Heading to the gorge this fall? Here's what's changed. Downtown gained a 40-room hotel in the old school when Hill Hall opened on August 28. The August 15 and 16 flash floods closed several river-level park roads, and Fayette Station Road and Glade Creek Road still had no official reopening as of September 22. The Rend Trail is closed until late 2027, and Bridge Day, the gorge's biggest party, is Saturday, October 17. Every item below is dated and linked to its source, newest first.
For park hours and rules, see the New River Gorge National Park guide; for trail-by-trail status, the trails guide; and for a room, Hill Hall included, the hotels guide. Fall weekends book up fast, so the map on this page shows live prices near town for Bridge Day and beyond.
Coming up this fall
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October 5 to mid-November: Burnwood group campground and the Burnwood Trailhead restrooms close for water-line replacement. (NPS alert)
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October 16: Taste of Bridge Day, 5 to 9 PM at Adventures on the Gorge; free entry, food samples $4 to $12. (Bridge Day organizer)
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October 17: Bridge Day, 9 AM to 3 PM. U.S. 19 and the bridge close to traffic 7 AM to 5 PM; the final Gauley release weekend falls on the same days. (WOAY)
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October 25: Last weekend of the season at Thurmond Depot Visitor Center (weekends only since September 12) and last day at Grandview Visitor Center, which closes October 26 until May 27, 2027. Grandview's overlooks stay open. (NPS Data API)
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End of October: West Virginia American Water's $512,000 main replacement on Fayette Avenue, Sarah to Huse streets, is due to finish; work runs weekdays 7:30 AM to 5 PM. (West Virginia American Water)
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November (tentative): Park Service demolition of park-owned structures in Thurmond and at Prince could begin, WOAY reported on September 16. (WOAY)
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November through March: Cunard Road closes below the Brooklyn Mine Trail parking for the winter, part of a road project running through 2027. (NPS closures page)
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November 19: The weekday (Monday to Thursday) closure of the upper Kaymoor Miners Trail is scheduled to end (the trail's own page says November 14). (NPS alert)
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Late fall: Kobe Asian Fusion of Fayetteville plans a second location at Shady Spring Plaza in Beaver. (Lootpress)
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Christmas (hoped): The Historic Fayette Theater, dark since March for a $500,000 renovation, hopes to reopen with a Christmas production; its board says a spring 2027 show is a sure thing. (Register-Herald via Yahoo)
September 2026: Gauley season and reopenings
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September 22: The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for south-central Fayette and central Raleigh counties until 11:45 PM. Flooding was already reported in Beckley, and the warning named Mount Hope and parts of Route 19 and I-64. Check road status before driving into the gorge afterward. (Lootpress)
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September 16: WOAY reported that the Park Service's plan to demolish historic structures in Thurmond is accelerating and could start as soon as November. (WOAY)
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September 15: State paving outside Canyon Rim Visitor Center began; the entrance from U.S. 19 may close at times. The NPS detour is Lansing-Edmond Road, the next road north, then right at the next intersection. (NPS alert)
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September 11: Gauley season opened: 22 release days over six weekends, with Gauley Fest at Summersville September 17 to 20. WV Explorer reported bookings about 10 percent ahead of 2025. (WV Explorer)
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September 5: The law firm Bailey & Glasser agreed to represent the Town of Thurmond without charge against the planned demolitions; no federal complaint had been filed. NPS has kept three structures off the list (the Marilyn Brown House, the Ice House and the Dun Glen Ark). (WV Explorer)
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September 4: The Outpost campground at 843 Fayette Station Road fully reopened after flood damage; it had partly reopened August 28. (The Outpost)
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September 3: Keeneys Creek Road to Nuttallburg reopened, along with Masons Branch Road in the Gauley River NRA. Brooklyn Campground is open and Cunard Road is open on one lane through a short section. (WVNS via Yahoo)
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September 1: Groundbreaking at Minden for the $11.8 million Rend Trail rebuild (the Gazette-Mail's headline says $20 million): five 1906 trestles, retaining walls, a reroute around Big Rock and both trailheads. (NPS)
August 2026: the floods and Hill Hall
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August 31: NPS announced it will offer competitive leases on historic and non-historic park structures ([email protected]); no properties or deadlines were posted. (WOAY)
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August 28: Hill Hall Hotel opened in the former school at 135 High Street, Fayetteville: 40 rooms from $225 a night, with Patsy's restaurant. (PR Newswire)
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August 20: The Outpost campground on Fayette Station Road closed temporarily after flood damage. (Lootpress)
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August 19: State tourism released its 2026 fall foliage map, with weekly updates from mid-September. (WV Explorer)
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August 19: Nuttallburg Road was reported closed indefinitely pending state highway repairs and Glade Creek Road closed past Grandview Sandbar with no timeline; some trail washouts would take months, NPS told MetroNews. Grandview Sandbar campground stayed open. (MetroNews)
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August 18: The Park Service extended the Fayette Station Road closure from Teays Landing to the start of the two-way section. No reopening notice has been published, though park alerts no longer list the closure. (WOAY)
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August 17: A state of emergency remained in effect for all 55 West Virginia counties, Lootpress reported; West Virginia Watch reported that a woman died in Fayette County when her vehicle was swept away near Pax. (Lootpress)
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August 15 and 16: Flash floods hit the gorge; MetroNews put rain totals across the region at 6 to more than 11 inches. Nuttallburg Road washed out, trees blocked Fayette Station Road, slides closed Cunard Road and Brooklyn Campground, and Glade Creek Road closed. (WV Explorer)
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August 12: A slide just beyond Grandview Sandbar Campground closed Glade Creek Road, and the campground closed until crews cleared the road, days before the bigger floods. (WOAY)
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August 11: Thurmond's town council voted to seek pro bono counsel and act as plaintiff against the Interior Department over the demolitions. (WV Explorer)
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August 3: The Rend Trail closed from both Thurmond and Minden for its rehabilitation; NPS expects it to reopen in fall or winter 2027. (NPS)
June and July 2026: summer shows and a new festival
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July 31 to August 1: The first Boots in the Gorge country music festival ran at ACE Adventure Resort. (Boots in the Gorge)
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July 26: Lootpress published Acting Superintendent LaPrice's July 15 letter moving ahead with demolitions in Thurmond and at Prince, tentatively from November 2026. (Lootpress)
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July 10: Fayetteville won $325,000 for a pedestrian bridge on Second Avenue and $62,500 for sidewalks; no construction dates were announced. (WVVA)
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July 6: The Church Loop Trail at Thurmond closed because of downed trees, and it's still listed closed. (NPS alert)
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July 1: A new Superintendent's Compendium took effect, signed by Acting Superintendent Eric G. LaPrice (drones, camping, pets and alcohol rules). (NPS)
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June 19: Theatre West Virginia opened the 65th-anniversary season of Honey in the Rock at Grandview; it ran to July 18. (WV Public Broadcasting)
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June 15: The upper Kaymoor Miners Trail began closing Monday to Thursday for rehabilitation, as it did in 2025. (NPS alert)
January to May 2026: a top-destination nod
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March 31: U.S. News named the New River Gorge the top underrated U.S. destination, announced at Canyon Rim. (WOAY)
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March 30: The state began resurfacing U.S. 19 from the bridge north to the Hico exit, with guardrail work and three turn-lane extensions, through at least June 2027. (WOAY)
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March 27 to 29: The Historic Fayette Theater held its last shows before closing for a $500,000 renovation. (Register-Herald via Yahoo)
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March 13: The Park Service reported record visitation at New River Gorge in 2025, about 1,958,440 recreation visits. (NPS)
2025: Bridge Day in a shutdown, and new things in town
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November 18: The state awarded West Virginia Paving a $20.4 million contract for turn lanes, median barrier, paving and guardrail on the bridge. (WCHS)
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October 31: Wanderlust Creativefoods on Maple Avenue closed. (Lootpress)
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October 18: Bridge Day went ahead during the federal shutdown: 315 BASE jumpers, 752 jumps and more than 100,000 spectators by WVU's estimate (the governor's office said more than 120,000). (Bridge Day organizer)
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July 24: NPS released its finding of no significant impact, signed July 18, for removing unsafe or excess historic structures, including buildings in Thurmond. (NPS)
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July 7: A bike skills area opened at Fayetteville's Town Park. (NRGRDA)
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May 9 and 10: Summersville Lake State Park opened three campgrounds: 38-site Overlook, 9-site Deer Run and 18-site Joe Branch. (Governor's office)
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April 16: The Hawks Nest aerial tram replacement had its towers and cable up and a terminal bid awarded, the Gazette-Mail reported, expecting it to open in late 2025 or early 2026. It hasn't opened yet. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
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March 24: Cunard Road reopened after a winter closure for federal road work, one lane under a temporary signal. (NPS)
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March 11: The park's 2024 visitation was reported as a record 1,811,937. (WVVA)
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February: Don Rizo Mexican Kitchen at 312 North Court Street was reported closed; Tequila Taco Bar later opened at the same address. (Visit Fayetteville)
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January: Superintendent Charles Sellars left New River Gorge for Great Smoky Mountains; the park has had acting superintendents since. (NPS)
2024: pump tracks, bike stations and a new plan
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November: Cunard Road closed for the winter for federal road and drainage work. (NPS)
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September 11: The Town of Fayetteville's comprehensive plan update reached its final draft, with goals on housing, parking, walkability and the off-season. (Town of Fayetteville)
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July: Ground was broken on the $8 million replacement of the Hawks Nest aerial tram, closed since 2021. (MetroNews)
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June: Bike-repair stations were dedicated at the Arrowhead and Rend trailheads. (NPS)
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March: Town Park's paved pump track opened to the public. (NRGRDA)
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January to early March: Canyon Rim Visitor Center closed for renovation and new exhibits; Sandstone stayed open. (NPS)
Is Fayette Station Road open?
Probably, but not officially. The Park Service closed the loop from Teays Landing to the two-way section on August 18 and hasn't announced a reopening. The good signs: the park's live alerts no longer list a Fayette Station closure, its September 15 detour for the Canyon Rim paving sends drivers onto Fayette Station Road, and the Fayette County Chamber is still selling seats on its Bridge Day "Into the Gorge" ride down to the river. Call Canyon Rim at 304-574-2115 before you plan the drive; the Fayette Station Road page has the route: eight twisting miles down to the river and three trips under the big arch.
Is the Hawks Nest tram open?
Not yet. The aerial tram wasn't running as of September 22, 2026, and some online guides wrongly say it reopened in 2025. The old tram closed in 2021, work on its $8 million replacement started in July 2024, and an April 2025 Gazette-Mail story expected it to open in late 2025 or early 2026. Call the park at 304-658-5212 before you count on a ride, and see the Hawks Nest State Park page for everything else there is to do.
What's happening in Thurmond?
The Park Service plans to demolish a set of park-owned structures in and near the old railroad town; published counts run from 12 put out to bid to about 20 slated. Thurmond's town council voted on August 11 to seek counsel and a restraining order, a law firm agreed on September 5 to represent it, and on September 16 WOAY reported that demolition "could begin as soon as November." The good news for visitors: the depot visitor center and Commercial Row, the brick buildings lined up along the tracks, aren't on any published demolition list, so this fall is still a fine time to go. The full account is in the Thurmond demolition story.
