Canyon Rim Visitors Center

Visiting the Canyon Rim Visitors Center

Learn about the New River Gorge National River inside the Canyon Rim Visitors Center. Stop by the Bookstore in Canyon Rim Visitors Center to shop for gifts and keepsakes to remember your time in the park. Then, head outdoors to see the New River Gorge National River and experience the surrounding plant and animal life.

Canyon Rim Visitors Center Exhibits

Start your time at the Canyon Rim Visitors Center in the auditorium where you can see a slide program that will orient you with the park. The Visitors Center’s exhibit room abounds with photographs and exhibits on the people, places and stories of the gorge. Discover unique stories that combine to form the rich cultural legacy preserved at New River Gorge National River and learn more about the history of the coal, railroad and timber towns, farmsteads, churches, schools and homes that are all a part of the New River Gorge story. Other displays explore the recreational opportunities the park has to offer and the natural history of the area. In addition, visitors can see two videos in the Canyon Rim Visitors Center, one which explores the construction of the New River Gorge Bridge and the other about how the forces of nature carved the massive V-shaped gorge.

New River Gorge and Bridge

Canyon Rim Visitors Center offers magnificent views of the New River Gorge and Bridge. Step onto the back deck of the center to discover a two-mile view that captures the striking size of the gorge with one of the world’s oldest rivers at the bottom. Stretching from one side of the gorge to the other is New River Gorge Bridge, the longest steel span in the western hemisphere, one of the highest bridges in the United States and one of the most photographed landmarks in West Virginia.

Nature

Visitors who wish to enjoy the nature surrounding Canyon Rim Visitors Center can follow a short wooden boardwalk that descends into the gorge. As you wander down the boardwalk you will come across two observation decks which offer unobstructed views of New River Gorge Bridge. Be sure to look out for grey and red foxes jutting through the trees, shrubs and vines; bald eagles soaring overhead; or wood frogs, spring peepers and red spotted newts scurrying along the bed of the forest.

Shopping at Canyon Rim Visitors Center Bookstore

Managed by Eastern National, the Bookstore at the Canyon Rim Visitors Center offers publications specific to the park and surroundings as a service to visitors. A selection of books on cultural and natural history, recreation, environment, and nature; topographic maps of the park; and unique craft items are available to purchase.

Travel Tips

- Park rangers are on hand to provide information about park resources and answer any other questions you may have about the Canyon Rim Visitors Center.

- You can download nature checklists that will help you to better identify the plants and animals you might see during your visit from the National Park Service’s Canyon Rim Visitors Center website.