Additional Flood Related Closures Announced in the Three National Parks of Southern West Virginia

Date: June 29, 2016
Contact: Julena Campbell, 304-465-6523

Glen Jean, WV - Superintendent Trish Kicklighter announced today that as crews are out assessing flood impacts to park facilities including campgrounds, parking lots, boat launches, beaches, roads, and trails at New River Gorge National River, Bluestone National Scenic River, and Gauley River National Recreation Area, a few additional closures have been added. Floodwaters from last week's storms have left behind large amounts of muddy debris, downed trees, rockslides, landslides, and damaged roadways, bridges and culverts.

"Most of the facilities in the three parks are open," Superintendent Kicklighter saidon Wednesday. "However, as our crews reach more areas, we are finding severe damage to roads and bridges in a few locations. We are still working on assessing all of the park trails, but most are open. Trail users should expect downed trees, muddy conditions and localized washouts near ditches and stream crossings. Folks should report major hazards to park visitor centers."

The following areas are officially CLOSED until further notice:

New River Gorge National River:

Roads: Route 82/Fayette Station Road, north side;Keeneys Creek Road, approximately 1 mile below Winona, and all the way to Nuttallburg;Lower Beach Access Road, near Sandstone Falls

Campsites: Walk-in campsites at Grandview Sandbar and Glade Creek (drive-in sites are open)

River access points: Hellems Beach on River Road;Brooks landing/boat launch

Park Facility: Nuttallburg Historic Site;Camp Brookside Environmental Education Center (and road into it)

Trails: All trails in the Nuttallburg area including: Keeneys Creek, Nuttall Mine, Nuttallburg Conveyor, Nuttallburg Tipple, Nuttallburg Townsite trails

Gauley River National Recreation Area:

River access points: Masons Branch (and road into it), Woods Ferry (and road into it)

Bluestone National Scenic River:

Localized flooding near Lilly is currently preventing access to park facilities via Bluestone River Road

An up-to-date status of state-owned roadways is available 24/7 at www.wv511.org. Engineers from the Federal Highway Administration will visit the park this week to evaluate additional park-owned roads and bridges. As other park facilities are opened or closed, updates will be posted on the parks' Facebook account at www.facebook.com/newrivergorgenps, and through Twitter at @NewRiverNPS. Park information and tools to help plan a visit are also online at www.nps.gov/neri,www.nps.gov/gari, and www.nps.gov/blue.  

 www.nps.gov/neri

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 411 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.  

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