But the curtain is being drawn back on the canyon, because part of it has become America’s 63rd national park. Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Joe Manchin III (D) of West Virginia to reclassify the New River Gorge National River’s 72,186 acres as a national park and preserve. The New River Gorge Bridge spans the canyon 876 feet above the river. New River Gorge Bridge W. VA. Fayetteville Charleston Detail Oak Hill Rainelle New River Gorge National Park and Preserve 5 MILES New River Gorge Bridge W. VA. Fayetteville Charleston Detail Rainelle Oak Hill New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Beckley 5 MILES New River Gorge Bridge W. VA. Fayetteville Charleston Detail Rainelle Oak Hill New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Beckley Keeney Knob 5 MILESThe updated title of park and preserve makes the New River Gorge only the second site outside Alaska to receive that designation. We call West Virginia ‘wild’ and ‘wonderful,’ and this certainly is,” says Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who proposed reclassifying New River Gorge National River as a national park.

Source: Washington Post January 22, 2021 17:02 UTC