This year, we visited one of America’s newest addition to the National Parks, New River Gorge National Park, in West Virginia! A 9 hour drive from Chicago, we made it into a small road trip and made it over in 2 days! We were a bit worried since it was going to be raining all week…but it ended up working out pretty nicely! It did rain every single day…but nothing that stopped us from hiking, ziplining, and having some fun!
Indianapolis, IN
The first stop we made was about 3 hours away in Indianapolis. We stopped at one of our go-to coffee places when in the neighborhood – Coat Check Coffee.
Logan, OH
Another 3 hours later, we arrived at our final destination for the day, Logan, OH! We stayed at a pretty nice boutique hotel, Worthington of Logan. Friendly staff, very clean, and a pool! In the mornings, they also have a breakfast buffet of sorts with plenty of options! I would absolutely stay here again!
There is plenty to do in the area and we only got to do some of it. One of the things we did do was visit the nearby mini golf!
There was a nearby state park we really wanted to checkout…but because of the weather and our schedule, we couldn’t go 🙁 But planning on going back soon…
Food overall was fine. A few options to pick from. It’s a small town so not a ton to pick from. On the way out, Maya Burrito really hit the spot. Also, we met a new furry friend, Jack! Apparently known by all!
New River Gorge National Park
The next day, it was a short and scenic 3-hour drive to New River National Park! The first stop we made was at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center – a few min away from where we were camping. Close to this visitor center, was a scenic overlook of the New River Gorge Bridge – beautiful!
Camping
One of the things we really love to do when we can is camp at the actual park. This particular park only has primitive sites available…which typically, it’s fine; however, since we were planning on camping for 4 nights, we figured having a shower and running water might be a little easier…so we decided to camp with Adventures on the Gorge!
We figured that place was perfect (and spoiler…it was) since it was in the middle of the park AND it offered plenty of services! Camping there was $40/night but it came with access to their facilities which included running water, bathrooms, and showers!
New River Gorge Bridge
The first activity in the books was a bridge tour by Bridge Walk. The whole thing was a couple of hours and it was great! Great tour guides, great views, very interesting facts, and a great group of people! If you are in the area and debating whether or not a bridge tour sounds boring…you should do it.
I have only ever done this tour once…with the one tour guide, but special shout out to him for being so friendly and knowledgeable in the history of this bridge and West Virginia as a whole!
Ziplining
One of the activities we signed up for was ziplining, which was pretty freaking great! I have never ziplined before and this was a great way to start – ziplining over the tree in a national park! This was an activity offered at Adventures on the Gorge.
Great staff! Very patient, supportive, friendly, and overall professional. Would 10/10 do it again!
Visitor Centers
I already mentioned we visited Canyon Rim Visitor Center, but there are 3 others throughout the park (a couple of them an hour drive from our campsite and about an hour from each other…). We had the time to made a point of getting to each throughout our stay here.
Canyon Rim Visitor Center
This was the first one and by far, the most renovated one out of all of them. This is also where the overlook look to the bridge can be found just a short hike from here!
Sandstone Visitor Center
This visitor center was about an hour drive from the campsite but it was pretty great! We also got some pro tips here from the Rangers on visiting Sandstone Falls, which had spectacular views!
Throughout the park, we noticed that we came here right when the trees were starting to change colors – which was really great to see!
Grandview Visitor Center
This visitor center was significantly smaller than the previous 2, but it is accompanied by grand views indeed…Again, about an hour drive from our campsite but it was definitely worth the drive.
From here, there are a couple of great trails and then the grand view!
It was very misty (and very very rainy) during our stay, which definitely added to the surrealness of the place.
Thurmond Depot
The last visitor center we visited was Thurmond Depot, located to what is now a ghost town. Unfortunately, it is closed during the week :(, so we couldn’t go inside of this one. But there is lots of great history here!
Trails
Of course, this area is full of great trails to explore! A few notable trails we did our best to explore were…
Endless Wall Trail
Castle Rock Trail
Butchers Branch Trail
Kaymoore Miners Trail
A special note on this one…maybe we were tired…and hungry…and everything. But this one was TIRING. We had to hike a bit to the start of the “fun” where we went down 821 steps…then back up again. Great history though.
Food
This time around, besides a quick coffee I made on a day, we mostly just relied on the fact there were options on the resort as well as the nearby town, Fayetteville (7 minute drive).
GREAT bar food. Everything was pretty tasty and great beer selection as well. I particularly liked their philly cheesesteak! Even better? It’s right within the resort!
Great sandwiches overall! I had one of their chicken ones and it was very solid.
Came here for some brunch…cool place, friendly staff…not so great food. I would skip this one.
GREAT wood fire pizza. Not much to say other than definitely a must!
Awesome breakfast/lunch spot! Good coffee and even better food! Would 10/10 recommended and would come here again! (The iced chai tea was very good).
This was our final dinner while camping…and it was amazing. Probably top 1 or 2 chicken dishes I have had ever. My partner also really enjoyed her chicken tikka masala. It is a little on the fansier side as far as the food goes, but still with casual vibes.
Came here for a latte and baked good. Good coffee, comfy spot, great coffee shop overall!
Overall, great trip! We did plenty in the 4 nights we were here and if we were to come again, there would still be plenty to do!
