West Virginia OutsideOutdoor recreation guide
Plan a trip

Home/Places/Sandstone Falls
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. A boardwalk from the parking area reaches the falls without stairs, making it the most accessible major natural feature in the park.

1,500 ft · Falls width10–25 ft · DropBoardwalk · Accessible

Know before you go

  • River Road from Hinton is scenic but narrow and slow — allow 30 minutes
  • The overlook on Route 20 gives the aerial view of the whole falls
  • Smallmouth fishing below the falls is excellent in summer

What you can do here

Outdoor Photography

Year-round

Accessible Recreation

Year-round

Fishing

Year-round

Birding

Year-round, peak May

Hiking

Year-round
AdvertiseThis space is available

Guides, gear and lodging near Sandstone Falls

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

List your business here

Who looks after it

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 National Park Service — Accessibility Federal Accessible facilities, overlooks and programs at New River Gorge and other WV park units. 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 USACE — Summersville Lake Federal The clearest lake in West Virginia and the source of Gauley Season releases — SUP, diving, cliff climbing and camping. 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
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
Overlook · New River Gorge

Nuttallburg

An abandoned coal town at the bottom of the gorge with the most complete surviving coal conveyor and tipple complex in the country — a 1,385-foot inclined conveyor running straight up the hillside, once operated by Henry Ford.

1,385 ft conveyor1870s founded

Almost Heaven Swings