Ah, summer.  It’s time to put the top down, or jump on your hog, or load up the family truckster and get out of town.

You know a place that’s perfect for that?  The New River Gorge.

You are here. Well, you could be.

Here’s our favorite driving tour:
• Start the tour with the Canyon Rim Visitors Center.  There’s a great boardwalk overlook of the big bridge, and a great gift shop.  Check out the museum, which has 3 or 4 exhibits on local history, plus a movie!  Learn about stuff.
• Drive down the gorge to the bottom, and walk around next to Fayette Station rapid.  Throw rocks in the river.
• Drive up the other side of the gorge into Fayetteville.  There are art galleries, boutiques, gear shops, and restaurants.  Lots of restaurants.  Chow down.
• Take Rt 16 out of Fayetteville and stop at the New River Dries.  This is a section of river that is dammed up, so you can often see the riverbed.  If there’s been a lot of rain, though, one of the best surfing waves in the world appears out of nowhere.  Watch for kayakers.
• Follow the road to Chimney Corner for a quick stop at the gift shop, and then head East on RT 60.  As you near the town of Ansted, you’ll see the a quonset hut with a VW crashed into the side and a giant gorrilla sitting on top of it.  That’s the Mystery Hole.  Stop.  Experience the mystery.
• Just up the road a piece from the Mystery Hole is Hawks Nest State Park.  Behind the lodge is a tram that will take you down to the river, where you can ride on the New River Jet Boat.  Jet up the gorge.
• Stop in Ansted for a tour at Blue Smoke Salsa and Gift Baskets.  Robin Hildebrand, the owner, makes all natural stuff that’s beyond delicious.  Chow down again.
• When you get to US 19, go north until you get to Songer.  Pull in, chill out and relax.  Go whitewater rafting with us.  Enjoy.
• Done.