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July 4th weekend at Songer. Bang! Bang!

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Rafting fun on New River

We just received confirmation from the professional “blower-uppers” to have Songer Whitewater’s annual fireworks show on Friday, July 3rd at dusk.  This will make for an action packed weekend. Saturday afternoon we will have DJ Judd and his inflatable games, fantastic door prizes, scavenger hunt, cotton candy & snow cones!

Friday evening gather on the lawn for the fireworks show around 9:30pm.  Then followed by two bands in the High Water Lounge: Center Street & Saxx!! Look out, Mo-town is coming to Fayette County!

Saturday will be filled with lots of rafting trips and an afternoon of games, prizes & DJ Judd playing from 4-9pm.  The Wild Rumpus (local favorite!) will play that evening in the High Water Lounge, 9-midnight.

This is one of my favorite weekends at Songer and I am really looking forward to this years arrangement of activities.  If you are looking to fit whitewater rafting in, I HIGHLY suggest doing an evening Dinner Trip on Friday, spending Saturday in Historic Downtown Fayetteville at the fair & then the late afternoon/evening back at Songer’s basecamp.

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Posted in Area Information, New River Rafting, Things to Do | 1 Comment »

New River Gorge Rock Climbing

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

April and May, A good time to go Climbing?????

You Bet It Is!!!!

One of my favorite times of the year in the New River Gorge is the spring. Everywhere you look the flowers are blooming, trees budding and starting to “green up”. The Gorge is turning various shades of lime green and it’s amazing!

The temperature is perfect, usually ranging from 50′s to 70′s, with occasional 80 degree days. Did I mention, little or no humidity! Great for rafting, but even better for rock climbing. These are the conditions that climbers’ dreams are made of.

Imagine walking along miles of cliff line and the only other thing you see are deer running through the woods, the chipmunks in the trees raising a ruckus and the birds above, catching the wind thermals. The rock is cool. The friction is amazing. There are over 1,800 different routes from which to choose. It is just you and your partner facing the challenges that lay ahead of you.

I love the spring time in the Gorge!

Special guest blogging with Erin of Hard Rock Climbing Services

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Great Area Lodging – The Morris Harvey House

Monday, April 6th, 2009

I had the pleasure of visiting the Morris Harvey House B&B in downtown Fayetteville, WV.  New owner Bernie Kania gave me a tour of the six bedrooms, most with full baths as well as the public areas of the home.

Built in 1902 for Morris Harvey and his bride Rosa, the house has been restored to the period with antiques throughout.    Morris was a famous banker, churchman, sheriff of Fayette County.  They had a happy marriage and life in the home.  I didn’t see any ghosts but it was day light.

Bernie is a blast.  He spent his childhood in the area and returned for his “retirement”  from Virginia Beach.  He talked about recapturing small town life.   He cooks up a great breakfast, does some cleaning with help from his son, keeps the books, takes reservations, and lives out back in case guests need something.  Do you call this retirement??

The Morris Harvey House is a great place to spend a few nights while visiting the area.  We will have rafting packages with him, you can visit the unique restaurants and shops in Fayetteville or just hang out on the front porch.  

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Spring in New River Country

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Ski resorts are closed. Snow is melting. Daffodils are blooming. Red Bud and Maple trees are in bud. What does this mean? Spring has sprung in West Virginia. Yep, and the rafts are being blown up and are getting wet. Whitewater rafting season is here!!!!

Songer Whitewater has been on the river since March 14 with hardy rafters. People have a pent up desire to get out and play. The guys and girls on March 13 (camping in tents) woke to 6 inches of fresh snow. Though it warmed up nicely that afternoon and the snow melted, giving them great water conditions on Saturday. They loved it!!!

Spring here in New River Country is value season. Great water and rates make it an excellent time to visit in West Virginia. Waves are 4 to 6 feet high with great hydraulics to blast through.

What else is there to do while you are here? Let me suggest something. Our state park system has been rated one of the best in the nation. With natural beauty, scenic sites and historic wonders, visiting these parks should be on your list to do when in our area.

Hawk’s Nest Park has a nice tram ride down into the gorge to the river. Carnifex Ferry Battlefield Park is a historical site telling of the Civil War battles that raged here almost 150 years ago. Babcock Park has a working grist mill that shows how early settlers ground grain into flour. All are within 20 minutes of Songer Whitewater.

Babcock holds a special place in my heart. As a young boy growing up here, my friends and I swam in the creek just below the mill. The dam is still in place that created our swimming hole. Even in August, that water was cold!!, but huge fun!!

Guess what else makes these park special? Entrance is FREE!! Just the right price during these difficult times.

Come out and play in West Virginia and enjoy the great whitewater and our parks. You won’t be disappointed.

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New River Water Levels Part 2

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

In my last post, I discussed, “How high is the water”? With that discussion, the various gauges used to determine the level on the New and Gauley Rivers were the focal point. When we have rain events, these gauges become our eyes to what is coming our way over the next few days.

As I write this, March 29, these gauges are all on the way up. Recent rains in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia have dropped a lot of rain in our watershed. It has rained for a couple of days now and all of the creeks and small streams have extra water. With this scenario, both the New and Gauley Rivers are at or above normal spring levels.  This week Songer Whitewater has trips on the New River and if the water gets too high, we may take our trips to the Gauley River.

Today, Sunday, is normally a day off to do household chores, visit friends or watch the NASCAR race. This Sunday I watched the gauges all day to see what is going on with the rivers. (I did keep up with the race.) Using gauges from the Army Corps of Engineers, US Geological Survey and driving down to Fayette Station to look at New River, it is quite easy to see the river is cranking!!

These gauges are placed at strategic points on the New, Gauley, Greenbrier, Meadow and Bluestone Rivers and give you a sense of how high the water is and how fast it is going up. If you saw the first post, I talked about how we measure water in CFS (cubic feet per second). A cubic foot of water is about the size of a regulation basketball. Right now the New River is at 26,000 cfs. That translates to about 10 feet on the Fayette Station bridge. Yee Haw!!

For those of you who have rafted the New, Whale Rock goes under water at that level! So big waves and holes all along the river from Thurmond to Fayette Station. The Gauley is running 3700 cfs from Summersville Dam and over 7000 at Belva on the Lower section. This is well above our fall level of 2800 cfs. The Upper is too high for commercial trips with the combined flow from the Meadow River. Boy, the Lower is a blast at that level.

If you are thinking of rafting these spring levels, now is the time to call and save yourself a seat on one heck of a roller coaster.

Well, that about sums up my Sunday and how even on a day off, I am looking at “How high is the water?”.

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Gauley River Rafting, New River Rafting, Things to Do | No Comments »

Motorcycle Touring In West Virginia

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

West Virginia and Motorcycles, what do they have in common? The most fun you can have legally!! Just got back from a two hour motorcycle ride on my Harley Softail Duece crusing through Fayette and Nicholas Counties.

Backroads TouringDuring that time, I crossed and rode beside three major rivers and one of our largest lakes. How did I do that? Started in Fayetteville and blazed on some cool roads. Crossed New River twice, Meadow River once and then Gauley River twice. Even crossed Summersville Lake twice too!  Cool huh?

What a great Sunday afternoon!! Crusing on my bike enjoying the sights and scenes of these river systems. All of which contribute to the great whitewater we have in West Virginia.

Along the way I passed through or near three state parks and two national parks. State parks, Hawk’s Nest, Babcock and Carnifex Ferry Battlefield and National parks, New River Gorge National River and Gauley River National Recreation Area were all on my route.  The ride offered great elevations and awesome twisting curves on well paved roads.

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Birding Festival and a Half-Marathon Trail Race with a 3 Mile Fun Walk

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

The New River Birding & Nature Festival will be from April 27th – May 2nd. This week of field trips takes you to all the premiere birding spots in the New River Gorge and the evening are filled with guest speakers and wonderful dinners. You can attend all week, half of the week or for just a day or two.

Tues. April 28th will be the “Bird by Boat” (that’s were Songer comes in to help). We meet at Songer’s base camp at 6am & are shuttled to the river. Each raft has a Bird Guide and a Raft Guide (who does all the paddling on the very flat, calm river section). The birding guide will be naming bird songs from all around! The float finishes at Hawks Nest State Park where lunch is served picnic style. You then return to Songer by early afternoon.

There are great lodging options in the area. Songer Whitewater has Cabins on Miller Ridge www.wvcabinrental.com for the deluxe accommodations.

All the details can be found at www.birding-wv.com
The Babcock Gristmill Grinder is a true West Virginia running challenge as you wind your way through the hills and around the historic gristmill. This year’s race will be in the Trail Runner Magazine “Trophy Series” and the Blue Ridge Magazine “Cup Series.”

Babcock State Park is approximately 15 miles from Songer Whitewater and would be a great compliment to your race time in West Virginia. Check out all the details at www.gauleyrace.com/babcock

We will be cheering you on here at www.SongerWhitewater.com !!
Let me know if I can help you with any questions, Melanie@songerwhitewater.com

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Use our Event List to help you choose when to come.

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Our season will begin with BIG water! April 4th & 5th will be the Open Weekend with raft trips on the New River. What’s great about the Songer Outfitter location is that we are close enough to the Gauley River to offer trips there in the spring instead of the New River. Stay connected through our Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter and this Splash Report to keep tabs on water levels.

The first two weekends in May will be the most likely time to catch a trip on the Gauley. The Army Corp. of Engineers holds water back in Summersville Lake in the month of April. They hope to have it filled by April 30th allowing for water releases the beginning of May. So, there will be a great rate on camping, meals & rafting on the Gauley May 2nd & May 9th.

One of the events I am really looking forward to this year is West Virginia Day!! June 20th (Sat.) is WV’s birthday and we are going to have an evening of good ol’ fun. Maybe WV ghost stories? Banjos? Mason jars? Horseshoes?

June 27th will be our annual Songer Olympics!! Hilarious! Obstacle course with worthy prizes.

This year Independence Day falls on a Saturday. July 4th will have our traditional celebration with inflatable games, cotton candy, snow cones, candied apples, DJ Judd, cookout, door prizes, scavenger hunt and a huge fireworks show!! Since this is on a Saturday this year, we will probably get booked up on river trips. If you want to join us for this weekend, please make a reservation as soon as possible. Especially if you want a hot tub with that weekend!

We will have motorcycle rides going on through out the summer. Please inquire with our office if you wan to ride across the New River Gorge Bridge on Bridge Day, Oct 17th pretty awesome!

And we don’t want the season to end. The weekend after Bridge Day we will host a Fall Festival. Oct 24th will include a full dinner & games with your rafting trip; pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, horseshoes & Corn Hole.

In summary; April and May are great times for big water. June & July are great water levels for families and events for youth groups. August offers warm, low water levels and for young families. Sept. & Oct. are Big Water Gauley River trips for ages 12 and up.
I can’t wait for the season to start and to get into our games and goofing off! Oh, there will be a Chili Cook off in Oct. like usual!

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