Over the summer I was passing through West Virginia and decided to stop in at the country’s newest national park: New River Gorge National Park. I made many, many mistakes during this unplanned adventure, and today I’m going to share with you the top 4 that you should avoid when visiting this national park.

1. Get Gas BEFORE heading to the park

I found myself in a bit of trouble when I thought I would get closer to the park before stopping for gas. Since the park is so spread out (another tidbit of info that I was unaware of), there aren’t many gas stops, so you’ll want to fuel up well before you think you need to.

I ended up finding a sketchy little citgo right in the nick of time, when I was nearly completely out of gas. You had to go inside to pay (there were no pay stations at the pump) but the workers inside were very friendly.

2. Research what sections of the park you want to visit ahead of time

Again, this park is pretty spread out. There are 5 main sections of the park, and as much as I love spontaneity, going into the first visitor center I found once I navigated to the park ended up being a bad idea. I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out what there even was to do, in the amount of time I had to do it.

You’ll want to spend some time mapping out your route and go in a sequential order throughout the park. Also note that there are several state parks spread throughout that you may want to explore. One of my favorite bloggers, Earth Trekkers, has a very detailed and well put together post on New River Gorge. I would recommend starting there for your planning.

3. Make your adventure reservations ahead of time

There are so many exciting things to do at this park – from whitewater rafting to ziplining, the adventures never cease at this park! However, if you don’t make your reservations ahead of time, you will have to sorely miss out. Many activities sell out daily, and last-minute signups might not be possible. Be sure to make all of your reservations well in advance and have them readily available the day that you go. A good place to start would be Adventures on the Gorge.

4. Temper your expectations about how awesome the bridge is

Can I say this? The bridge was…..underwhelming. You know how they say “pictures don’t do it justice”? Well, the opposite is true in this case. Pictures did do it justice. It looked more astounding in the pics than in real life. The viewing areas were just, meh. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a cool bridge, but I had built it up in my head to be AWESOME. I’d recommend going into it with an open mind and don’t expect it to be the coolest thing you’ve ever seen (because, well, it’s not). Don’t be disappointed, and definitely plan other things so that this isn’t your “main event.”

Bonus: Where to Swim near New River Gorge National Park

At the 2nd visitor center I found, I asked them where the best place to swim was. It turn out to be a little lake around 30 minutes outside the park, and it passed a gorgeous overlook on the way. It was X dollars to enter, and was a nice little swim area. 

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