New River Gorge

A brief exploration of West Virginia’s national park.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is located in southern West Virginia. The park preserves a 53 mile section of the New River and its gorge. There are sights and trails all along this route. Actually a lot to see here. However, the sights and trails are strung along the entire length of the park. There is no single road connecting all of them. Going to a different place in the park often requires  leaving the park, driving down a highway and then heading back into the park. Getting around New River Gorge takes a lot of time. Since I only had an afternoon, here is a very brief exploration of the park.

Sandstone Falls was my first stop. It’s in the southern part of the park.

Jana Irving

Perfect first look at the New River.

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I visited in mid-October. Not a ton of color on the trees due to dry weather.

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Sandstone Falls are split in two by a small island in the middle of the river.

Next, I drove to the northern part of the park to visit its most iconic landmark, the New River Gorge Bridge. It is the third highest vehicular bridge in the United States. It’s 876 ft (267 m) from the level of the river.

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That arch is 1,700 ft wide.

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You have to go down a very windy road to get to the bottom of the gorge, but it’s worth it.

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To get great views of the New River Gorge Bridge, go to the bottom of the gorge and park near the Fayette Station Bridge and walk across.

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Lovely upstream views, too.

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A little overlook of the Fayette Station Bridge. It’s a reconstruction of the original bridge that spanned this spot and is pretty typical of the bridges in the area.

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There’s a boat launch nearby. You can almost get under the bridge.

Next was Grandview. It’s about halfway between Sandstone Falls and the bridge. I did this area last because there are campgrounds nearby. Grandview has a visitor center, trails and, well, grand views.

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Grandview is a perfect name for this overlook.

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I visited a couple of the overlooks along the rim. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for very long due to the sun going down and I needed to find a campsite. There are a couple at the bottom of the gorge, but to get there, it’s another 30 minutes because of no direct roads. I ended up finally finding a spot on the other side of the river.

Jana Irving

Here’s a pretty picture I got when I was leaving the campground. Lots of gravel roads in this park.

I wasn’t kidding when I said this was a very brief visit. I think I spent more time driving between the areas than actually visiting the areas. I knew going in that I wasn’t going to see much. So, please reserve at least a full day for this park, just for the driving alone.

Of course, I plan to go back. Obviously.

Check out my next update where I explore Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio!

or 

Check out another National Park site in West Virginia, Harper’s Ferry!