Where there are mountains, there are white water rivers. It has long been said that West Virginia contains some of the very best white water rafting rivers and rapids in the country. The most popular rivers in West Virginia are the New River and Gauley River. Combined the New River Gorge National River and the Gauley River National Recreation Area are the largest federally protected watershed in the Eastern United States. An economy once dependent on coal mining, West Virginia white water rafting now welcomes tourists from all over to participate in recreational opportunities in their playful, and gorgeous "mountain momma" landscape. Perhaps the most photographed scenes in all of West Virginia, the New River Gorge Bridge, celebrates its creation on "Bridge Day" every October by BASE jumping or bungee jumping from its structure into what is nick-named "The Grand Canyon of the East". The friendly folks in West Virginia know how to play and make some fun with zipline canopy tours through ancient forests, rock climbing and mountain biking, and their love for thrills in pumping heart of it all: white water rafting in their great state of West Virginia.
The New River draws many first timers on the upper section, while the lower section draws the more experienced or adventurous. The lower section of the New River below the iconic New River Gorge bridge, takes on several tributary waters and holds what may be the highest all-season whitewater volume in the Eastern United States. The lower section ends with a stunning river-level view of the New River Gorge Bridge - the fourth longest and third highest single span arch bridge in the world. The New River meets the intense Gauley River and form the Kanawha River that flows to the Ohio River, the Mississippi and into the Gulf of Mexico.
White water rafting in West Virginia is perhaps most famous for the intense Gauley River (known as the "Beast of the East") with five Class V rapids and more than 100 rapids in all. Rafting the Gauley River Is dependent on dam releases from the Summersville Reservoir, so the season is only between Labor Day and October. But the short season is still enough to put the Gauley white water run on the top of the list for best river rafting in the world.
