Welcome
back to our blog on the National Park Service.
In this post we visit the last of the three West Virginia rivers in the
NPS.
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| Entrance Sign |
BACKGROUND:
The
New River in southwestern West Virginia is one of the oldest rivers in the
world. Winding through the southern
Appalachians, the river cut deep gorges through the rock, creating a maze of
twisting valleys. In the late 1800s and
early 1900s the region went through a modest economic boom and railroads were built
hugging the edges of the gorge and coal mines extracted untold tons of minerals. In the mid-1900s, as the railroad towns
closed down and the coal mines closed, the New River became a tourist
destination as rafters found the river’s many rapids to be ideal for whitewater
thrills.
In
1974, to cut travel time across the gorge, a massive bridge was built in the
vicinity of Fayetteville, West Virginia.
Completed in 1977, the New River Gorge Bridge was at the time the
longest single arch bridge in the world.
The bridge is now the most famous landmark in West Virginia, attracting
thousands of daredevil parachuting BASE jumpers. Shortly after the opening of the bridge in
1978, Congress designated an over fifty mile stretch of the New River a
National River under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
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| A view of the New River Gorge Bridge as seen from the river level. |
THE RIVER:
New
River Gorge National River is located in the vicinity of Beckley, West Virginia
at the junction of Interstates 64 and 77.
The section of the river under the jurisdiction of the National Park
Service stretches from the small town of Hinton in the south, to Hawk’s Nest State
Park in the north, a few miles upstream from the confluence of the New and
Gauley rivers which forms the Kanawha river.
The NPS
maintains two main visitor centers. The
first is the Canyon Rim visitor center, which overlooks the northern section of
the gorge as well as the famous New River Gorge Bridge. The second is the Sandstone visitor center,
at the southern end of the river named after the nearby Sandstone Falls, one of
two large waterfalls along the course of the river. In addition, there are two seasonal visitor
centers, located at the Grandview overlook near Beckley, and in the railroad
depot of the Thurmond Historic District in the ghost town of Thurmond.
Best
known for its boating and whitewater rafting, New River Gorge National River
also contains eight primitive backcountry camp sites, miles of hiking trails,
as well as several historic locales.
Among the historic areas preserved by the NPS are the Nuttalburg Mine
Site, a former coal mine, and the ghost town of Thurmond, a once prosperous
railroad town. Adjacent to the National
River is the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, home of the annual
National Jamboree for the Boy Scouts of America.
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| A modern freight train halts beside the historic train station at the ghost town of Thurmond. |
TRAVEL TIPS:
New
River Gorge National River is less than an hour’s drive south from Charleston,
the West Virginia state capital. Along
with Gauley River NRA and Bluestone NSR, the area around New River Gorge is a
hot spot for wilderness recreation in West Virginia boasting seven state parks,
two wildlife management areas, and a state forest. Although the rugged nature of the terrain can
make travel somewhat time consuming, most areas of the National River are
within a half hour to an hour’s drive from the town of Beckley.
Famous
for its whitewater rafting, New River Gorge NR has several licensed outfitters
and tour groups for visitors to raft down the river, links to which can be
found on the NPS website. There are
private companies that provide walking tours of the New River Gorge Bridge and
rock climbing along the cliffs near the bridge is popular as well.
While
the facilities within the National River boundary are handicapped accessible,
much of the terrain of the river area is not.
Passport stamps can be found at each of the visitor centers.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| A second view of the New River Gorge Bridge, taken from an overlook near the Canyon Rim visitor center. |
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| A view of New River Gorge taken from the Canyon Rim visitor center. |
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| This was the original bridge across the New River which was replaced by the larger famous span. This bridge was accessible only by a narrow winding road which is now a scenic drive. |
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| Another view of the New River and the gorge taken from the railroad bridge leading to Thurmond. |
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| A second view of the historic ghost town of Thurmond. |
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