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National Park · New River Gorge

Bluestone National Scenic River

Ten miles of protected river in a deep, wooded gorge between Bluestone Lake and Pipestem — the least-visited National Park Service unit in West Virginia and the quietest. Access is by trail from Pipestem or Bluestone State Park, or by the Pipestem tram.

10 mi · Protected riverLow · Visitation

Know before you go

  • The Bluestone Turnpike Trail runs the length of the gorge
  • Smallmouth fishing here is excellent and lightly pressured

What you can do here

Hiking

Year-round

Fishing

Year-round

Canoeing

Apr–Oct

Birding

Year-round, peak May

Nature Observation

Year-round
AdvertiseThis space is available

Guides, gear and lodging near Bluestone National Scenic River

Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.

List your business here

Who looks after it

New River Water Trail Nonprofit Emerging 320+ mile multi-state paddling route with West Virginia access information. Visit Friends of New River Gorge National Park & Preserve Nonprofit Supports the New River Gorge, Gauley River and Bluestone National Scenic River through conservation, recreation and National Park Service partnerships. Visit Meadow River Valley Association Nonprofit Particularly important around the Meadow River Valley and climbing and recreation access. Visit Active Southern West Virginia Nonprofit Free outdoor fitness, hiking, running, paddling and community recreation programming throughout southern West Virginia. Visit Appalachian Headwaters Nonprofit Watershed restoration, reforestation and Appalachian ecological and economic recovery work. Visit New River Gorge National Park & Preserve Federal America's newest national park — 53 miles of protected river, 1,600+ climbing routes, hiking, rafting and mountain biking. Visit Gauley River National Recreation Area Federal 25 miles of the Gauley and 6 miles of the Meadow — the whitewater that defines autumn in West Virginia. Visit Bluestone National Scenic River Federal Ten miles of quiet, wooded, under-visited river gorge below Pipestem. Visit

Nearby in the New River Gorge

Overlook · New River Gorge

New River Gorge Bridge

A 3,030-foot steel arch carrying US 19 some 876 feet above the New River — for decades the longest single-span arch bridge in the world, and still the image most people carry of West Virginia.

876 ft above the river3,030 ft arch span
Trail · New River Gorge

Endless Wall Trail

A 2.4-mile point-to-point trail along the gorge rim through hemlock and rhododendron, crossing Fern Creek on a footbridge and reaching Diamond Point, an exposed rock outcrop with a view up the gorge to the bridge.

2.4 mi point to pointDiamond Point the overlook
Trail · New River Gorge

Long Point Trail

About 3.2 miles round trip on mostly level old roadbed to a rock promontory below the rim, which provides the most-photographed view of the New River Gorge Bridge.

3.2 mi round tripFlat most of the way
Overlook · New River Gorge

Grandview

1,400 feet above a horseshoe bend in the New, with a seven-mile view up the gorge — the widest perspective anywhere in the park.

1,400 ft above the riverLate May rhododendron peak
River · New River Gorge

Sandstone Falls

The largest waterfall on the New River — not tall, but 1,500 feet wide, spilling across the full breadth of the river between islands at the point where the gorge begins to open.

1,500 ft falls width10–25 ft drop
Trail · New River Gorge

Kaymoor Miners Trail

A steep descent from the gorge rim to the ruins of the Kaymoor One coal mine and processing plant, including 821 wooden steps down the former haulage incline.

821 steps2 mi round trip

Almost Heaven Swings