of the river.
• Sandstone Visitor Center, off I-64 near Sandstone, is open year-round and marks the quieter southern end of the park, near the calmer Upper New.
• There is no single entrance and no entrance gate. From Charleston, take US-19 south about an hour to Fayetteville and the Canyon Rim area. From Beckley and I-64, follow the signs to Grandview or Sandstone. The park is spread along the gorge, so pick the access point nearest what you want to see.

• Fayetteville is the charming small town right beside the park, home to rafting outfitters, gear shops, and good restaurants. It is the natural base camp for a New River trip.
• Babcock State Park, about 15 miles southeast, is home to the Glade Creek Grist Mill, one of the most photographed spots in West Virginia, a working reproduction mill on a rushing creek.
• Hawks Nest State Park, about 25 miles north, runs a tram 585 feet down into the New River gorge and has a dramatic overlook from the rim above.
• Hawks Nest Lake, the impoundment above the gorge, offers calm, flat water for easy paddling when you want the scenery without the rapids.

People have lived along the New River for thousands of years. Indigenous peoples hunted, fished, and traveled the gorge long before written history, and the region later fell within lands used and known by Native nations of the Appalachian interior. The river was a route and a resource, and its bottomlands and cliffs hold traces of that long human presence. The people who came here in more recent centuries followed the same water and the same narrow, sheltered corridor through the mountains.

The gorge's modern story is a coal-and-railroad story. In the late 1800s, railroads pushed a line right along the river at the bottom of the canyon to haul out the rich coal seams in the walls. Company towns sprang up wherever there was a mine, crowding onto the narrow benches above the water. Thurmond, once a busy railroad boomtown, and Nuttallburg, a coal town with a mine and coke ovens carved into the hillside, were bustling communities in their heyday. When the coal and the trains faded in the twentieth century, the towns emptied. Today they stand as quiet ghost towns inside the park, their foundations and machinery slowly returning to forest.

As the mines closed, the river found a second life. Whitewater outfitters began running commercial rafting trips in the 1960s and 1970s, and climbers discovered the sandstone cliffs soon after. In 1978, Congress protected the heart of the canyon as the New River Gorge National River, safeguarding the water, the cliffs, and the old townsites together. The recreation that grew up here, rafting, climbing, hiking, and the spectacle of Bridge Day, made the case for even stronger protection.

That protection came in 2020, when the New River Gorge was redesignated as a national park and preserve. It was the country's newest national park at the time. The change honored more than a century of history in the gorge, from the coal miners and railroaders who built the towns to the river runners and climbers who made the canyon a destination. The old grist mills, the ghost towns, and the great bridge overhead all sit inside its bounds now, a single place holding many chapters of West Virginia's story.

• Despite its name, the New River is one of the oldest rivers in North America, and possibly one of the oldest on Earth. It is older than the Appalachian Mountains it flows through, which is why it cuts straight across them instead of going around.
• The New River flows north, one of the few major rivers in the country to do so, running from North Carolina up through Virginia and into West Virginia.
• The New River Gorge Bridge was the longest steel arch bridge in the world when it opened in 1977, and it remains one of the longest anywhere. For decades it was also one of the highest vehicular bridges in the United States.
• On Bridge Day each October, the bridge closes to traffic and people legally BASE-jump from the deck and rappel down ropes into the gorge, one of the few days anywhere such jumps are permitted.
• Two full ghost towns sit inside the park. Thurmond was once a booming railroad town, and Nuttallburg still has a coal tipple and long conveyor climbing the hillside, preserved by the Park Service.
• The bridge cut the drive across the gorge from about forty-five minutes on twisting mountain roads down to less than a minute.
• New River Gorge is one of the top rock-climbing areas in the country, with well over a thousand established routes on its hard sandstone cliffs, drawing climbers from around the world.
• The Glade Creek Grist Mill at nearby Babcock State Park was built in the 1970s from parts of several old West Virginia mills, and it may be the most photographed spot in the state.

• There is no entrance fee, and no single entrance gate. The park is free and spread along the gorge, so you enter simply by driving to one of its access points.
• The Canyon Rim Visitor Center, off US-19 near Fayetteville, has the best overlook of the bridge and is the ideal first stop.
• The Long Point Trail is a 1.6-mile trail out to a point of land level with the bridge deck, one of the finest bridge views in the park.
• Grandview, the southern park unit off I-64 near Beckley, has sweeping overlooks of the canyon's long horseshoe bends.
• For whitewater, the Lower New runs bigger Class III to V rapids, while the Upper New is calmer Class I to III. Always go with a licensed, professional outfitter.
• Bridge Day falls on the third Saturday of October and is one of the largest single-day festivals in the country. Expect big crowds and traffic if you visit that day.

There is no entrance fee. New River Gorge is free, and it has no single entrance gate because the park is spread along more than fifty miles of the gorge. You simply drive to one of the access points, such as the Canyon Rim Visitor Center near Fayetteville, Grandview near Beckley, or the Sandstone Visitor Center to the south, depending on what you want to see.

The New River Gorge Bridge is a single steel arch that spans 3,030 feet across the canyon, one of the longest bridges of its kind in the world and the symbol of West Virginia. Bridge Day happens on the third Saturday of October, when the road closes to cars and people legally BASE-jump from the deck and rappel down ropes into the gorge. It is one of the largest single-day festivals in the country, so expect big crowds and heavy traffic that day.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons people come. The Lower New runs bigger Class III to V rapids, and the Upper New is calmer Class I to III. Farther afield, the nearby Gauley River offers famously big rapids during its fall release season. Whitewater is powerful and can be dangerous, so book a trip with a licensed, professional outfitter, wear the gear they provide, and follow your guide's instructions rather than going on your own.

It is one of the top climbing areas in the country. The gorge has well over a thousand established routes on hard, grippy sandstone, drawing climbers from around the world, with the Endless Wall being one of the best-known cliff lines. Climbing is a serious activity with real risks, so it is best for those with proper training and gear, or with a guide from one of the local climbing services.

For a first visit, the Canyon Rim Visitor Center overlook gives you the classic view of the bridge with no real walking. The Long Point Trail is a 1.6-mile route to a point of land level with the bridge deck, one of the finest views in the park. The Endless Wall Trail follows the airy edge of the cliffs, and Grandview to the south has sweeping overlooks of the horseshoe bend. Stay behind railings and back from the cliff edges, as the drops are steep.

Late spring through fall is the sweet spot. Summer brings warm water and full rafting and climbing seasons, and rhododendron blooms along the rim in early summer. October is spectacular, with brilliant fall color across the gorge and the Bridge Day festival, though that single day draws big crowds. Winters are quieter and colder, and the park stays open year-round.

You can see the bridge overlook and drive to a couple of viewpoints in a half day. To hike a rim trail like Long Point, visit Grandview, and take in the ghost towns, give it a full day. If you want to add a whitewater rafting trip or a day of climbing, plan on two or three days, using Fayetteville as your base.

Pets are welcome in the park and are allowed on the trails, which is more generous than many national parks. They must be kept on a leash at all times. Bring water for them, keep them back from cliff edges, and check the park website for the current rules before you go.

The park has several primitive campgrounds along the gorge, most first-come, first-served with basic facilities and no hookups. For more amenities, the town of Fayetteville right beside the park has inns, cabins, and outfitters that offer lodging, and Beckley to the south has more options. There are no hotels inside the park itself, so plan to stay in the nearby towns.

The gorge was once lined with coal towns served by the railroad along the river. Thurmond was a busy railroad boomtown, and Nuttallburg was a coal town that still has its tipple and a long conveyor climbing the hillside, preserved by the Park Service. Both are now quiet ghost towns inside the park that you can visit, offering a window into the coal-and-railroad past of the gorge.