The Best New River Gorge Tours: Experience West Virginia!

West Virginia is an adventurers paradise!  And within the state stands one of the nation’s newest national parks, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.  To enjoy this park, you will want to take one of these New River Gorge Tours to get the full experience!

From the world class white water rafting, to their riveting history, to an ATV or Zip Lining Adventure, these New River Gorge Tours aren’t to be missed.  

This article includes affiliate links, meaning I receive a small percentage of your purchase at no additional charge to you.  So let’s dive right in!

White Water Rafting

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve has 2 rivers that are frequently rafted by adventure lovers.  The world class rafting has people returning year after year! Here are 2 ways that you can experience the adrenaline of the New and Gauley Rivers.  

New River White Water Rafting Tour

The first must-do New River Gorge Tours, you’ll be going white water rafting in the New River.  This half day tour has nearly 400 5-star reviews and is recommended by 99% of travelers! 

When you book this 5-star white water rafting tour, you’ll spend 6 hours rafting down the New River and experience up to Class IV rapids!  If you book the 9am tour, a buffet-style sandwich lunch is provided to all rafters.  

Book your New River White Water Rafting Tour here and choose your party size and the perfect date for you!

Gauley River White Water Rafting Tour

If you’ve already done the New River, or you’re an experienced white water rafter, you’ll be looking for the next level of river!  

The Gauley River is only runnable for a few weekends in September and October for what is known as “Gauley Season” by the locals.  This 5-star Lower Gauley Rafting Tour will have you on the water for approximately 6 hours as your skilled guide takes you through Class I, II, III, IV, and even Class V rapids!

People travel far and wide to raft the Gauley River, so to book your Lower Gauley Rafting Tour, click this link!  Now, let’s keep moving onto another New River Gorge Tour with just as much excitement.  

Let’s Drive

As we move forward with our heart-pumping New River Gorge Tours that you should consider, let’s take a look at something a little different.

ATV Adventure Tour

This 3 hour ATV New River Gorge Adventure Tour will have you experiencing the national park in a whole new way!  

This 5-star and 100% recommended tour will start with a safety briefing and then you’re on your way exploring the gorge on an ATV.  The guides are knowledgeable and will lead you for 3-ish hours all around the park.

To book your ATV Adventure Tour, click this link and select your date and party size for a grand adventure in the New River Gorge.  

Side-by-Side Family Tour

The next driving tour is a 5-star Side-by-Side Tour. You’ll be led for approximately 2 hours through the mud of New River Gorge in a top-of-the-line UTV.  

New River Gorge National Park is a huge park. But by booking this Side-by-Side Family Tour you’ll go with a guide through some of the park’s muddiest terrain!

With a 100% recommendation rate, you can’t go wrong with booking this UTV Tour here.  

Zip Lining Tour

A whole different way to experience the New River Gorge is by taking this Zip Lining Canopy Tour.  

On this tour, you will fly over the forest and across Mill Creek on a course with seven ziplines.  You’ll cross multiple platforms and bridges as you soar through the canopy of the New River Gorge.   

Book this 5-star rated New River Gorge Zip Lining Tour here to fly through the trees of West Virginia.    

Haunted Walking Tour of Fayetteville, WV

Now for the final item on our list of New River Gorge Tours, we have a Fayetteville Haunted Walking Tour.   

The town of Fayetteville was established in 1837, so there are some good haunting stories to be told here.  With a group of 20 people (max), your guide will take you to six stops at haunted houses, theaters, and public buildings.  

This 5-star haunted walking tour begins at 8pm and is bookable at this link!

Free Things To Do in New River Gorge

These New River Gorge tours are amazing and you should look further into to experiences. But what if you’re on a budget?

First off, here is a complete guide of New River Gorge.  This will get you started with understanding the layout of the park.  

Secondly, there are loads of trails in New River Gorge and this guide has the best trails in the park to get you started.  

But what else?  Well I HIGHLY recommend stopping at the visitor center and experiencing a Ranger talk!  There are almost daily Ranger talks where they will explain the history or other highlights about the park.  

Another free thing are the informational videos shown at the Sandstone Visitor Center and the Canyon Rim Visitor Center.  These shows are shown every half hour and they are a great source of information.  

And finally, there is a Fayette Station Driving Tour that will lead you from the Canyon Rim Visitor Center down to the base of the New River Gorge Bridge.  This tour is a great place for photos of the bridge and there are informational plaques throughout the area.  

Conclusion

West Virginia’s only national park can be driven and hiked through pretty easily. But if you are looking to level up your adventure, you’ll want to book one (or more) of these New River Gorge tours!

Whether you decided to take a creepy ghost tour in Fayetteville, or chase the adrenaline rush of white water rafting down the New River, you can’t go wrong with one of these tours.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions to averagewildexperience@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to help!

-Happy Adventuring!