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New River Gorge in winter

By Scott Richardson

May 3^rd, 2024

The beams of my headlights reflected off snowflakes, and I cranked my windshield wipers to full speed to keep up with the falling snow. By 10 PM, the snowstorm threat had turned into a complete whiteout, and I-68 through Maryland turned into a slip and slide each time the road dipped down a hill.

I visited West Virginia's New River Gorge in the spring, summer, and fall. At 500 miles from home, it makes for an ambitious weekend trip, but its rocky gorge, star-lit skies, and forests full of mining history leave a lot of areas to discover on repeat visits.

What I'd yet to see (in person, at least) was the gorge covered in snow. In pictures, the sandstone cliffs poking out of a mosaic of snow-covered trees looked idyllic. But the gorge looked rather dead and unimpressive each winter when I pulled up a live feed from the park service's webcams.

When a winter weather advisory was issued, it seemed like a sure bet that we would finally see New River Gorge's cliffs in a different light.

After work, I left the Philadelphia suburbs and drove for six hours before the snow made the slow drive unbearable. Semi-trucks crawled along the interstate, lanes disappeared under a thick layer of snow, and each turn in the road became a gamble against Mother Nature. By 11:30 PM, I had no choice but to find a safe place to stop for the night, and the quiet parking lot of the West Virginia Welcome Center looked...well, welcoming.

Early the following day, a plow had cleared enough snow to keep going. Two miles down the interstate, a semi-truck with a smashed front end sat abandoned in the grass near the road. A half dozen more cars had crashed along my route, including a fresh scene I stumbled across where a pickup misjudged an icy bridge joint and smashed into its barrier.

The Endless Wall Trail offers a stunning view of the gorge in any season, but the contrast of its ancient sandstone cliffs against the ethereal coating of snow was truly magical.

Getting to that view was another story.

Blooming rhodendrons make hiking through this part of the park spectacular in early summer. But the heavy snow weighed down its branches, creating a maze to navigate while staying on the muddy trail.

With snow so fresh that it was still falling, I enjoyed a view of white-covered trees throughout the gorge. The forest's flatness took on dimension as sunlight peaked through the mostly cloudy sky, accentuating the icy branches.

I continued to explore the gorge, making my way to Grandview to see how snow affected its magnificent view of the river as it snaked its way through the valley, but my first view ultimately ended up being the best.

I camped near the river, insulated from the wind and bitter cold of the canyon's rim. After exploring the rim again in the morning, I realized my hasty decision to drive through a snowstorm to experience the fresh snowfall was the right decision as the gorge faded to its usual muted winter landscape.