Most recently updated October 19th, 2022
Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia is our nation’s 63rd – and newest – National Park.
The park encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along 53 miles of the New River from Bluestone Dam to Hawk’s Nest Lake.
In spite of it’s name, the New River is one of the oldest rivers on Earth, and has carved the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains – dropping 750 feet over 50 miles!
More than a million people visit the gorge each year to kayak, canoe, and fish in the river or hike, bike, and camp on the land.
For the past two years, I’ve been one of them!
Each Summer, my family has a reunion in Indiana over the July 4th holiday.
It’s a long drive, so on the return trip I’ve stopped at New River Gorge National Park to break up the drive and check it out.
The first year, I only had a day at the Park, but this time I scheduled 4 whole days! I was NOT disappointed 🙂
Read on to find out about the hikes I found there, and how you can go, too! Continue reading New River Gorge National Park – 5-Day Hike Guide