BY CARRIE HODOUSEK
FAYETTEVILLE — The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in Fayette County will mark its second anniversary of becoming a national park designation today.
Congress passed legislation on Dec. 22, 2020, making the New River Gorge the 63rd national park in the country.
Since then, the park has seen a major uptick in tourism as more out-of-state visitors discover all the recreational activities the park has to offer in the hills of West Virginia.
“People are traveling further distances now to come visit us for sure,” said Chelsea Bricker, marketing lead with Adventures on the Gorge. “With the new designation, people have been visiting us who maybe would’ve never came to West Virginia before.”
Park visitors have liked hiking, zip-lining and renting cabins. Bricker said whitewater rafting is among the most popular activities because it’s what makes the New River Gorge different from other national parks.
“The ability to raft through a national park is a pretty unique experience and it offers a different perspective than just going hiking or going to one of the overlooks,” she said.
Bricker said national park designations are more common out west.
“There aren’t very many national parks on the East Coast, so having that title really adds a certain level of clout that our destination is a worthy place to visit,” she said.
Nearly 1.6 million visitors have explored the park this year. While that is fewer than year-to-date visitors in 2021, it’s still more than the pre-COVID year of 2019, when 1.2 visitors were recorded for the entire year.
The park encompasses more than 70,000 acres of land along 53 miles of the New River from Bluestone Dam to Hawk’s Nest Lake.
