Dates we visited: May 17th, 2021
Where we stayed: Rifrafters Campground
New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia is America’s newest National Park (or at least it was when we visited). Upgraded to National Park status in December of 2020, this destination was a late addition to our travel itinerary. With its status change still recent, attendance was light, but accommodations were a little more difficult to come by. Luckily Kristy scored a tip from a fellow traveler about the Rifrafters Campground in Fayetteville, which turned out to be great.
Canyon Rim
Despite its name, the New River may be one of the oldest rivers in America. It’s been flowing on its present course for around 65 million years. This has given it ample time to carve out a striking gorge through the Appalachian mountains.
Spanning the gorge is the park’s most memorable feature, the New River Gorge Bridge. Completed in 1977 this bridge is the longest steel span bridge in the western hemisphere, and the third highest bridge in the US. We enjoyed multiple perspectives of this engineering marvel from on top, beside, and below it.
The Canyon Rim Overlook Boardwalk Trail is a short trail from the Canyon Rim visitor center. It involves a lot of steps if you go to the overlook, which we did and you should. The overlook offers an expansive vista of the bridge and gorge. We also drove the scenic drive (Fayette Station Road) from the Canyon Rim visitor center. It took us on a winding one way road down into the gorge, across the river and under the massive steel bridge.
Sandstone Falls
The National Park surrounds the New River for about 20 miles of its winding north/south route. The bridge is but one of the many scenic areas in the park. After our adventures on the north side, we decided to head south. The route took us through several small towns before arriving at Sandstone Falls.
A short hike allowed us to take in the falls, first from a boardwalk, and then up close and personal from the riverbank. We slowly made our way down the trail, spotting chattering chipmunks and other small woodland creatures as we went along. We explored the rocky beach, and the lush forrest along the river. Owen relished being the hike leader and choosing our path around the falls. It was both serene and adventurous, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
We’re glad we amended our travel plans to visit this new National Park. I have a feeling that the park, and surrounding area, will change in the coming years once the secret gets out. One thing we didn’t do on this trip that we would like to do in the future, is to raft down the river and through the park. The area is well known for white water rafting, and I can imagine seeing the park from that perspective would be a wholly different experience.