New River Gorge National Park & Preserve guide · 2 min read
Canyon Rim and the New River Gorge Bridge
The Canyon Rim Visitor Center sits beside the New River Gorge Bridge, just north of Fayetteville, and serves as the park's main information point.
Rangers can help you plan your visit, and inside you will find exhibits, a park film, and a bookstore. Out back, a boardwalk built from timber looks toward the bridge and the gorge below. Hiking trails do not begin at the center itself, so hikes start elsewhere.
Two overlooks sit close by, and the Scenic View signs in the parking lot point the way. The upper overlook is a quick, easy walk. The lower one means 178 steps down and the same number back up, but the view of the bridge from there is better.
The bridge replaced a slow route down narrow mountain roads. A drive that once took about 40 minutes now takes under a minute. It carries United States Highway 19 over the gorge, and among steel spans in the Western Hemisphere, none is longer. Only two bridges in the United States stand taller. It is also one of the most photographed sights in West Virginia.
Fayette Station Road follows the older crossing. Before the bridge, this narrow road was the only way across the gorge, and driving it took about 45 minutes. It is now one way, starting near the visitor center and descending to the river, where the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge spans the New River. At Fayette Station, you can park and walk onto the rocks for views of the bridge.
Bridge Walk offers three-hour tours along the maintenance catwalk beneath the span, and no other company takes visitors out there. Bridge Day is the only time you can walk across the top, since the span otherwise carries traffic. Canyon Rim is one of three areas most visitors explore along the more than 50 miles of river the park follows, the others being Grandview and Sandstone.
