Fayetteville (New River Gorge)

The New River Gorge Bridge, completed October 22, 1977, rises 876 feet above the New River with a 1,700-foot main span. It was the world's highest bridge carrying a regular roadway until a bridge in China opened in 2001, and it was the world's longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years; today it is the seventh-longest such bridge in the world and the longest outside China.

President Donald Trump signed legislation on December 27, 2020, redesignating the area as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The park and preserve together span about 72,808 acres across Fayette, Raleigh and Summers counties — roughly 7,021 acres as national park and 65,165 acres as national preserve — with Fayetteville, West Virginia, listed as the nearest city. There is no fee to enter.

The Lower Gorge of the New River is described as a premier whitewater rafting location, with rapids ranging from class III to class V and commercial rafting trips running April through October; the Upper Gorge offers gentler class I–III water better suited to canoeing. Once a year, on the third Saturday in October, the New River Gorge Bridge closes to vehicle traffic for Bridge Day, when participants can legally rappel, ascend and BASE jump from the bridge.

The New River Gorge Bridge is the anchor: an 876-foot-high, 1,700-foot-span steel arch bridge completed in 1977, which held the world's-highest-roadway title for 24 years and the world's-longest-single-span-arch title for 26. There is no fee to enter the surrounding national park and preserve.

The National Park Service says food, lodging and full-service campgrounds are plentiful in the gateway communities around the park, including Hinton, Fayetteville and Beckley. We were unable to confirm the current status of any individual restaurant on its own website, so none is named here.

The National Park Service says licensed outfitters offer guided trips on the New River, with trained guides, equipment, instruction, transportation to and from the river, and meals provided. Each outfitter's own site lists current offerings.

2 breweries within 10 miles of Fayetteville (New River Gorge), though our source does not record a public room at any of them.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

Fayetteville has no professional or major college teams; the area's identity centers on the national park and outdoor recreation.

5 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Fayetteville (New River Gorge) in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• CharlestonWest Virginiaabout 35 mi
• MorgantownWest Virginiaabout 130 mi
• Shenandoah CountryVirginiaabout 150 mi
• ColumbusOhioabout 170 mi
• PittsburghPennsylvaniaabout 180 mi

• Mystery HoleMystery spot / optical illusionAnstedabout 5 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Seasonal — not open all year

  Nearest road

  US-60

  Gravity-defying slanted room since 1973

  • Open seasonally, not all year

  Read on the page we checked

These are things you can go and look at, not a recommendation of any of them. Oddities move, get sold and quietly disappear more than anything else we list, so check anything you are driving a long way for. Where this list says we did not find a price or opening times published, that is exactly what we mean. A blank is not “free” and not “always open”. Some sit on private land and can only be seen from the road — please do not go onto anyone’s property. Every entry links the page we read it off.

There is no entrance fee for New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

Bridge Day happens once a year on the third Saturday in October; the bridge closes to regular traffic that day, which affects travel routes through the area.

Commercial whitewater rafting on the Lower Gorge runs April through October; outside that window, rafting options are limited.

Fayetteville is the practical base for lodging and outfitters serving the park.

4 public campgrounds within 25 miles of Fayetteville (New River Gorge), 3 of them bookable ahead. Public campgrounds run by federal agencies. State-park and private campgrounds are not included.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

Address

Canyon Rim Visitor Center: 162 Visitor Center Rd., Lansing, WV 25862. Park headquarters (administrative offices only): 104 CO RTE 25/9, Glen Jean, WV 25846

Hours

The park is open year-round. Canyon Rim Visitor Center is open daily, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day; other visitor centers differ by season (see the NPS hours page)

Price

No entrance fee

Link

nps.gov/neri

We checked fees, operating status, opening hours and contact details on 2026-09-23. These change without notice — confirm with nps.gov and lrd.usace.army.mil the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Fayetteville (New River Gorge), not drive time.

• Raleigh County Memorial (BKW) — 18 miles
• Yeager (CRW) — 35 miles
• Greenbrier Valley (LWB) — 41 miles