I was nervous about the zip-lining, not the whitewater rafting.
However, when I told folks about how I was looking forward to trying the latter, more than one said something to this effect:
“You could die.”
OK, I was now nervous about the zip-lining AND the whitewater rafting.
I’d never done either, but both were on the itinerary for three days at Adventures on the Gorge, a 350-acre resort sitting nestled into the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. There, along with zip-lining and rafting, you can hike, bike climb and more, the resort’s website promising more than 50 adventures.
The mid-week, mid-May trip came before the resort’s busy Memorial Day weekend-to-Labor Day weekend busy season, so it wasn’t packed with folks. No complaint here, even if one of its two on-site restaurants wasn’t yet fully operational.
It was still a noteworthy time for both the area and the resort, as the former has been a national park only since late 2020 — before that, it enjoyed status as a national river — and the latter is celebrating its 50th year as a rafting destination.
I arrived on Monday night, after the roughly five-hour drive from Northeast Ohio, most of it via Interstate 77, with rafting slated for the next morning. That the forecast called for heavy rains didn’t exactly ease my increasing concerns about the activity. Sure, I’d quickly be soaked regardless of the weather, but water cascading from the clouds would, I imagined, make the rapids less friendly.
I suspected that were I to be tossed out of the inflated boat, I’d be embarrassed — maybe even get mildly injured — but ultimately be fine. Death? Seems unlikely. Nonetheless, staying in the raft was my top priority.
On what proved to be an overcast but mostly dry day, six of us — three journalists, two marketing folks and our guide, Mike — jumped into the raft. It wasn’t my intention to be in the front, but that’s where I found myself — wearing helmet and life jacket and holding a paddle I’d been given before being bussed to a spot maybe 10 minutes away — as we drifted into the water and onto an hours-long Lower New River route, the resort’s most popular rafting trip.
What a blast! Just the right amount of heart-racing, splashy spots, through which I quickly learned how to lean into the raft to keep from popping out of it, mixed nicely with lengthy calm stretches. Mike was a great host, telling us facts about the area, asking us about ourselves and cracking jokes amid the occasional paddling commands.
The mountain scenery, with its thick tree cover and time-shaped rock formations, is — and you’ll just have to pardon the obvious and oft-used pun — gorge-ous. As we alternatively crept and shot through it, we stopped for a picnic lunch and were offered opportunities to briefly swim next to the raft and to jump off one particular rock into the deep-enough water below.
The zip-lining came two days later, courtesy of Adventures’ two experiences: The TreeTops Canopy Tour and Gravity Ziplines.
The former, which we did in the morning, takes you into a lush forest area as you zip from tree platform to tree platform, being largely responsible for slowing yourself down as near the end of the line.
Yes, the guides have a way to stop you if you fall asleep on the job, and they are ready to go out into the line to retrieve you if you stop well short of the intended destination. This may sound a little intimidating, but you learn everything you need to know in “Ground School,” where your guides show you the ropes on two short lines only a few feet from the ground.
Although I had allowed for the possibility that I would leave all the zipping to other folks — I have a comes-and-goes issue with heights — I quickly realized I had nothing to fear and largely delighted in soaring among the endangered Eastern Hemlock trees the resort folks are working to save.
That said, this isn’t for everybody, with another journalist, who hadn’t zip-lined in years, having a rough go of it and deciding to pass on the afternoon’s fun.
And make no mistake: Gravity Ziplines is fun with a capital Z.
On a private mountain, a brief bus ride away from the resort, resides a zip-line course that throws a total of more than a mile and a half of aerial thrills at you.
After two 500-foot warm-up jaunts, the lines get longer — 1,300, 1,600 and 1,800 feet — faster and higher, as much as 200 feet above ground. And that’s BEFORE the main event.
Gulp.
Gravity’s Adrena-line is a 3,150-foot zip-line that, according to thre resort, is one of the longest and fastest to be found in the United States. Weigh enough and position yourself correctly, and you may hit 65 miles an hour.
My favorite Gravity line was the third, because of the incredible view that opens up in the middle of your journey, but the Adrena-line is something else. You zip long enough that you feel the heat from friction from your gloved hands — similar to the experience when you rappel from the final platform in the TreeTops tour if you take your sweet time.
Want an up-there experience that isn’t so fast? Our group also ventured off-site for the New River Gorge Bridge Walk, in which a guide leads you on a walk on the maintenance catwalk under the 3,000-foot-long, almost-900-foot-high structure. As you’re harnessed in, you take in birds-eye views of the river and its surroundings as you learn about the bridge — completed in 1977 and allowing for much easier crossings of the river than previously existed — and the annual Bridge Day Celebration. During the latter, set for Oct. 21 this year, the bridge is closed, allowing for folks to gather on it — and for some to bungee-jump off it. (Yeah, no thanks. The vibrations caused by the cars and trucks speeding along above me was enough bridge-related excitement for me.)
Perhaps the finest views of the river come in the national park’s Grandview area, where, if you’re willing to do a little uphill walking, you can get a memorable view of the horseshoe-like section of the river.
Whether your adventure comes by land, by sea or by air, you’re likely going to leave with a fondness for the New River Gorge and the country’s newest national park.
Travelers’ checks
About 250 miles from Northeast Ohio, in Fayette County, West Virginia, Adventures on the Gorge offers lots of different types of fun for those who crave the outdoors. Lodging options vary from camping to structures with shared bathrooms to private cabins, such as the two-story, three-bed, one-bathroom Sportsman cabin in which I spent four comfortable nights. Details: adventuresonthegorge.com.
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve details: nps.gov/neri/index.htm.
New River Gorge Bridge Walk details: bridgewalk.com.
— Mark Meszoros
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