General

The New River Gorge is a National Park near the town of Fayetteville in West Virginia, about 5 1/2 hours drive from Washington DC. The New River is a major climbing area, with some 1400 trad and sport routes on a dozen different cliffs, with another 300 routes on the nearby Meadow River.

Camping

The AAC operates a campground near the Junkyard Wall There are a number of other campgrounds in the area as the New River Gorge is a major rafting destination.

There are a variety of restaurants in Fayetteville and nearby Oak Hill.

Crag Logistics

Although there are many sport routes, the majority of climbs in the New River Gorge are traditionally protected routes, often following crack lines. You;’ll need a sizable rack with several sets of camming devices,

Toproping is feasible at the Junkyard Wall and the Bridge Buttress but many of the other cliffs require the routes to be led. Many of the routes can be climbed with a single 60 or 70m rope, but two ropes are needed for descent from some areas

Guidebooks

Mountainproject has good coverage of the climbing at the New River. Gorge.

The most recent guide is New River Rock Vol 1 (2021) by Mike Williams.. 

Older guides include Steve Cater’s New River Gorge, Meadow River and Summersville Lake Rock Climbers’ Guidebook and Eric Horst’s  Rock Climbing Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland

Shops and Guide Services

Water Stone Outdoors : Excellent shop in Fayetteville, WV.  Quality website with a bunch of local info and many YouTube videos… 

New River Mountain Guides : HQ in Water Stone Outdoors.