New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Join us during Women's History Month and America's 250th with a program celebrating the women who have called the New River Gorge home. This one hour program will cover how the nurses, homemakers, farmers, and other women have influenced life in this region.

Program will take place in the theater at Canyon Rim Visitor Center. 

Join us during Women's History Month and America's 250th with a program celebrating the women who have called the New River Gorge home. This one hour program will cover how the nurses, homemakers, farmers, and other women have influenced life in this region.

Program will take place in the theater at Canyon Rim Visitor Center. 

See what’s blooming in the New River Gorge, plus hear the stories behind these Appalachian beauties, their folklore of uses and stories

Meet in theater inside Canyon Rim Visitor Center

Meet at the Brooklyn trailhead for a wildflower hike on the Southside Trail; This is a partner program with Active Southern West Virginia. approximately 3 miles

2.5 miles.
The big bloom hike is back! Join rangers and naturalists on a leisurely hike from Grandview top down to the New River, finding wildflowers and other natural wonders along the way. Over 60 blooming wildflower species are usually seen on this hike. Be prepared for some steep terrain as we travel down an old dirt road, the Little Laurel Trail. A free return shuttle will be provided back to the top of the gorge. Wear hiking boots. Bring water, snack, and favorite nature ID tools.

Meet at Grandview picnic shelter #4

RESERVATIONS requested for shuttle bus by April 10; email dave_bieri@nps.gov with name, number in your party, and phone number.

1.5-mile easy to moderate off trail hike.

Walk near the New River to explore the old logging town site of Hamlet, once a booming town of the New River Gorge. See evidence of this once-thriving industrial town. Wear pants and sturdy hiking shoes; bring water and a snack.

Meet at Glade Creek Trailhead. 6 miles from Prince near the Glade Creek Campground

1 mile walk

Take a different sensory look at nature, letting it inspire your creativity through the sights and sounds found around Glade Creek at the peak of the spring season. Peace can be found where nature abounds, so join Poet Paula Lepp and Volunteer Jodi French-Burr to guide us closer to such serenity. We’ll explore the area on a level but off-trail walk in search of true community connections and inspiration at Hamlet’s large bluebell patch and along the babbling waters of Glade Creek. Hear poems and learn how writing poetry and nature journaling can help us explore our connections to such places. After the walk, there will be a short poetry/journaling mini workshop with opportunities to further your own creativity by writing/journaling, or if you wish, to simply be nourished by the time shared with others in nature. Wear hiking boots and bring water. Bring journaling and writing tools or some will be available.

Glade Creek Trailhead at the end of Glade Creek Road near Glade Creek Campground, 6 miles from Prince

Join a ranger at 10:00 for programs about various topics. Topics vary daily. Check the "whats happening today" board at Canyon Rim Visitor Center or ask a ranger for the topic of the day and the program starting location. 

Unlike many turn of the century towns in New River Gorge, Thurmond was a railroad town instead of a coal town. For years, this small town brought in millions of dollars for the C&O Railway with a bustling downtown district and trains rolling through every 15 minutes. Now, over 100 years since the boom time of Thurmond, the town is all but abandoned. Join a ranger as you walk through the remnants of the downtown district while learning more about this unique place and the people who lived there. This outdoors walking tour will cover approximately 0.25 miles one way on mostly flat paved and graveled walkways. Some terrain may become slightly uneven. Good shoes, water, a hat, sunscreen, and insect repellent are recommended. The path through town is located directly next to active CSX railroad mainline; loud freight trains may be encountered during the tour.

Meet at the Thurmond Depot Visitor Center. The road to Thurmond is narrow and winding; RVs and trailers are not recommended on this road. Since parking is limited at the depot, overflow and large vehicle parking is available across the river in the Dunglen area. Visitors in this parking lot can access the town by walking across the road bridge.

Unlike many turn of the century towns in New River Gorge, Thurmond was a railroad town instead of a coal town. For years, this small town brought in millions of dollars for the C&O Railway with a bustling downtown district and trains rolling through every 15 minutes. Now, over 100 years since the boom time of Thurmond, the town is all but abandoned. Join a ranger as you walk through the remnants of the downtown district while learning more about this unique place and the people who lived there. This outdoors walking tour will cover approximately 0.25 miles one way on mostly flat paved and graveled walkways. Some terrain may become slightly uneven. Good shoes, water, a hat, sunscreen, and insect repellent are recommended. The path through town is located directly next to active CSX railroad mainline; loud freight trains may be encountered during the tour.

Meet at the Thurmond Depot Visitor Center. The road to Thurmond is narrow and winding; RVs and trailers are not recommended on this road. Since parking is limited at the depot, overflow and large vehicle parking is available across the river in the Dunglen area. Visitors in this parking lot can access the town by walking across the road bridge.