West Virginia is the commercial rafting capital of the eastern United States. The New River runs big, warm and forgiving in summer and turns serious in spring; the Gauley is a different animal entirely — the Upper Gauley's roughly 100 rapids in 10 miles include five Class V drops, and it runs on scheduled autumn dam releases from Summersville Lake rather than on rain.
For a first trip, the New River is the better choice. The Gauley is the harder of the two rivers, and most outfitters ask for prior rafting experience before taking anyone down the Upper section.
The New and the Gauley differ substantially in difficulty, season and character. The notes below cover which suits a given level of experience.
The Lower New in July or August. Class III–IV, big warm water, forgiving swims, and named rapids ending with Fayette Station directly beneath the bridge. Commercial trips run it daily through the summer with no prior experience required.
Full guide to Lower New River →The Upper Gauley during release season. More than a hundred rapids in ten miles including five Class V — Insignificant, Pillow Rock, Lost Paddle, Iron Ring, Sweet's Falls. Go with at least one previous raft trip behind you.
Full guide to Gauley River →Class III–IV through the same gorge, with lower consequence and often more continuous paddling than the Upper section.
Full guide to Gauley River →Gauley Season lodging within an hour of Summersville books out by midsummer and prices roughly double. If you are flexible, the first release weekend and the last are noticeably quieter than the middle four.
The New River has cut a gorge roughly 1,000 feet deep through Nuttall sandstone, protected since 2020 as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
Cheat River whitewater and rail-trail networkThe northern counties around Morgantown.
Highest terrain, ski areas, wilderness backpackingAll terrain in West Virginia above 4,000 feet lies in this region, including Spruce Knob at 4,863 feet.
The most celebrated whitewater in the eastern United States.
The commercial rafting heart of West Virginia: Class III–IV big-volume water through the deepest part of the gorge, with named rapids including Surprise, Upper and Lower Railroad, Double Z, Greyhound and Fayette Station under the bridge.
One of the classic big-water runs of the East: roughly 11 miles of Class IV–V through a remote gorge below Albright, with named rapids including Big Nasty, Coliseum and Pete Morgan.
The Shenandoah's Staircase rapids above Harpers Ferry give Class I–III whitewater in a resort-town setting, while the Potomac below the confluence spreads wide and slow for tubing and flatwater.
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