People who travel long distances to take in Sandstone Falls in Summers County are in for a spectacular visual experience.
But the falls are not the only attraction for this scenic community. There’s a visitor’s center a few miles away that provides information galore on a variety of topics including hiking trails and nature walks, as well as some of the history of the region, and how it played out during the early days of river commerce and timbering.
Hundreds of tourists and locals have been taking advantage of scenic trails during the summer season, according to Rudy Paugh, a retired park ranger with the New River Gorge National River of the South District at Sandstone and Grandview.
Park rangers occasionally offer history and botany trips along an old railroad grades.
“They call this a pristine area of the gorge,” Paugh explained of the picturesque attractions. “Most are relatively inaccessible by vehicle. Trails allow you to view parts of the New River Gorge in a way that it may have appeared to the early pioneers and settlers.
“Trails also provide an opportunity for hikers to learn more about the plants of the area and their use. We provide a lot of information about these plants and their medicinal use during the time of the early settlers, who learned about the plants from the Native Americans.”
The Turnpike hike at Pipestem State Park operates on a seasonal schedule. It is a one-mile hike downstream along Bluestone National Scenic River.
“Miles of trails within the New River Gorge National River and along area state parks offer an excellent means of discovering New River Gorge history, as well as its plant and animal life,” Paugh added.
“Trails feature old coal towns, waterfalls, geological formations, and scenic views of the gorge.
“A few trails permit mountain biking and horseback riding. The old mountain thoroughfares also offer some of West Virginia’s best and most scenic trails for health and pleasure hiking.”
New River Gorge National River was established in 1978 to preserve and protect 53 miles of the New River as a free-flowing waterway.
Located in Southern West Virginia, this park encompasses 62,000 acres of land along the New River between the towns of Hinton and Fayetteville. The park and the surrounding area are rich in cultural and natural history, offering abundant scenic and recreational opportunities.
The gorge is particularly well suited for hiking, according to an increasing number of patrons who have rediscovered the region’s winding scenic staircase along the river.
The silence of the forest is punctuated by gasps and groans as the mountain trail snakes its way along the torturous trace of New River Gorge.
“It’s an impressive hike, crawling past craggy cliffs, lumbering through growths of hickory, river birch, sweet gum, red maple and sycamore.”
About 37 highway miles north to Fayetteville, there’s another Canyon Rim Visitor Center, touted as the largest and most impressive visitor center in the National Park. Starting at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center is the short but very popular Canyon Boardwalk Trail. It descends nearly 200 steps to a breathtaking overlook of the New River and the U.S. 19 Bridge.
At Wolf Creek is a connection with the 1.6 mile New River Bridge Trail, which ascends steeply among boulders and dangerous cliffs for outstanding views of the canyon bridge.
History buffs should head for Thurmond, six crooked miles from Glen Jean on county route 25.
Now nearly deserted, the town of Thurmond once was the busiest center of commerce in the gorge.
There was money, gambling, prostitution, drunkenness, and murder, but there was also what some historians called glamour, pulsating and colorful with human and natural energy.
Today, this quiet ghost town is the starting point for two of the gorge’s historic rail trails: the Southside Junction to Brooklyn Trail and the Thurmond to Minden Trail.
The 7-mile Southside Junction Brooklyn Trail, open to hikers and cyclists, is an easy and scenic riverside ramble on an old railroad grade.
The Southside trail continues for 5.6 miles, shaded by hardwoods and passing by high rock faces and building ruins.
The 3.2 mile Thurmond to Minden Trail crosses five trestles as it follows another old spur up Arbuckle Creek. It can also be accessed from WV 16 by driving five miles down county route 25 from Glen Jean.
In Raleigh County, Grandview offers special visual attractions for visitors. Formerly a state park, this extraordinarily beautiful area of flame azaleas and Catawba rhododendrons has picnic shelters and canyon overlooks, including one of the most photographed and published upriver views of the New River.
New River Gorge at Grandview State Park offers a spectacular view of the Horseshoe Bend and distant mountain ridges. Near Sandstone Falls in Summers County, rangers offer nature walks and trail hikes that explore history of the gorge’s early settlements and hamlets nearby. Nearly all of the physical structures are gone today, but some of the heritage still remains.
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Top o’ the morning!