New River Gorge National River

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New River Gorge National River
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Map of the United States
Location	Fayette, Raleigh, and Summers counties, West Virginia, USA
Nearest city	Beckley, West Virginia
Coordinates	37°57′39″N 81°4′54″W / 37.96083, -81.08167
Area	70,000 acres (280 km²)
Established	1978
Visitors	1.1 million (in 2004)
Governing body	National Park Service

The New River Gorge National River is a unit of the United States National Park Service designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia. Established in 1978, the NPS-protected area stretches for 53 miles (85 km) from just downstream of Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted.

New River Gorge is also home to some of the country's best whitewater rafting. The focus of this rafting is in the New River Gorge from the Cunard put-in to the Fayette Station take-out. The river levels for the New River Gorge and all other rivers in the United States can be checked at American Whitewater.

Th New River Gorge is also one of the most popular climbing areas on the east coast with over 1,400 established rock climbs. The cliffs at "The New" are located just below the rim of the gorge and are made up of a very hard Nuttall sandstone. The rock is very featured, and an abundance of crack and face routes, with occasional large roofs. Almost all climbs are one pitch long and range from 30 to 120 feet in height. Majority of the routes in the gorge are for advanced climbers in 5.10-5.12 range of Yosemite Decimal System. With about equal number of traditional and sport climbs.

[edit] Major features of the NRGNR

• Sandstone Falls
• Sandstone Visitor Center
• Grandview
• Prince
• Stone Cliff
• Thurmond Depot
• Thurmond
• Babcock State Park (adjoining West Virginia state park)
• Kaymoor
• New River Gorge Bridge and Visitor Center
• Hawks Nest State Park (adjoining West Virginia state park)
• Cunard River Access

[edit] External links

• New River Gorge National River
• Video of Whitewater rafting on the Lower New River
• “Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads”, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
• New River Gorge Area Information
• West Virginia Travel Planning Information
• Geology of the New River Gorge

v • d • e Protected Areas of West Virginia Federal protected areas Appalachian National Scenic Trail • Bluestone National Scenic River • Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park • Cranberry Wilderness • Dolly Sods Wilderness • Gauley River National Recreation Area • George Washington National Forest • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park • Jefferson National Forest • Laurel Fork North Wilderness • Laurel Fork South Wilderness • Monongahela National Forest • Mountain Lake Wilderness • New River Gorge National River • Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge • Otter Creek Wilderness • Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area State parks Audra • Babcock • Beartown • Beech Fork • Berkeley Springs • Blackwater Falls • Blennerhassett Island • Bluestone • Cacapon Resort • Camp Creek • Canaan Valley Resort • Carnifex Ferry Battlefield • Cass Scenic Railroad • Cathedral • Cedar Creek • Chief Logan • Droop Mountain Battlefield • Fairfax Stone • Greenbrier River Trail • Hawks Nest • Holly River • Little Beaver • Lost River • Moncove Lake • North Bend Rail Trail • North Bend • Pinnacle Rock • Pipestem Resort • Prickett's Fort • Stonewall Jackson Lake • Tomlinson Run • Tu-Endie-Wei • Twin Falls Resort • Tygart Lake • Valley Falls • Watoga • Watters Smith Memorial State forests Cabwaylingo • Calvin Price • Camp Creek • Coopers Rock • Greenbrier • Kanawha • Kumbrabow • Seneca Wildlife management areas Allegheny • Amherst-Plymouth • Anawalt Lake • Bear Rock Lakes • Becky Creek • Beech Fork Lake • Berwind Lake • Beury Mountain • Big Ditch • Big Ugly • Bluestone Lake • Briery Mountain • Burches Run • Burnsville Lake • Castleman Run Lake • Cecil H. Underwood • Center Branch • Chief Cornstalk • Conaway Run Lake • Cross Creek • Dunkard Fork • East Lynn Lake • Edwards Run • Elk Creek • Elk River • Fork Creek • Fort Mill Ridge • Frozen Camp • Green Bottom • Handley • Hilbert • Hillcrest • Horse Creek • Hughes River • Huttonsville State Farm • Lantz Farm and Nature Preserve • Laurel Lake • Lewis Wetzel • Little Indian Creek • McClintic • Meadow River • Mill Creek • Moncove Lake • Morris Creek • Nathaniel Mountain • Panther • Pedlar • Pleasant Creek • Plum Orchard Lake • Pruntytown • R.D. Bailey Lake • Ritchie Mines • Sand Hill • Shannondale Springs • Short Mountain • Slatyfork • Sleepy Creek • Smoke Camp • Snake Hill • South Branch • Stonecoal Lake • Stonewall Jackson Lake • Stumptown • Summersville Lake • Tate Lohr • Teter Creek Lake • The Jug • Thorn Creek • Tug Fork • Turkey Run • Upper Deckers Creek • Upper Mud River • Valley Bend • Wallback • Widmeyer • Woodrum West Virginia Division of Forestry • West Virginia Division of Natural Resources