After we visited The Greenbrier we went back and picked up Jack and headed to the New River Gorge. My Dad had said it was a must visit while we were in the area and since he rarely makes those kind of suggestions I was determined to go. It was a 1-1/2 hour drive to get there, but since it was all scenic highway and the leaves are starting to turn it was fun. Unfortunately when we arrived we discovered the Visitors Center was closed, but they did have rangers outside answering questions and handing out copies of maps. Our park service is amazing.
The first thing we did was walk on a paved path to an overlook. The views from there were just OK so we decided to walk the 136 steps down to better views. I loved the sign at the entrance to the stairs.
Path
Views before the stairs
Cracked me up. “Please remember that while going down is an option, coming back up is not.”
Jack didn’t mind the stairs
Look at all that love
The lower landing was a bit crowded for my taste, but the views were much better. And we got a couple cool selfies.
After huffing and puffing up the stairs we decided to take the scenic drive down to the river. This route is largely one lane paved road, but Lee had fun driving it and the instructions as provided by the rangers were perfect. There were several pullouts for hiking trails along the route and we stopped at one halfway down to take a couple of pictures.
The drive down and roaming around took over an hour even though it was only 8 miles so make sure you have the time if you decided to do it. For me this was the best part though so I wouldn’t skip it unless you had to.
We crossed this bridge at the bottom, parked, and then walked back to take pictures.
Lee’s cool pic of the bridge.
Absolutely beautiful day. I have been so lucky that Saturdays have been such nice weather.
After checking out the bridge we walked down the the river. We were lucky because a train went by and we saw some whitewater rafters. Really fun day and Jack had a nice time. Even got some video which is at the end.
Families were exploring the area, but lots of room for everyone to social distance.
We explored the rocky area and Lee taught Jack to come along with him. At first Jack was tentative, but by the end he was doing better than me. The footing was rough, so definitely wear your hiking shoes.
You can see the train above the river in the picture
Happy Jack
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Camper Chronicles 
Brought back memories. I went White Water Rafting on that River. You had to paddle to stay in the boat.
Fun!,
So happy you were able to visit this beautiful gorge. Years ago my husband and I organized rafting/canoe/kayaking trips all over the Eastern U.S. We were fortunate enough to raft both the New and Gauley rivers and had such a blast.
❤️
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