National Parks and Recreation

National Park #20! We would’ve been a third of the way there before they added the four new parks, but we’re making some real progress here.

New River Gorge is aptly named because it is the newest national park to receive that designation. I had actually already been to this park back in December of 2020, just two weeks before it was officially signed into a National Park. So I knew I’d have to return with James someday once it became official. And we made it happen less than three years later, not bad!

This was the second stop on a ridiculous road trip we did this summer that started in Louisville, Kentucky for my friend’s 30th birthday celebration and ended in Upstate New York for my other bestie’s wedding! And included stops here and the North Carolina coast in between. It was a whirlwind of a trip. And yes, I obviously drove the entire way. All this to say, we only really had a few hours to spend in New River Gorge in the heart of West Virginia, but I truly think that’s all you need. There are, of course, plenty more things you could do to fill out your time here (we literally didn’t even touch the surface of the river itself), but I think you can get all the best views from just two hiking trails that can easily be done in an afternoon.

We started our visit at the Canyon Rim Visitor’s Center. It looked pretty similar to the last time I had visited, except for the fact that it wasn’t in the middle of a pandemic so there were way more people. We looked everywhere for an official New River Gorge National Park sign, but couldn’t find one. Maybe they just haven’t made one yet, but that was a bummer.

We did the quick walk down to the main bridge overlook.

The New River Gorge Bridge never gets old. Even just driving across it is crazy cool. It sits 876 feet above the river and spans over 3,000 feet. Upon its completion in 1977, it was both the tallest and longest bridge in the world. It’s still the longest outside of China and the third tallest bridge in the US. The construction of the bridge turned what was once a 45 minute drive down winding roads to the river, across a two-lane bridge, and back up the other side into a 45 second drive at 65mph.

I really considered doing the bridge walk, but ultimately we just didn’t have time. I’d love to attend Bridge Day someday to stand on top of the bridge and watch people base jump.

From there, we drove a few miles up the road to the Endless Wall Trail, a portion of which we did back in 2020. It’s amazing how they built up the trailheads and added parking and everything. There were literally just 3 spots on the side of the road to sketchily pull into and a barely followable trail leading you out to the views, but now it’s totally legit.

And the views were exactly as I remembered!

The Endless Wall Trail is a 3.2 mile loop trail with very little elevation change that basically follows along this wall of rocks on the Eastern edge of the river, with stunning views of the gorge and the river below the entire way. A fun added bonus is the sounds of screams coming from 800 feet below as rafters float down the river. It was cracking us up. And we enjoyed watching the bright colored rafts go zooming by below.

What we didn’t enjoy was the HEAT! And painful humidity. Don’t let that smile fool you, I was a pile of sweat. I was also wearing jean shorts and a normal bra since this was just a short stop on our way through to North Carolina and I really didn’t think that far ahead. It wasn’t as bad at the rocks’ edge, but as soon as we went back into the forest, it was brutally swampy. I was regretting a lot of life choices here.

We finished our loop back to the car, which does require you to walk like a quarter mile on the side of the road if you want to make it a true loop trail. And from there we decided to drive across the bridge to explore the Western side of the river and do some hiking that I hadn’t done on my first trip here.

We took our picture with the sign on this side of the park because it was the closest thing we could find to park sign, I did a very quick bra change in the middle of the trailhead parking lot, and we were on our way.

This side of the park is where you’ll find the Long Point Trail, the best trail for views of the bridge. It’s a 3 mile out-and-back trail with very little elevation change until the very end when you climb down some rocks to get to Long Point and the view of the bridge. But let me tell you, it is worth it:

I know I’ve already been here twice in three years, but I seriously cannot wait to come back in the fall. Can you imagine these views with some fall foliage?

There was a very nice woman who insisted on getting a picture of the two of us and when I offered to take one in return she laughed and said she wasn’t crazy enough to climb down to those rocks. Hah. I swear this wasn’t even one of my bad ones.

From there, sadly it was time to leave and continue on our way to North Carolina for my family reunion at Wrightsville Beach. (Where I got some equally beautiful pictures.)

I mean, come on.

But alas. Goodbye, New River Gorge! I’m glad I got to see it with James when it was actually a national park, a thing that would only truly matter to me. As I said, I’d love to come back in the fall and explore more of the river and the bridge itself. And seeing as I just so happened to find myself driving through this area twice in the last three years, we will almost definitely find an excuse to come back sometime soon.

The next time I talk to you, James and I will be freaking married!!! I honestly can’t believe it. And in unsurprising news, we will be checking off three new national parks on our Honeymoon to the Florida Keys: Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas.

Until then!