The New River Gorge. Fayetteville, West Virginia
The next favorite trip of mine was to The New River Gorge. The main section and the Visitors Center are located very close to Fayetteville, WV, but I stayed in Charleston, WV, which is about an hour and half away.
I would have loved to have been closer, but it was nearly impossible to find an Airbnb that was closer and fit my budget, so I settled for Charleston.
There are going to be some of these trips where I highlight the property and the places that I visited and some where I only highlight the places that I visited, and this is one of those trips. There will also be a reason why I don’t highlight certain properties.
In this case, the house that I stayed in wasn’t terrible, but it just wasn’t really nice. It was in an area where I felt safe and it was convenient to stores, etc., but it wasn’t a place that I would visit again and in turn, wouldn’t recommend to others.
The surrounding area by the house was very beautiful and for the most part it was quiet, but the neighbors had a dog that they would let out at odd hours and the dog barked, so I was woken up a handful of times while I was there. The house was old, needed some upkeep and a little TLC and the bed was a double mattress that was on the floor and not the most comfortable bed that I have slept in.
The kitchen was functional, but there was no can opener, no sharp knives, no dish strainer and there was barely any light in the kitchen, which was just odd. I always travel with a can opener, but I needed to buy a dish strainer and some cheap knives. None of that was a huge deal, just a little odd.
The biggest issue that I had was having the internet go out one morning, just as I was about to login for work. I got a hold of the host, and as It turned out, he didn’t pay the bill. Let me repeat that. The Airbnb host didn’t pay the internet bill. He got it paid and corrected in less than 30 minutes, but that for me was a problem.
All of that aside, I had been looking at that area for months and kind of randomly came across the fact that West Virginia is beautiful in the fall. After finding that out, I did some more research, found The New River Gorge and set my sights on being there in October.
If you have read my book (check it out in the Featured Books section), I go into quite a bit of detail as far as what I do and what I need to do when I book a property. I am usually looking at an area based on something that I want to see, but I work when I travel, so the property needs to fit my work needs also. This area was a challenge at first, but then I just widened my search and found a place that worked, even with some of the issues that I ended up having.
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is rich in cultural and natural history and offers an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities. The New River Gorge has some of the country's best whitewater rafting, and is also one of the most popular climbing areas on the East Coast. The New River itself originates in North Carolina, flowing north through Virginia into the West Virginia mountains to the Kanawha River which continues to the Ohio River.
I got to Charleston on a Saturday, did all of my shopping and got everything settled, because I knew how I wanted to spend my day on Sunday. I had mapped out several trails and specific places that I wanted to go, but I always try to leave some room for spontaneity or for just things to not go as planned. My main point of doing all of this travel is not to be stressed, or even rigid. I want to enjoy these places and feel the peacefulness of every location.
My first stop was an obvious one; the Canyon Rim Visitor Center and that is right next to the New River Gorge Bridge. I didn’t spend much time in the visitor center (just used the restroom), but there is a trail that leads to a few lookout points and you can get a great view of the bridge and your initial introduction to the gorge.
The New River Gorge Bridge is the longest steel span in the western hemisphere. It is also the third highest bridge in the United States.
The New River Gorge Bridge is one of the most photographed places in West Virginia. In 2006, the U.S. Mint chose the bridge to represent West Virginia on the state commemorative quarter. In 2013, the National Park Service listed the New River Gorge Bridge in the National Register of Historic Places. This listing signifies the importance of the bridge as a historic resource.
Or in layman’s terms, the bridge is really cool.
The walk down to the main viewing area is all stairs, so it’s easy to navigate, and you have plenty of spots along the way to stop and get a few pictures.
I am kind of like a child when I visit many of these places. As a family when I was a kid, we did a lot of camping and did see some cool things here and there, but I have never traveled like this before in my life and I have more “wow” moments than I can even count.
When I got down to the main viewing area, I was amazed.
There were a lot of people there that day, but I was fortunate to get some pictures where it “appears” that I am all alone.
The natural beauty is beyond words and it was just a beautiful day.
I wasn’t there for very long, because I had another trail that I wanted to hit that day, but if you make it down to this area, don’t miss this. It seems almost too simple to just go to the Visitor Center, but you will be happy that you did.
This was another trail that was suggested when I was doing my searching and for good reason. It’s an “out and back” trail and about 3 miles total, but it’s not a strenuous hike. It’s more of as pleasant walk.
Quite honestly, it’s not very exciting on the way to the point, but when you get there, it’s a wow moment!
As you approach the end point of the trail, you start to get a glimpse on both sides of the beauty that lies ahead. The leaves were starting to really show some color while I was there and that added to the views.
This was another area where there were a lot of people, and basically you just need to be patient and wait your turn to get some of the best pictures. There was a younger couple right at the point that seemed to be doing a mini photo shoot, which was slightly annoying, but they finally realized that others were waiting and they moved long.
The view was everything that it promised to be. It was a clear, sunny day so you could easily see the bridge clearly and the natural beauty of the Gorge was worth the 3 mile round trip walk.
As a side note, there were a number of families that were on that trail that day. If I had to guess, some of the kids were probably only 5 or 6 and if they don’t mind the walk, the trail is manageable.
This was my last stop of the day and I enjoyed every minute of it.
This trail was the main attraction for me and I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I got there. I did a lot of research and looked at a ton of pictures and I could not wait to see it myself.
A little tip with this trail and it is mentioned in the All Trails app if you have it. There are 2 parking lots, an old one and a new one. The old parking lot puts you it a position where you will more than likely have to walk on the road for a half mile right away, or of course on the way back around if you do the entire loop.
The new parking lot eliminates that if you start off clockwise, but again, if you do the entire loop, you will encounter the road on the way back around. One more thing regardless; the new parking lot is bigger and even though I was there on a busy day, I had no issues finding a spot.
I ended up starting in the new lot, I went clockwise all along wall, and then came back the same way. Not only avoiding the road, but for me, it was a way to simply hit the areas of the trail that I wanted to. The distance was about the same as if I would have done the whole loop, for me it worked.
I did take a few minutes and walk down by where the climbing access was and saw some people scaling the wall. There are few spots along the wall where you can access the climbing areas and even though that is not my thing, it was very cool to see.
There are several overlooks along this trail and to go along with the name, the views and the beauty seem endless.
It was another overcast day, but that didn’t take away from what I was able to experience. As you can see, the colors were starting to peak, so that was an added bonus.
The bluffs are spectacular and as I mentioned earlier, I did come across a few people that were scaling them.
As you approach the end of the wall and before the trail starts to loop back, it seems like everything just opens up.
You can even see the bridge in the distance.
I have had the pleasure of seeing some amazing sights and walking along some beautiful trails, but if you get the opportunity, this is can’t miss trail.
This was my last stop of the day and it turned out to be a bit of a surprise to me. When I looked at this on All Trails, I didn’t realize that it ran into the area where there was a coal conveyor and it continued into an area where there used to be a small town along the river.
It was literally like I stumbled into a lost city.
The coal conveyor is huge and runs up the side of the mountain.
I continued down the trail and down onto the train tracks (which is not recommended) but was able to get a little closer to the river.
On the way back to my car, I was able to find another area where I could safely get down on the tracks and was able to take in a great view by the river.
I wouldn’t classify this trail and jaw dropping, but it was unbelievably peaceful, and that was enough for me.
This was my final day for exploring and I wanted to go to the Grandview Main Overlook. The overlook itself is just a few hundred yards from the parking lot, but there was another trail there also that I wanted to hit.
The views from this overlook did not disappoint.
The sun was out that day, so even though it was a little chilly, it was very beautiful.
As you might imagine, this is a popular place and there were quite a few people, but it was wonderful.
This trailhead is in the same location as the overlook and the last trail that I hit at The New River Gorge. It was very rocky, covered in leaves at that time of the year and some parts of the trail were very narrow. It was one of those trails that I took my time on and was careful to watch my step.
As you make your way along the lower part of the trail, you come upon some amazing rock walls and rock formations on the side of the mountain.
This whole trail was filled with natural beauty.
On the way back, on the top part of the trail, you get to experience a few more small overlooks and some amazing views.
The final stop of the day and my last adventure for this trip was sort of unplanned. I was coming back from New River, had some time and saw the sign for this dam and figured, why not.
The trail itself is nothing spectacular, at least not the walk up part towards the dam. The only interesting part was the warning signs.
Clearly if the water is raging (which it was not that day), there could be the danger of the dam overflowing or maybe the release of a large amount of water? I am not sure, but I suppose the signs need to be there, just in case.
As I got closer to the dam, I could see that the river was fairly low and the main area around the dam was almost completely dry.
However, when you stood in the river bed and looked the other way, it was really cool.
I was able to walk out on the rocks and basically feel like I was standing in the middle of the river.
As I have said with a few other trails, this was not a jaw dropping or mid blowing trail, but it was beautiful and very peaceful.
Trip Wrap Up
If you have never been to West Virginia and specifically the areas that I explored, you owe it to yourself to check it out. As I mentioned, I went there in the fall on purpose to see the colors, but I am guessing that it is wonderful at any time of the year.
The other thing that I don’t think I mentioned earlier, is that the entire trip was very affordable. Granted, I stayed in Charleston and had a drive to get to the places that I wanted to see, but even gas was reasonable, so it was all manageable.
I had a great time and I would love to go back.