New River Gorge, West Virginia 2025
This past June marked a time of adrenaline-filled adventure; my friends and I went whitewater rafting down Clear Creek river in Colorado. It was an unforgettable ride through wild rapids and icy Rocky Mountain water, one that left us wanting for more.
But Colorado isn’t very close to Pittsburgh... Luckily, the East Coast has its own gem: West Virginia’s New River Gorge. It’s just a few hours’ drive, known for hosting intense rapids, rock climbing, and amazing scenery. With our friend Luke living in Asheville, it felt like the perfect place for a Fourth of July get together. We locked in the trip, and for once, everything seemed to be falling into place.
A Rocky Start
Wednesday, a week before we leave, I'm driving home from work as usual. Suddenly, not five minutes on the road, my car starts acting weird. Then, I smell burning oil and see smoke coming from the hood of the car! Immediately I pull over, but the damage is done. I get it towed to a dealership, where they deem the engine a total loss.
With my car out of commission, plans are now thrown up in the air. Not only that, I’m supposed to be bringing Rebecca, a long-lost friend from college.
Thankfully, with the help of my parents and grandparents, I borrowed one of their cars. The only stipulation, understandably so, is I can’t take it to West Virginia.
I call up Tanner and gave him the update. “No problem” he says. “Meet me at my place and I’ll drive us down.” Problem solved… for now.
Day of departure arrives. I pack the car, pick up Rebecca at the Greyhound station in downtown Pittsburgh, and text Tanner our ETA. He replies “I should be there on time, but I might be late.” No worries, I thought. He’s just tying loose ends up at work before our long weekend.
We pull into Tanner’s driveway and I see him lounging on the porch, ready to leave. It’s all coming together. Then he hits me with the “I have good news and I have bad news.”
“Bad news, I left my car keys with Cas who’s already in West Virginia. She’s not coming back.”
Yikes.
“Good news, I scored Cas’s mom’s car instead.”
Let’s go! With the help of Cas’s sister, he was able to run over, get their mom’s car, and come back just as Rebecca and I pulled up.
Against all odds we finally load up Mrs. Patterson’s car and plunge ourselves into the heart of West Virginia.
The Gauley River
One of my favorite things is waking up in a tent in the woods. Waking up early doesn’t feel so bad, the birds chirp away, and a brand new day awaits. The whole experience embodies a native feeling of oneness with the earth- it can't be described, only experienced.
The campsite we slept at is a free one in the Gauley River National Recreation Area. A relaxed morning, we eventually find a path that takes us down the steep valley into the Gauley River.
Reaching the riverfront, it looks like we just entered a Jurassic Park movie. Crystal clear water gushes over the car-sized rocks, spread out across a 50 foot wide river. There’s even trees growing on rocks in the middle of the river.
Marveling at the landscape, we find a slower-moving section of water we can hang out in- a space for reflection and conversation. Between the relentless rays of sun, the crashing cold water and the beauty of nature illuminating our beings, it’s a slice of paradise I’ll never forget.
Thoroughly refreshed, we head back to camp to pack up. But the Gauley River is just the appetizer on the trip. The main course is Cantrell Ultimate Rafting. Entering and settling into our Deluxe Amish Cabin, we keep it a low key night. Tomorrow, we go whitewater rafting down the New River Gorge.
Cantrell Ultimate Rafting Experience
9:30am sharp our group of six assembles on the lawn, ready to receive our rafting orders. The trip leader, Mike, gives us instructions to gear up, have fun, and pile onto the school bus. He pokes fun at the culture of West Virginia, delivering gut-busting jokes left and right. It was a treacherous 15 minutes of winding one-way roads down cliffsides (which definitely weren’t built for a school bus), but we arrive safely.
We snap a quick picture then haul the raft down to the water with our new shipmate, Igor, and our rafting guide, Jason. This water isn’t as clear as the Gauley River, but it’s much warmer. We walk the raft into the river, pile in with our paddles, and prepare for a two hour battle between us and the New River Gorge rapids.
Almost immediately we hit rapids- and they’re bigger than the ones in Colorado’s Clear Creek. Right away we’re soaked, but we’re grinning from ear to ear. With the first rapids successfully cleared, we look around to marvel at the house-sized boulders as Jason tells us the mining history and reveals his favorite fishing spots. It’s a perfect day. The sun is shining, we’re having floating on a raft, and the rain from the past week is giving the rapids some “attitude” rarely seen at this time of year.
Towards the end of our rafting trip we spy the New River Gorge bridge, the longest steel bridge in the Western hemisphere and the third highest bridge in the US. To get from one side to the other, it used to take 45 minutes. With the steel bridge, built in 1974, now it takes only 22 seconds! It’s at this point that we jump into the river to swim for a few minutes, right before we take on our last set of rapids.
Fully intact, we reach the shoreline with the bridge towering directly overhead. Another successful whitewater rafting trip in the books (and no lost GoPro!) we climb back onto the bus to head back to camp.
Fayetteville
It’s not quite noon when we get back- we basically have the whole day still ahead of us. Fayetteville is less than a 5 drive down the road, and it was bustling yesterday when we drove in. Featuring thrift stores, ice cream shops, bars and more, it makes for an easy decision.
We browse virtually every thrift store, buy some stickers, and enjoy ice cream cones before heading to the Secret Sandwich Society (yes, we had dessert before our meal). Here I order the Churchill Sandwich- it was so delicious Cas wanted to trade with me! With bellies full and Fayetteville thoroughly explored, we head back to camp.
With the day starting to catch up with us, and with more friends showing up, we toss the frisbee and lounge around the fire the rest of the night. It’s the Fourth of July, and we’re treated to West Virginia’s finest entertainment- kids shooting bottle rockets at each other!
New River Gorge National Park
We wake up on Saturday to a wide open day, so we look up a trail in the New River Gorge National Park. But first, we treat ourselves to breakfast and coffee in one of our favorite places- Cathedral Cafe.
The colored mosaic lightbeams pouring in through stained glass windows create a tranquil and etheric atmosphere. The awesome food and varied specialty drink selection is just the cherry on top. If you stop anywhere in Fayetteville, stop here.
With renewed vigor our caravan heads straight from the cafe to the Endless Wall trailhead. Parking is scarce, but soon enough we’re headed to the Diamond Point Overlook.
Looking out amongst the cliff faces, we spy some chalky handholds- a sign of nearby rock climbers.
No lie, it was kind of scary. Rebecca only pulled one “Don’t fall!” prank, to which Pat replied “I have a knife!”
The temperature has been consistently in the high 80s, low 90s this whole trip. After our hike we’re desperate for somewhere to cool off. Summersville Lake State Park beckons us- and everyone else- on this hot sunny day.
Summersville Lake State Park
Our nine-person squad marches down the short trail headed for the water. I find a few blackberries on the way down and 5 minutes later we’re jumping in the water.
In an attempt to save the narrow shoreline, it’s built up with cubic cages rocks to accompany the large boulders that dominate the landscape. Waves from passing boats are crashing left and right, which makes perching on the rocks harder than it looks. Looking up I see people on slack lines +50 feet above the water, spanning hundreds of feet from one side to the other.
The place is packed, both the shoreline and the water, but we make some space to pass the football around in the water. There’s a long-gone tree sticking up out of the water, and naturally people climb up to do their best cannonball into the deep blue water below.
Thoroughly tuckered out from another full day in nature’s arms, we round up the troops and head back to camp. As midnight approaches and marshmallows are roasted, it doesn’t take long for us to start nodding off beside the fire.
That’s a Wrap!
All things considered, between my broken car, Tanner’s forgotten keys, and the re-introduction of Rebecca, it’d have been easy for this trip to fall apart.
But the best memories are unexpected and always tempt an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve learned instead to sit back, relax, and enjoy what life has to offer. Because as usual, everything works out in the end!
BIG shoutout to Mrs. Patterson for coming in clutch and letting us use(steal) her car- and not be upset about it! :)
