New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. It was established as a National River in 1978 and became a National Park in 2020.  Despite the name, the New River is one of the oldest rivers on the continent. The national park protects 53 miles of the New River and over 70,000 acres of the gorge that the river created. The New River Gorge is home to some of the country’s best white-water rafting. I wanted to stop at the park on our way home last year, but we just couldn’t make it work. So this year, we made sure it was on the itinerary!

When we researched the park, we realized that there were no campgrounds within the park boundaries. We decided to reserve a campsite at Adventures on the Gorge which is a resort and outfitter company that offers all sorts of accommodations including cabins, campsites, glamping, and houses as well as many different types of activities. We were supposed to arrive at the resort on the 2^nd of August but were delayed a night due to some truck issues. Long story short, we pulled into a KOA around 11:30pm on the 2^nd and got up very early the 3^rd to make our white-water rafting trip. Upon arrival, we were all very tired but excited to get on the river. We got our gear, safety orientation, and headed for the bus to take us upstream for a full day on the river. It was a hot day, and the river water was a refreshing temperature. After the first set of rapids, we were all awake, wet, and full of anticipation for what was to come. Matt and Eli even were brave enough to do some “swimming rapids”! Between rapids, our guide told us all about the history of the gorge and the people who worked in the coal mines along the river. After lunch we were allowed to jump in and float down the river and later, we climbed up to a rock and jumped in. The last few rapids were class V and quite intense, but we made it through without anyone falling out of the boat. To top off the amazing day, we jumped out of the boat and floated downstream under the New River Bridge! We all agreed that rafting was a fabulous way to see New River National Park! That night we were all beat and were in bed by 9pm.

The morning of the 4^th, Matt and Eli headed out for a fish float trip at 7am. The fishing ended up being so-so as they only caught eight fish. Samantha and I headed to the resort pool to lounge the day away. The boys joined us after lunch and into the afternoon. That night, we celebrated Eli’s 14^th birthday with hamburgers and dairy free ice cream. We capped the night off with the MoonTrek Adventure which was an obstacle course challenge with the magic of a moonlit forest night. There were several courses in the tree canopy that included bridges, nets and ziplines. Our family had a blast navigating through the obstacles!

We didn’t have time to do and see everything New River National Park and Preserve has to offer but we had a great time while we were there. We will be back to do more rafting and ziplining!