The Best Way to See the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia
If you peer closely, you can see the catwalk directly under the road.
At the end of 2020, the New River Gorge in beautiful West Virginia was designated a national park, making it America’s 63rd national park. One of the highlights of the New River Gorge is the bridge.
Through the construction of this bridge, the commute between the mountains of West Virginia was cut down from forty minutes to one. The access this bridge provides to the locals is immense, and I love that a visit to this park includes driving across it each time.
This bridge, at the time of its creation, was the longest, steel single-span arch bridge in the world. Today, it’s the fourth. It is 3,030 feet long and 876 feet above the rapids below it. It’s taller than the Space Needle in Seattle and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. It comes just shy of the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building.
While you can access these other impressive monuments and buildings by elevator or a long walk up, there is something quite unique about the New River Gorge Bridge that you simply cannot do anywhere else.
The absolute best way to see the New River Gorge Bridge is by walking across it. No, not walking on the road where cars are driving past. Rather, walking directly beneath those cars. I highly recommend a bridge walk when you visit the New River Gorge National Park. You can book a bridge walk here.
The walk is guided and costs $72 with tax. It’s completely worth it. What I also love about this guided tour is that it’s accessible. Everyone can enjoy this experience!
The catwalk is quite wide with railing alongside the entirety of the walk.
Here are a few tips for how to best enjoy your experience walking across one of the coolest bridges you’ll ever explore:
1. Book your tour in the evening – choose the 5pm time slot! The lighting is best and you may catch a glimpse of the sunset, depending on what time of year you go. West Virginia can also get hot, so it’s a great idea to avoid the midday heat if possible.
As we headed off the bridge, we watched the sun set behind the West Virginia mountains.
2. Secure your phone. This sounds obvious, and the Bridge Walk store even sells phone cases to fasten your phone around your neck for $5, but take this seriously. About 5 minutes into our walk, after we were already strapped in, a woman behind me dropped her phone. Casually down 876 feet.
You can bet I held onto my Nikon and iPhone a little tighter the rest of the way.
3. Only take what you need. You will be locked in on a harness for a couple hours, so all you need to have on you is whatever device you’d like to take photos with and remember to wear closed toe shoes.
4. Sit down along the catwalk.
The entirety of the bridge walk is spent walking 3,000 feet across the bridge. How neat is it that you can sit and dangle your feet from this incredible bridge? When your guide allows (usually once you’ve hit the halfway point to be fully above the river), take a seat!
The bridge walk was such a neat experience that is unlike any other national park adventure!
Are you adding a bridge walk to your New River Gorge itinerary? Let me know if you do!
