Are you an adrenaline junkie looking for new thrills? Or are you more into an idyllic mountain getaway where you can relax and commune with nature? Perhaps, a romantic hideaway in a luxury cabin is more your cup of tea.
Whatever your reason or reasons may be, plan a getaway to Adventures on the Gorge in Lansing, West Virginia. Nestled on the rim of New River Gorge National Park, this 350-acre resort offers adventure and relaxation along with breathtaking views of the New River Gorge and its famous, steel-arch bridge.
The gorge has been carved out over millions of years of water flowing down the New River. Don’t let the name “New River” fool you. It’s actually an old river. Some say it’s second only to the Nile River in age. One thing that is new, is the New River Gorge National Park. Created in 2020, this is the United States’ newest national park.
“The best way to enjoy this park,” says, Doug Ludwig, a white water rapid tour guide at the resort, “is to float it.”
Doug, a native of Hurricane, West Virginia, has been running the rapids for over 28 years and has been a part of the outfitters now known as Adventures on the Gorge since 2007. He estimates that he’s taken some 3,000 groups of thrill seekers down the river and over the class three, four, and five rapids through those years.
“It’s in my blood,” he says. “I most enjoy the improv of each tour. You never know who you’ll be guiding. One day it might be bikers and the next it could be Baptists, or Boy Scouts, or bachelors.”
I met Doug when I accompanied my daughter, her husband, and their five sons to Adventures on the Gorge. While my thrill-seeking days are behind me, the rest of the family spent a day on the water. They couldn’t stop raving about the fun and excitement as well as the way Doug had made the event so perfect through both his attentiveness and his stories.
It’s all part of a day’s work, says Doug. “You tell a few jokes you tell a few stories, and keep everyone safe.”
For those who seek additional thrills, Adventures on the Gorge gives guests the chance to soar high above the treetops on the longest and fastest ziplines in the state. The ziplines are longer than the nearby bridge.
Accommodation options include hotel-style cabins and vacation homes, as well as more rustic-style cabins, which offer one room and a path (which leads to the bathhouse). There are also camping and glamping.
If it’s peace and quiet you desire, you can certainly have that. There’s even a beautiful outdoor pool to relax in or by. But let’s face it. Most will come for the thrills on both the New and Gauley Rivers. Doug says that after virtually every trip, he’ll hear such comments as “This is the most fun that I’ve had in forever.”
My daughter, who shot the rapids because the rest of her family did it, and who experienced the thrill of having her raft flip her out into the New River, had a different take. When asked what she enjoyed the most, she replied, “Coming up for oxygen.”
Plan your getaway to Adventures on the Gorge and remember to ask that Doug Ludwig be your guide. For more information, visit AdventuresOnTheGorge.com.
Editorial by Steve Cook; August 2024