New River Gorge in a Weekend — Day One Packed More Than We Planned

Doing New River Gorge in a weekend is the kind of plan that looks clean on a map and gets complicated the second you’re towing. Two nights. Friday out, Sunday back. One Alliance Paradigm 310RL behind the RAM 3500, one 110-pound Great Pyrenees mix in the back seat, and a list of things we wanted to see that was longer than the time we had to see them.

Day one is the one we want to talk about here, because it did not go the way the itinerary said it would — and by the end of it we had more than we came for.

The Trip Started With a Snag Before We Left the Driveway

Pulling off our seasonal site should be the easy part. It wasn’t. Backing the fifth wheel out meant threading between trees with the mirrors folded out and Debi walking the back end, calling tires — one still on each side, then the other, then clear. There’s a moment on camera where you can hear exactly how close it was.

We’re more careful about this than we used to be. We’ve broken two leaf springs on this rig, and ever since, how the wheels are sitting when we pull out is something we actually look at instead of assume.

Most trips start smoothly. This one had a snag in the first ten minutes. That’s usually a sign it’s going to be a good story.

Four Hours South on I-77

The run from our part of Ohio down into West Virginia is one of the better tow days we’ve had. I-77 south out of Cambridge climbs into the foothills and then just keeps going — mountains, valleys, and enough construction to keep you honest. A little over four hours with the trailer.

Then the road turns off the highway and starts narrowing, and that’s where the day changed.

New River Gorge in a Weekend Means Getting a Big Rig In First

The way into the campground is not big-rig friendly. We’ll say that plainly, because nobody said it to us. The road is tight and it climbs, and there’s a stretch where you’re committed — there’s no turning a fifth wheel around once you’re in it. If you’re towing anything substantial into Adventures on the Gorge, watch the arrival footage before you book, not after.

The site had its own surprise waiting. It’s a drop-down site, the same shape as one we’ve dealt with before at a KOA in Hocking Hills — you pull up and the pad falls away from you. We came within inches of the bed rail on the first attempt, backed out, and reset. The auto-level did eventually earn its money, but it was not a one-shot park.

One practical note for anyone booking here: our site was electric only. That meant filling the fresh tank on the way in and dumping on the way out. Not a problem, but it’s a different rhythm than we’re used to, and it’s the kind of detail that’s easy to miss on a reservation page.

Then Babcock State Park Made the Whole Day Worth It

Once we were level and plugged in, we left the rig and drove to Babcock State Park for one specific reason: there’s an Almost Heaven swing there, sitting in front of the Glade Creek Grist Mill.

If you haven’t run into these yet — West Virginia’s tourism department has been installing oversized wooden swings at scenic spots across the state. There’s a sign at each one telling you exactly what to do: set your phone on the ledge, open the camera, set the timer, get on the swing. It is a very simple idea and it works better than it has any right to.

What we didn’t expect was everything around it. The mill, the water, the swimming hole below it. Grizzly got in. There’s a reaction from Debi about ten seconds later that we’re not going to describe here.

We’ve been spoiled by Ohio state parks for years. Babcock held its own.

The Pool Was Closed All Weekend

Back at the campground, the one amenity everybody had been asking about was roped off — a pool with a view of the New River Gorge Bridge, closed the entire time we were there.

We made jokes about why. Then somebody told us the actual reason, and it was the joke. We are not going to type it out. It’s in the video, it’s about ninety seconds long, and Matt could not let it go for the rest of the night.

First Look at the Bridge

We walked the property after dinner, and through a gap in the trees the New River Gorge Bridge finally showed up — headlights tracking across it in the dark. First time either of us had seen it in person.

Somebody had the sense to clear the trees on that side so the view exists at all, and we stood there longer than we planned to.

What Happens Tomorrow

There’s a catwalk that runs underneath the New River Gorge Bridge and spans the entire thing. Day two is that walk.

Day one was supposed to be the travel day — get there, get level, eat something, go to bed. It turned into the day we’d have kept if we’d only had one.

Watch Day One

The road in, the drop-down site, the swing at Glade Creek, Grizzly in the swimming hole, and the reason that pool was closed — it’s all in the video.

New videos every Sunday morning. Subscribe on YouTube so you catch day two — the Bridge Walk is the one we’ve been waiting on.

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