GAULEY BRIDGE, W.Va. (AP) — The first fall rafting season is underway on the New River Dries in West Virginia.
The drawdown of Hawks Nest Lake added a month of fall rafting to New River Dries, which goes through one of the state’s most scenic canyons. the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
Adventures on the Gorge began running guided raft trips through the Dries on Sept. 20 and will continue them two days a week through Oct. 19.
The steepest, narrowest and northernmost section of the New River Gorge, the Dries gets its name from serving as the bypass channel of the New after much is siphoned away at Hawks Nest Dam.
Flow is usually limited in the summer and early fall, but rafting trips were made possible this year by special releases from Hawks Nest Dam that began Sept. 8 to drop the reservoir by 25 feet (8 meters) for maintenance work.
