NEW VEINS WHITEWATER OF THE NEW RIVER GORGE

Have you ever wondered where the highest concentration of whitewater is in the United States? No, it’s not the PNW or even the Southeast USA. Instead, nestled in West Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains lies a wealth of whitewater and a vibrant culture that extends far beyond the Gauley. Corey Lilly shares why the Kanawha River Basin might be the best place to be a paddler in the US, and how the rivers surrounding the newest US national park are helping to carve a new future for West Virginia.

Words: Corey Lilly

It was a profound, spiritual experience ten years ago as I floated the New River Gorge, now the United States’ newest National Park, to the abandoned site of my family’s early 1900s coal town for the first time. Nature had reclaimed the area to the point where I could barely make out the old structures of the mine used during its operations. I walked up from the riverbank to peer through the dense forest. In the distance, I heard a loud horn whistle: A train making its way through the gorge, pulling carts of coal from the dwindling mines of the region. Paddlers, climbers, hikers, and fishermen adventure in the park nearby, and the trains sound their horns to warn of their passing. The tracks run along the river and…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2023

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