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This ended up being a slow day because of a steady downpour. I had planned on going on a jet boat ride from Hawk's Nest State Park to the bridge, but the rain made that prospect unpleasant. Hawk's Nest is also undergoing renovations, so access to the overlooks was cut off and the weather made hiking a trail there not an option. I had breakfast at Cathedral Cafe, a well known spot in Fayetteville that serves breakfast and lunch in an old cathedral. This place was well worth the stop. So today I picked up Thurmond, an abandoned train town in the national park. Thurmond is maintained by New River Gorge and has had many of its buildings preserved. There is a very informative museum on the upstairs of the depot along with maps of the town. On the quest to travel to all 50 states I can now cross off West Virginia. I travelled to New River Gorge, the newest national park in the country. On the first day I hiked Long Point Trail in the morning to one of the best views of the New River Gorge Bridge. The hike has a moderate descent and ascent back up. Thankfully there were no visitors while I was there as I've heard the location can get crowded on the weekend. The views are gorgeous. Next stop was the Endless Wall Trail that led to the Diamond Point overlook. This was another impressive view of the mountains and New River. The hike is a little difficult to find parking at on busy days and it is best to hike the trail as an out and back rather than a loop since taking the loop leads to a boring walk up the road on the way back. From there it was a drive to Babcock State Park for pictures of the very pretty grist mill there. This stop didn't take long but was nice to catch something different while in the area. Next was back up to the Canyon Rim Visitor Center as you head back into Fayetteville. This is a brand new visitor center that offers the best close view of the bridge. Climb down 153 stairs and you'll get a close up view of the third highest bridge in the US. After that grab a map of the Fayetteville Station Road and wind down the mountain on a mostly one lane road that offers some good views of the bridge from below it. The last stop of the day was Concho Overlook, where you can see the abandoned town of Thurmond and a very good view of the horseshoe bend of the New River. As the day was getting late, I put off going to the Thurmond District today and decided to add it to the itinerary tomorrow. |
AuthorA librarian doing the travel. Archives
May 2024
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