My family and I are on a mission to visit all 50 states before my oldest child graduates high school in 2030. When we learned that there was a new national park in a state we hadn't been to yet, we were stoked!
New River Gorge in West Virginia is the newest national park. It is stunning and boasts the New River Gorge Bridge that is that one of the longest and tallest single-span arch bridges in the world. There are countless things to do in this park and we didn't even begin to scratch the surface. This national park was within driving distance for us, so we decided to camp over a long weekend to get a taste of what this park has to offer.
We camped at The Outpost and would highly recommend it for tent camping, RV stays or cabin rentals. The staff were exceptional and the facilities were well maintained and updated. Our site was also near a little creek and the kids were entertained for hours playing in the water.
Besides hanging out at our campsite we visited three main areas of the park and went white water rafting.
Day 1 - Canyon Rim Area
There is a nice visitor's center here with several exhibits and a small gift shop. The Canyon Rim Boardwalk gives a really neat view of the New River Gorge Bridge.
For sunset we hiked the Long Point Trail. This was one of the most beautiful trails I have ever been on. We started up the 1.6 mile trail about an hour before sunset. There were lots of people at the top but everyone was really great about taking turns getting pictures and no one minded the kids walking around and taking in the views. Be sure to take flashlights for your walk back down!
Day 2 - Canyon View Area & White Water Rafting
Whenever there is a good river, our crew is going to want to go white water rafting. We went with Adventures on the Gorge which was located only a few minutes from our campground. Originally two of the kiddos were going to have to be left behind because of their ages and the class of the rapids, but when our group arrived, they let them know that one of the littles (6 year old) could go because the water was calmer that day. I thought it was SO nice of them to wait on her and everyone in the group had an amazing time.
While the big kids went white water rafting, we did find Fayetteville Town Park for our littlest camper to play.
Later that afternoon we checked out the Grandview Overlook Area. There was a cute visitors center there with a small exhibit. We also did the Tunnel Trail. It was an easy trail that started right off the Grandview Overlook and ended at a playground.
Day 3 - Sandstone Falls
I always like to plan a little something to see on our travel day home. It makes it less sad to end our trip with one last adventure. We went to see Sandstone Falls after packing up the campsite and getting a biscuit at Tudor's Biscuit World - this is a must have if you are even in West Virginia.
The Sandstone Falls boardwalk is a .25 mile boardwalk that offers amazing views of the waterfalls as well as access to the calmer water where the kids could wade in or swim (take your water shoes). It was a great ending to our time in the New River Gorge.
West Virginia has become one of our favorite states and we plan on returning to New River Gorge but I'm so glad that we didn't wait until we could "see it all."
Let me know if you plan to visit New River Gorge or if you have any questions! Thank you for reading!
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