Most folks think of whitewater rafting or kayaking when they think of the New River Gorge—of the New River with its reliable whitewater that lasts all summer long. Or the nearby Gauley River with its fall whitewater season. They think of rock climbing: the hard Nuttall Sandstone in the New River Gorge is featured with cracks and ledges perfect for vertical routes that take you up above the trees. They don’t, however, think of mountain biking. Heck, up until last fall, mountain biking wasn’t even officially allowed within the boundaries of the New River Gorge National River.
Take note: NRG’s bike reputation is changing. And the policy disallowing mountain biking on the New River Gorge National River land? That changed last fall, opening up 65 miles of trails to bikes. Up until then, only a smattering of U.S. National Parks allowed bicycles on a few of their trails—and these weren’t built with the cycling experience in mind. Enter some local activists, members of the National Park Service who love to bike and who live near the New River, the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), and the Boy Scouts. 1,400 Boy Scouts came during July 2011 to move rocks, dig dirt, and chisel out 13 miles of new trails in the New River Gorge National River designed by IMBA. The result has been well received: one local biker calls the new Arrowhead Trails “ribbons of pure fun made from dirt and rocks.” And almost 40 more miles of singletrack have passed the planning stage and are ready to be built. Of course we already had the Fayetteville Town Park trails within a 5 minute pedal from Court Street. And there are more than 25 miles of singletrack open to the public at nearby resorts, scenic trails that border Summersville Lake, and almost 60 miles of trails just an hour from Fayetteville in the Cranberry Backcountry. Which goes to say that the New River Gorge has arrived as a bona fide mountain bike destination. There’s never been a better time to give it a whirl.
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