I’ve traveled to quite a few national parks but New River Gorge was an amazing surprise. It’s the newest national park and doesn’t get a lot of attention but it is absolutely stunning. The hiking was amazing, as was the white water rafting. And the nearby town of Fayetteville was a pleasant surprise as well. Hidden gem.
Thank you for reminding me about this! I had forgotten about hearing that it was becoming a national park. I spent a lot of time there in the summers as a kid; my dad really liked white-water rafting and took a part-time gig as a guide in the summer to fund his hobby, and my little brother and I spent weekends at the rafting company campground (the Rivermen? is that still operating?) catching salamanders and begging to go out on the next rafting trip.
That whole area is my personal paradise.
Fayetteville was an absolute surprise for me. After driving through tons of depressing ghost towns Fayetteville was a fun respite for a while. I never expected to find hipsters deep in coal country.
Yes! We were mostly surprised by all the pride flags.
Went there memorial day weekend and it was packed near the visitor center. Was interesting to check out
