National Parks

BECKLEY, W.Va. — West Virginia’s New River Gorge has joined some of the continent’s best-known landscapes among the 20 most-visited national parks in North America. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve ranked No. 17 in a new Visual Capitalist comparison of U.S. and Canadian national parks, based on 2025 visitation. The West Virginia park … Read more

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — National Park Week begins Saturday, spotlighting hundreds of America’s most celebrated landscapes. But in West Virginia, the national park experience is a little different. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve isn’t simply wilderness set aside from the modern world. Railroads still rumble along the New River, and communities and privately … Read more

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Torrential rainfall has washed out roads, triggered slides, and toppled trees in the northern New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, closing several routes into the gorge and cutting off access to popular river and camping areas. The park service reported Sunday evening that the road to Nuttallburg was impassable, and … Read more

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Hidden beneath the forests of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is one of the easiest ways to experience one of America’s newest national parks. Unlike many of the gorge’s steep, rugged trails, the Rend Trail follows the nearly level grade of a former railroad line. Families, cyclists, older hikers, … Read more

THURMOND, W.Va. — As the National Park Service moves forward with plans to demolish more than a dozen deteriorating historic buildings in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, a new proposal argues that Washington and West Virginia need not choose between preserving unsafe structures and tearing them down. Instead, advocates say the park … Read more

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Travelers arrive from Washington, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, and other metropolitan areas, expecting to spend a day at the New River Gorge before continuing their vacation. Many leave wondering why they hadn’t planned for several more days. It’s a reaction Tabitha Stover hears repeatedly. “One of the things I hear most from visitors, especially … Read more

HINTON, W.Va. — Millions of visitors have now discovered New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, but many leave having experienced only a small portion of one of America’s newest national parks. For countless first-time visitors, the trip follows a familiar pattern. They photograph the New River Gorge Bridge from Canyon Rim Visitor Center, hike … Read more