The fifth part of our Virginia Trip 2023

Our days in Fayetteville, WV, were full. At the very top of our agenda was a visit to the New River Gorge National Park. Yes, a river runs through it!

This area was designated a National River in 1978 and then became a National Park in 2020. It is 53 miles long and stretches from Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted, WV, to Hinton WV.

We began at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center (6 minutes from our rental!). 

Canyon Rim Visitor Center, New River Gorge National Park

After talking with a ranger, making sure we had the National Park Service app on our phones, and having a short lesson in the use of that app, we decided to begin with the Fayette Station Road Driving Tour. 

This "was the main travel route for vehicles in this area for nearly 100 years and wound from the top of the gorge to the river and back. "

This 1998 bridge is a replica of the 1977 New River Gorge Bridge on this historical route.

There were places one could stop along the way. We had a gorgeous day and even found a few wildflowers. 

After crossing the 1998 bridge, we had to park and take a short hike back to the bridge to get photos. It was definitely a hiking boot day!

We could see THE New River Gorge Bridge. We had driven over this beautiful bridge, built in 1977, to get to the visitor station and crossed it many times during our stay. 

"The bridge reduced a 40-minute drive down narrow mountain roads and across one of North America's oldest rivers to less than a minute. When it comes to road construction, mountains do pose a challenge. In the case of the New River Gorge Bridge, challenge was transformed into a work of structural art - the longest steel span in the western hemisphere and the third highest in the United States.

The New River Gorge Bridge is one of the most photographed places in West Virginia." -NPS

Ray was enjoying being out with his camera.

There was a reflection in the water.

We hiked back to the parking lot and then walked further to another parking lot - the one that the kayakers and rafters used. We watched four kayakers in some white water. You can only see one in this photo.

Traveling on with the driving tour, we went under the big bridge. As you look up towards the top, there is a cat walk which I can't really see. Anyway, one can pay to go on a bridge walk - yes, you can walk the cat walk from one side of the bridge to the other; it takes 2-3 hours! You are harnessed in but I still have no desire to do this although the views have to be incredible!

"On the third Saturday of October, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce hosts "Bridge Day." On this one day a year, the famous New River Gorge Bridge is open to pedestrians and a wide variety of activities—great views, food and crafts vendors, BASE jumping, rappelling, music, and more—draw thousands of people. Bridge Day is West Virginia's largest one-day festival, and it is the largest extreme sports event in the world." - NPS

Back on the driving tour, it was time to start our ascent on the other side of New River. The road was narrow and most of the time the traffic is one-way. 

This park doesn't have an admission fee - probably because there are several mountain roads going through it and there are no natural park boundaries, just markings on a map. Since we are in the mountains, it is sometimes a long trip to get somewhere.

Next stop in the National Park was Sandstone Falls which required going south to Beckley, WV, and east almost to Hinton, WV., then north to Sandstone Falls.

There isn't an abundance of water running over the falls this summer.

Further down these boardwalks we found a different view.

Sandstone Falls, New River Gorge National Park

We stopped at Brooks Overlook as we headed back north towards 'home'.

Next on our agenda was Babcock State Park which is along the New River Gorge. The Glade Creek Grist Mill is there and often photographed. We were there to see it and take pictures too. The mill is a working mill but hasn't had enough water this year to turn its water wheel so it is sadly silent.

We talked to the man that runs the mil. Then we took pictures from across the water.

In the gift shop we found an ice cream treat which we ate while sitting on a shaded bench with this view.

We went to the Farmers' Market in Fayetteville. It had a number of vendors and so much produce, baked goods, and more. We decided to buy a treat for our last breakfast in the area. 

One huge apple cinnamon roll with frosting on the side.

Ray wanted to see waterfalls so we headed to Kanawha Falls at the edge of Glen Ferris. It is outside of the national park but you can find it on the NPS app and get directions. Nice!

The falls span the entire width of the river. The longest water drop is 15 feet.  

There were some paddle boarders and kayakers while we were there.

It's always fun to find a flower.

A low dam above the falls diverts water into a hydropower facility - the building on the left.

Cathedral Falls is near Pauley Bridge, WV. It's one of the highest waterfalls in West Virginia. It's on the NPS app but I don't think it's in the national park. Sadly there wasn't a lot of water running over the falls.

To get to Cathedral Falls, there is a short rough walk along a small gorge. The gorge had many butterflies flying around while we were there. I was being very careful of my footing so I didn't get any pictures of them.

There was a little adventure getting to Hawks Nest State Park. Using our GPS, we found ourselves on a narrow, very rough back road. Then there was a picture of a handgun on a sign saying 2 miles. Something didn't seem right so we turned around. After playing with the GPS and trying different words, we found the park and walked out to the overlook.

We skipped the waterfalls since they all required 1.5+ hours to hike to and it was getting late.

As we headed 'home' our last day in the area, wondering where we should eat, we saw the Freefolk Brewery with a food trailer and a large BBQ sign. We immediately decided to stop.  

Some snap decisions are really good ones. BBQ ribs falling off the bone, baked beans, and coleslaw - yum! The ribs were so meaty that neither of us could eat our whole meal. 

Our next stop will be Millersburg, Ohio which is in Holmes County, home to many Amish. 

Live your life by a compass not a clock. 

– Stephen Covey