SANDSTONE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Sandstone Falls, the largest waterfall on the New River, spans a dramatic 1,500 feet across, dropping between 10 to 25 feet over a series of islands.
This natural wonder marks the New River’s transition from a broad waterway to a narrow, roaring mountain river as it begins its final rush through the New River Gorge, ultimately merging with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River.
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Visitors can start their journey to Sandstone Falls at the Sandstone Visitor Center, located at exit 139 on I-64.
The Visitor Center offers detailed exhibits on the New River watershed and the natural and cultural history of the upper New River Gorge, as well as maps and information about the park.
Traveling south on Route 20 from Sandstone to Hinton, you will pass several park vistas.
The Sandstone Falls Overlook provides an aerial view from 600 feet above the river, while the Brooks Overlook offers sights of the mile-long Brooks Island, a nesting site for bald eagles.
Hinton, the southern gateway to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, boasts a rich history as a former railroad center.
The town features a historic district, a railroad museum, antique shops, and restaurants.
After crossing the bridge at Hinton, the drive continues alongside the New River down River Road, offering riverside vistas, river access points, and a trail.
The journey culminates at the Sandstone Falls day-use area, where visitors can walk along boardwalks and bridges that span the islands below the falls.
The walk begins with a short bridge over a man-made channel once used to power a gristmill. On the first island, visitors can view the lower falls and explore the Island Loop Trail, which showcases one of West Virginia’s most unique botanical ecosystems.
This rare Appalachian riverside flat rock plant community is home to several southern plant species adapted to the thin, rocky soil and occasional floods.
The second bridge, a mini arch cor-ten steel structure, leads to a low-lying island with a floodplain forest and views of the impressive main falls.
Sandstone Falls was formed by the New River eroding the softer conglomerate rock beneath a harder sandstone layer.
Over time, this process created the precipice of the falls and the large boulders below. The falls remain a dynamic geological environment, gradually advancing upstream.
A trip to Sandstone Falls offers not only the beauty of the falls but also the scenic drive and the dramatic transformation of the New River as it descends through the Appalachian Mountains.
