14. Cunard to Fayette Station

Some descriptions list a section from Thurmond to Fayette Station which is 14 miles long. Most paddlers shorten the trip by running the 6.5 mile section from Cunard to Fayette Station as we have listed here. This section contains all of the rapids except for one called Surprise. Using the put in at Cunard takes out all of the long pools of the upper sectoin. Plus, as a bonus the Park Service has built the best bathrooms I have ever seen at a National Park, great for those first-timer jitters! For more information on the upper section see the Thurmond to Cunard page. This is a high-volume, powerful river and can be run over a wide range of river levels. Most agree that the optimal level is 2 feet on the Fayette Station gauge, so all of the descriptions of the rapids are at that level. At this level the Keeneys, Double Z, and Fayette Station are really stompin'. At lower flows things get smaller (as you would expect). At higher flows the smaller features disappear and (in my opinion) things get easier! You have HUGE holes, but you have plenty of time to make your move around them. Above 10 ft there are no real eddies and the river is very wide, which can spell disaster for swimmers. If you do not have big water paddling skills then stay off above 6 feet. At 12ft the Park Service cutoffs put-ins for commercial rafting trips. NPS Guide to paddling the New River - https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/whitewater\_private.htm The National Park Service has a couple of fine write-ups: New River Gorge National River and NPS Guide to paddling the New River-Hinton to Thurmond FYI: According to the people who know such things, the New River is the second oldest river in the world: West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey: Geology of the New River Gorge A Masters Thesis by Dawn Anne Moore: THE ORIGINS OF RAPIDS IN THE LOWER NEW RIVER GORGE, WEST VIRGINIA