Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
New River Gorge Bridge
3.
Hawks Nest State Park
The terrain turns intensely rugged as the drive, looping around a succession of hairpin
turns, climbs to Hawks Nest State Park. Perched on a clifftop 585 feet above the sinuous
curvesoftheNewRiver,theareaoffersbird's-eyeviewsthatextendformiles.Aparkgon-
dola carries passengers down into the depths of the gorge. Wildflowers stud the slopes in
spring; come fall, the region is a golden blaze of fluttering foliage. At the water's edge,
visitors can boat and picnic.
4.
New River Gorge National River
Pioneers called it the New River, but geologists say that this waterway, which has barreled
downthesamecourseforabout65millionyears,isoneofAmerica'soldest.Asrafterswho
sweepdowntheNew'swhitewaterarethefirsttoattest,itsvenerableagehasn'tdiminished
the river's free-flowing vigor. In fact, its roiling rapids are judged the most difficult east of
the Rockies.
AlthoughRte.60hasseveraloverlooksalongthenorthernendoftheNewRiverGorge,
an even better place to glimpse the chasm is at the Canyon Rim visitor center on Rte. 19.
Awesome cliffs—some nearly 1,000 feet high—vault into view, and far below, the New
River sparkles in the sun as it races northward. New River Gorge Bridge, just west of the
visitorcenter,soars876feetabovethewater,makingitthesecond-highestsingle-archspan
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