The National Park Service (NPS) is constructing a new flagship campground with power and water hookups and drive-in sites for recreational vehicles at the southern end of the New River Gorge National River.
New River Gorge National River © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved
The new Meadow Creek Campground is located on the banks of the New River about two miles downstream of the Sandstone Visitor Center.
The park’s flagship campground will provide expanded amenities to visitors including a variety of individual campsite types and one large group camping site, as well as a number of conveniences including communal water spigots, vault toilets, and a camp host, according to a NPS news release.
The campsites in the first phase of development—four walk-in tent-only sites, 17 drive-in car sites, and five drive-in RV sites—will offer electricity at all sites and individual water hook-ups at some sites. An amphitheater for park interpretive programs and a public boat launch will serve both campers and the general public.
A large group-camping site also is part of the initial development plan scheduled to open to the public in the early summer of 2014.
Meadow Creek will be the first non-primitive campground in the New River Gorge National River and the first to charge fees.
In order to cover the expenses of providing campers with electricity and water, the NPS proposes a per-night fee structure, as follows:
- Walk-in, tent-only site with electricity: $18.00 per night
- Drive-in, car site with electricity: $24.00 per night
- Drive-in, RV site with electricity and water: $28.00 per night
New River Gorge National River © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved
Primitive, no-fee campgrounds are operated by the National Park Service at Army Camp, off SR-41 near Prince; Stone Cliff Beach, off SR-25 near Thurmond; Grandview Sandbar, on Glade Creek Road near Prince; and War Ridge/Backus Mountain, off Backus Mountain Road near McCreery.
Funds have been allocated for planning—but not yet for developing—a second phase of the campground, which would bring the total number of walk-in tent sites to 10, drive-in car sites to 23, and drive-in RV sites to seven, according to Jamie Fields, planner at New River Gorge National River.
For information about RV parks and campgrounds, check out Good Sam RV Travel Guide and Campground Directory.
Details
New River Gorge National River
A rugged, whitewater river flowing northward through deep canyons, the New River is among the oldest rivers on the continent. The park encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along the New River, is rich in cultural and natural history, and offers an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities.
Address: P. O. Box 246, Glen Jean, WV 25846-0246
Phone: (304) 465-0508 (Headquarters); (304) 574-2115 (Canyon Rim Visitor Center); (304) 466-0417 (Sandstone Visitor Center)
Website: nps.gov/neri
A preliminary rendition of the new Meadow Creek Campground showing campsites, amphitheater, and boat launch area. (Source: nps.gov)
Worth Pondering…
Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze
Country roads, take me home
To the place, I be-long
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads.
—John Denver
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