West Virginia’s newest national park runs along one of the oldest rivers on earth

America’s newest park won’t cost you a dime

On Dec. 27, 2020, New River Gorge became the 63rd national park in the United States.

It covers more than 70,000 acres along 53 miles of the New River in southern West Virginia, and you don’t pay a cent to get in. The river itself runs south to north, one of the few in North America that does.

Despite the name, the New River may be one of the oldest in the world, with estimates putting it somewhere between 3 million and 360 million years old. The gorge it carved is the deepest and longest in the Appalachian Mountains, and the story of how it got from coal country to national park starts in the 1800s.

Fifty ghost towns hide inside the park’s forests

Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, dozens of coal mining towns filled this gorge. Railroads were the only way in or out.

When the coal dried up, the towns emptied. More than 50 of those abandoned company towns still sit inside the park today.

Congress first protected the area in 1978 as a national river, then upgraded it to a full national park and preserve in December 2020.

National Geographic put it on the Best of the World list for 2024, and the crowds still haven’t caught up.

The 876-foot bridge that cut a 45-minute drive to one minute

The New River Gorge Bridge stands 876 feet above the water and runs 3,030 feet across. Its steel arch spans 1,700 feet, making it the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the country.

Before it opened on Oct. 22, 1977, crossing the gorge meant 45 minutes on narrow, winding roads.

Now you do it in under a minute. The bridge uses COR-TEN weathering steel, which forms a rust-colored coating over time.

That coating protects the metal, so no one ever has to paint it.

Walk a 24-inch catwalk 850 feet above the river

Bridge Walk runs guided tours along a catwalk just 24 inches wide, bolted beneath the bridge deck. You clip into a safety harness attached to a cable that runs the full 3,030-foot span, and you walk the whole thing.

The tour takes two to three hours. Guides talk you through the bridge’s construction and point out landmarks in the gorge far below.

You sit about 25 feet under the road surface, with 850-plus feet of open air between you and the river. Keep your eyes on the steel beams, and you might spot peregrine falcons nesting there.

Hike the trail that won best national park hike

The Endless Wall Trail runs 2.4 miles and earned the top spot in a USA Today readers’ poll for best national park hike.

You pass through hemlock forest and thick rhododendron before the trees open up at Diamond Point, where you look straight down nearly 1,000 feet to the river. On a clear day, you can see the bridge in the distance.

If you look at the sandstone cliffs below, you’ll likely spot climbers working their way up the rock. The trailhead sits just a short drive from the Canyon Rim Visitor Center.

Catch the sunset from Long Point’s rock ledge

Long Point Trail is an easy, roughly three-mile out-and-back through shaded forest with about 344 feet of elevation gain.

The payoff comes at the end, where a large rock outcrop gives you a full-span view of the New River Gorge Bridge. Sunset chasers flock here for good reason.

The light hits the bridge and the gorge walls at just the right angle. Mountain bikes can ride most of the trail, but you walk the last stretch to the overlook on foot.

It draws a steady crowd, so go early if you want the ledge to yourself.

Sandstone Falls stretches 1,500 feet across the river

At the park’s southern end near Hinton, the New River spreads wide and drops over Sandstone Falls. The waterfall runs about 1,500 feet across and stands up to 25 feet tall, making it the largest on the river.

A short boardwalk trail, about one mile round trip, takes you to several viewing areas of both the upper and lower falls. The walk is flat enough for just about anyone.

A visitor center nearby has displays about the area, and the whole stop takes under an hour.

Descend 821 steps into a coal mine from 1899

The Kaymoor Miners Trail drops you straight into the gorge to the ruins of a coal mine that ran from 1899 to 1962.

A staircase of 821 wooden steps leads from the mine entrance down to the remains of the processing plant and coke ovens. At its peak, about 800 miners worked here.

Along the way, you pass old safety signs, a water tank, and the tracks of the haulage system that once moved men and coal up and down the mountain. The round trip covers 1.6 miles with about 950 feet of elevation change. Your legs will remember this one.

Raft Class V rapids through the heart of the gorge

The New River ranks among the top whitewater rafting spots on the East Coast. The Upper New runs Class I to III rapids, so families and beginners do well here.

Some outfitters welcome kids as young as six on those trips.

The Lower New cuts through the deepest part of the gorge with Class III to V rapids, and that water will get your attention. You can book half-day, full-day, or multi-day guided trips with several local outfitters.

On the Lower New, you finish your run by floating right beneath the New River Gorge Bridge.

Scale 120-foot sandstone cliffs on 1,400 routes

Over 1,400 established climbing routes line the gorge’s sandstone walls.

The cliffs range from 30 to 120 feet tall, all made of Nuttall Sandstone, a rock so hard it holds edges and cracks for years. Most routes rate 5.9 and above, so experienced climbers come from across the country to test themselves here.

If you’ve never climbed before, local outfitters run guided trips that get you on the rock with gear and instruction.

The eastern United States has few places that match this concentration of high-quality routes in one stretch of river canyon.

Thurmond once moved more coal than Cincinnati

In the 1920s, the town of Thurmond pushed more coal through its rail yard than Cincinnati did through its entire port. Walk through it now, and you’ll find a near-ghost town.

The National Park Service owns more than 80 percent of it. The old railroad depot still stands and pulls double duty as a museum and an active Amtrak station.

Down the river, Nuttallburg preserves a massive 1,400-foot coal conveyor and tipple from the mining days. The entire town of Thurmond sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

Watch 350 BASE jumpers leap off the bridge in October

Every third Saturday in October, all four lanes of the New River Gorge Bridge are closed to cars and open to foot traffic for Bridge Day.

About 100,000 people show up to watch roughly 350 BASE jumpers step off the railing and fall 876 feet into the gorge. Rappellers descend on ropes alongside them.

The first Bridge Day took place in 1980, and the 2026 event falls on Oct. 17.

This is the only day of the year anyone can legally BASE jump from the bridge. West Virginia’s largest single-day festival, and it all happens on one road.

Explore New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia

You can start your visit at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center on Route 19 in Lansing, W.Va.

It’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Inside, you’ll find maps, displays, and a film about the park.

No entrance fee, no parking fee. The park’s gateway town, Fayetteville, sits just west of the bridge with a walkable downtown full of local shops and restaurants.

Four visitor centers are spread across the park’s 53-mile length, so check the official website before you go to plan your route.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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