Canyon Rim Visitor Center

Canyon Rim Visitor Center is the primary visitor contact station for area information and for interpretation of the natural, cultural, recreational, and historic resources of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Bluestone National Scenic River, and Gauley River National Recreation Area. With an estimated 300,000 visitors each year, the center provides the park with a nationally recognized facility, revealing the beauty of the National Parks of Southern West Virginia to the nation and the world. he visitor center features an exhibit room filled with photographs and exhibits on the people, towns, and industry of the gorge. Other displays focus on the recreation and natural history of the area. Visitors can enjoy an 11-minute video to orient you to all that makes New River Gorge National Park and Preserve such a special and significant place. The most easily recognized attractions of the site are the views of the gorge and bridge. The back deck of the center offers a two-mile view southward into the park. Visitors discover the striking size of the gorge with one of the world's oldest rivers at the bottom. A short boardwalk descends into the gorge to two observation decks which offer unobstructed views of the longest steel arch span in the western hemisphere and the mile wide gorge it spans. A fully accessible ramp provides access to the upper observation deck.