I’ve traveled to quite a few national parks but New River Gorge was an amazing surprise. It’s the newest national park and doesn’t get a lot of attention but it is absolutely stunning. The hiking was amazing, as was the white water rafting. And the nearby town of Fayetteville was a pleasant surprise as well. Hidden gem.

  • the_itsb (she/her)@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    Thank you for reminding me about this! I had forgotten about hearing that it was becoming a national park. I spent a lot of time there in the summers as a kid; my dad really liked white-water rafting and took a part-time gig as a guide in the summer to fund his hobby, and my little brother and I spent weekends at the rafting company campground (the Rivermen? is that still operating?) catching salamanders and begging to go out on the next rafting trip.

  • soviettaters@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Fayetteville was an absolute surprise for me. After driving through tons of depressing ghost towns Fayetteville was a fun respite for a while. I never expected to find hipsters deep in coal country.

  • Jeef@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Went there memorial day weekend and it was packed near the visitor center. Was interesting to check out