We spent three days at New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. This park is the newest to be designated a National Park and has seen visitors double in the past year. It is quite primative and the main activities revolve around water rafting, rock climbing, and other things not totally age appropriate for a family with two young kids. Regardless, the Rangers at the visitor center were super helpful in recommending some kid-friendly hikes that worked well for us.
We stayed in a primative campground, Army Camp, right on the river. This was a great campground for dry camping. There were only about 10 spots, the spots were well spread out, and our fellow campers were quiet. There were also really nice pit toilets on side and a day use area with picnic tables that was peaceful. This time of year was pretty quiet but also a bit chilly and cloud despite all the fall leaves.
We decided to hike the Burnwood Trail hike (1.2 miles) on the recommendation of a Park Ranger at the Canyon Rim visitor center. This was a beautiful hike with all sorts of fallen leaves on the trail. It was so pleasant and peaceful. There were no other hikers on the trail that we crossed paths with. The hike was unmarked, however, and we got turned around a bit at one point. Some of the trail was hard to follow, but we found our way. After our hike we drove the scenic road under the New River Gorge bridge and learned a bit of the history of the bridge and the communities that live here.
The next morning, we decided to hike Katy’s Falls and part of Glade Creek Trail from the Upper Trailhead. We didn’t learn anything at all about this hike from the Ranger. We found it in the park’s newsletter. The road to the trailhead involved a bit of off-roading maneuvers. It was not for small cars. The trail itself was a really pleasant 1.2 miles each way. The falls trail is a short spur trail off Glade Creek Trail and is steep and rocky but very doable. This trail was also great because there were few hikers on the trail with us (I’m guessing the drive in was a strong deterrent).
After our hike on Glade Creek, we drove to the Sandstone Visitor Center (only open on weekends currently), and finished up the kid’s Jr Ranger badge workbooks and got sworn in. Overall, everyone in the family loved this park and its beauty. There seems to be something for everyone at this park.
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