Being fortunate enough to live nearby, almost on the precipice so to speak, I ride the area frequently. New River Gorge National Park, long and sinuous, follows the water with a vast amount of beauty and absolutely great riding. There is no single road to follow, with some areas remote and hard to access.“ Cain’ t get thar from here,” we tell bemused folks. I decided to take an all-day ride around the park and follow the drive attraction route on the park map to hit the main locations.

Despite its name, New River is one of the world’ s oldest rivers, predating the Appalachians. Unusual for eastern U. S. rivers, it flows northward because it cut through the mountains as they rose. The national park here in southern West Virginia encompasses more than 70,000 acres and stretches 53 miles from Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park.

I pulled out of my driveway in Edmond, crossed the aforementioned bridge, and followed State Route 16 onto U. S. Highway 60( aka Midland Trail), riding north beyond the park and reaching the town of Gauley Bridge, the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers. Gauley River, known for intense whitewater, draws rafters from around the world for six fall weekends of scheduled dam releases. Having been down it a few times, I can attest to“ intense.” Both the scenic Kanawha Falls and

Clockwise from top left: A kayaker buried in whitewater. Cathedral Falls near Gauley Bridge. Memorial Cemetery for reinterred Hawks Nest workers. Mystery Hole, a quirky and classic roadside attraction. Chimney Corner Cafe, regretfully closed, was a favored biker stop. Below: View of the Hawks Nest dam. The gate to the infamous tunnel, on the right, is clearly open.

Cathedral Falls are located here as well. I stopped at both for a quick photo and a chat with many fellow bikers.

Backtracking on U. S. 60 took me along great twisties, gliding by Chimney Corner Cafe and the bizarre attraction called Mystery Hole, which claims to defy the laws of gravity. A past stop there with biking friends led to such mental disorientation that we had to stroll the parking lot for half an hour before feeling steady enough to ride. I spotted some riders taking a butt break, then reached Hawks Nest State Park, the northern tip of the national park, with a scenic overlook and the river and infamous dam below. This dam was the scene of a terrible 1930s disaster where hundreds of mostly migrant workers died of silicosis while digging a hydro-electric tunnel by hand. As is typical, the cause of the incident and the death toll were vigorously denied at the time. Finally, in 1971, recognition led to the recovery of some workers’ remains, which were reinterred in a nearby memorial cemetery.

RIDERMAGAZINE. COM / SEPTEMBER 2026 / 23