New River Gorge

 

This morning we drove east along the Kanawha River, winding through small coal towns that had seen better days. After about an hour we reached the Canyon Rim Visitor Center of New River Gorge National Park. This park was founded in 1978 as a National River, and upgraded to a National Park in 2020. We looked at the exhibits and watched the movie, then walked out to the overlook to see the bridge. 

After about an hour, we headed to the Gauley River National Recreation Area, about 15 miles to the north of the Canyon Rim Visitor Center. Gauley River doesn’t have a visitor center, just a campground and places for rafting and fishing. We drove to the Summerville dam, then, around noon, headed south to see more of New River Gorge NP. As we did, intermittent rain started, heavy at times. 

After about 45 minutes, we reached the Thurmond Historic District. Thurmond was a boom town along the railroad line in the early 20th century but died out when trains switched from coal to diesel. There was a small visitor center in the restored train depot. 

We stopped in the city of Buckley for lunch and gas, then continued to the Grandview Visitor Center. This was another small visitor center, but there is a large amphitheater and trail system that includes a great overlook of the gorge.

The last visitor center we visited was Sandstone, near the south end of the park. It had some nice exhibits about the river, including cool maps. They also had a different movie than the one at Canyon Rim, but it wasn’t working. I would have liked to continue south to the Bluestone National Scenic River, or checked out the Sandstone Falls boardwalk, but those would have taken at least an hour each, and it was already after four and we had an hour and a half drive back to Charleston. Instead we drove five minutes to the falls overlook, then headed back to the hotel to grab food at the concierge lounge.