Horvath Travels: March 2021

Debbie near the New River Gorge Bridge

There was some squalor to be observed during the nearly five-hour trip to the New River Gorge area. But eventually, the poor, dark, and dusty coal and petrochemical towns gave way to pristine mountains that (thank goodness) leave little room for development. Tourism works better to preserve land than raping it with no plans for restoration. And tourism is what we came for, so it all works out.

We’ve been here before, more than once with the family, and at least one other time for a whitewater rafting adventure. This time, we came to visit our nation’s newest National Park. This time, we also came prepared to hike!

The Endless Wall

And hike we did. The Endless Wall trail was scenic and fun. Found out that the ‘endless wall’ is a wall of climbing rock cliffs along the edge of the gorge that goes on for miles and miles. It’s all pretty spectacular. We also took the recommended scenic drive down into and back out of the gorge. We were glad we did.

Endless Wall Trail Hike

All this was in the Fayetteville area, near the famous New River Gorge Bridge. After staying in Beckley overnight, we tackled the Grandview area on our second day.

Grandview Area

We’re not exactly sure why the area is called Grandview, but maybe it’s because the view is so very grand here. It’s quite a bit south of Fayetteville, and it’s every bit as wonderful. And there’s good hiking to be had here as well.

Grandview Area

We took the Grandview Trail hike, which took us a couple of miles each way along the ridge overlooking the New River Gorge to the Turkey Spur Overlook. It was all supremely sublime.