Sandstone Falls

Despite its name, the New River is one of the oldest rivers in the world, so old that it flows northward across the Appalachians rather than draining off them, having cut its course before the mountains rose. Geologists count it among the most ancient rivers on the continent, a fact that gives every ripple at Sandstone Falls a deep sense of time.

This river country was, for thousands of years, part of the ancestral homeland and shared hunting ground of the Shawnee, the Cherokee, the Moneton, and other nations whose descendants continue elsewhere today. They traveled and hunted along the New long before European settlers followed the river into the mountains, and the gorge carries that long human history alongside its geologic age.

At Sandstone Falls the river reaches a broad shelf of resistant sandstone, and rather than plunge through a narrow chute, it spreads out and drops across its entire width in a wide, stepped curtain. The height of the drop is modest compared with the width, which is what gives the falls their unusual, sprawling character.

Over time the river has carved channels around blocks of harder rock, leaving wooded islands standing in midstream and braiding the flow into many separate cascades. After heavy rain the whole river surges and the falls become a thunderous sheet; in drier spells they break into distinct channels and ledges you can study in detail.

The falls are reached by a scenic river road that runs south from Hinton along the New. At the falls, a boardwalk carries visitors out over the islands and channels, with a short, accessible loop that brings you close to the water without a difficult hike, a rarity for a waterfall this dramatic.

For a different perspective, a high overlook upstream gazes down on the falls from far above, giving the big-picture view of the river spreading across its bed. Between the close-up boardwalk and the lofty overlook, visitors get to see the falls from both the water's edge and the sky.

Sandstone Falls sits at the southern end of New River Gorge National Park, well away from the busy areas around the famous bridge and the whitewater put-ins to the north. That makes it a quieter, more contemplative place, where the loudest sound is the river itself and the pace is unhurried.

The nearby town of Hinton, a historic railroad town on the New River, makes a natural base, and the falls fit easily into a wider tour of the national park. For travelers who want a big, beautiful waterfall without a hard climb to reach it, Sandstone Falls is a true gem.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.