FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY)—On December 27th, 2020, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve became the newest national park in the country. The park goes along the New River for 53 miles from Hawk’s Nest to Hinton and spans over 70,000 acres.
While it’s the fourth anniversary of the national park, the river itself has been a national river since 1978. However, since its designation as a national park in 2020, the park now encompasses more of the surrounding area than just the river itself. With that, it brings more visitors to southern West Virginia.
The amount of visitors coming into the Canyon Rim Visitor Center alone has over doubled throughout the year.
“It has been so amazing to see how many more people are coming to the area because of the designation change,” said Jodi French-burr, Park Ranger with NRGNPP. “People from all over the country and the world are stopping in and exploring. We’re a little more on people’s radar than we were with the initial designation of the park. When you look at national parks, there’s over 19 different categories that parks fit into what national parks are the most famous; and that’s the thing that is attracting so many more people to the area. It really is doing a lot, not only for the park but for the local economy as well.”
While the designation has boosted the economy with a variety of activities, the park service has a more meaningful purpose.
“Across the country, there’s over 420 national park service sites, and each one preserves a little piece of America’s heritage” explained French-Burr. “At one site, it might be cultural elements, at another site, it might be the natural diversity there or the things that you can do. You know, every one of these has a different piece. Tell us a little bit more of America’s story. That’s what national park service sites are all about, preserving that heritage so we can explore it and enjoy it now, but it’s preserved for the future as well. So the next generations can enjoy these experiences as well.”
The park service hopes everyone can come and enjoy the culture and history of this park.
