I’ve traveled to quite a few national parks but New River Gorge was an amazing surprise. It’s the newest national park and doesn’t get a lot of attention but it is absolutely stunning. The hiking was amazing, as was the white water rafting. And the nearby town of Fayetteville was a pleasant surprise as well. Hidden gem.
Thank you for reminding me about this! I had forgotten about hearing that it was becoming a national park. I spent a lot of time there in the summers as a kid; my dad really liked white-water rafting and took a part-time gig as a guide in the summer to fund his hobby, and my little brother and I spent weekends at the rafting company campground (the Rivermen? is that still operating?) catching salamanders and begging to go out on the next rafting trip.