A rugged 70,000 acres surround the New River Gorge, some 53 miles of incredible West Virginia whitewater. Most famous for rafting and hiking, the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve protects a diverse population of plants and animals, a handful of historic mining towns and structures, and some of the best whitewater rafting in the world. Here at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, sightseers will not only see one of the largest single-span bridges in the Northern Hemisphere, but a friendly staff of National Park Service rangers who are there to help plan your visit to the Gorge.
   Located near the city of Fayetteville, the Canyon Rim Visitor Center offers a birds-eye-view of the New River and a modern engineering marvel, the New River Gorge Bridge. At the visitor center a boardwalk and stairs lead down to a viewing area, offering a fantastic view of the New River Gorge. The center also offers a trip back in time with local history and the story behind construction of the third-highest steel arch bridge in the United States. Appearing in the need of paint, the rusty looking bridge used Cor-Ten steel for bridge construction. Imagine trying to paint a bridge that is almost 900 feet off the ground. This special steel alloy is protected by a layer of rust, saving a million dollars every time the bridge would have been painted.
   It was not always this easy to cross the New River Gorge on U.S. Route 19, in fact the Gorge Bridge wasn't completed until 1977. What takes less than a minute to drive now, the eight mile route down into the gorge and up the other side takes about 45 minutes. This drive on the 100 year old Fayette Station Road creates a unique experience, a novel way to appreciate the design and construction of the bridge. Scenes from under the bridge and from the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge offer a marvelous perspective of the historic route down under.

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