Picnic area · New River Gorge National Park
A picnic pavilion by Canyon Rim with a permit-only group campsite.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
New River Gorge Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for New River Gorge National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the New River Gorge audio tourRecorded for this place
Burnwood's Picnic Area and Old Trees“Burnwood's picnic area is up ahead, across the highway from Canyon Rim Visitor Center.”
Plays as you drive up to Burnwood Day Use Area and Group Campsite in the Parkwolf New River Gorge Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Burnwood Day Use Area is a picnic stop across US-19 from Canyon Rim Visitor Center. Its gravel lot serves a grassy field with a picnic pavilion and tables, a fire ring, flush toilets, and the Burnwood Trailhead. The same site has one group campsite, making this a practical place to gather or start a walk.
The trail starts beside the pavilion and loops through 12 acres of old-growth forest that escaped logging around the turn of the 20th century. Some trees date to the 17th century. The route also crosses a former Laing family homesite, moving from previously logged woods through an old field into the older forest. It is a short walk with a clear story of how this patch of land changed.
Wildlife
18 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
126 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
25 sightingsPileated WoodpeckerMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
15 sightingsBarred OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
14 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsCopperheadMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across New River Gorge. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyBurnwood Trail1.2 mi · 1 hr · At the trailheadA short lollipop route through a pocket of old-growth forest.
ModerateCanyon Rim Boardwalk0.3 mi · 24 min · 0.3 mi awayA quick bridge view, with 178 strenuous steps below.
ModerateHawks Nest Connector Trail7.4 mi · 2.8 hr · 0.5 mi awayA rocky link from Fayette Station to Hawks Nest rail trail.
ModerateKaymoor Trail8.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 1 mi awayAn 8.6-mile one-way gorge route past Kaymoor's historic mine.
ChallengingFayetteville Trail4 mi · 3 hr · 1 mi awayA creek crossing links Fayetteville’s trails to Kaymoor.
ModerateBridge Trail0.9 mi · 45 min · 1 mi awayGet beneath the New River Gorge Bridge on a short, rocky hike.
ModerateEndless Wall Trail2.4 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.3 mi awayWalk the New River rim to Diamond Point's high gorge view.
EasyPark Loop Trail1.1 mi · 36 min · 1.4 mi awayAn easy wooded loop you can add at Town Park.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayCanyon Rim Bridge OverlookTwo decks put the full bridge arch above the river gorge.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayBridge WalkA harnessed walk beneath the highway, 850 feet above the river.
Visitor center · 0.3 mi awayCanyon Rim Visitor CenterPlan your park visit, then step out to the bridge view.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayNew River Gorge BridgeA 3,030-foot steel arch above a river 876 feet below.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayFayette Station River AccessRapids, two bridges, and the gorge from river level.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayTunney Hunsaker BridgeA historic lower crossing on Fayette Station Road's one-way gorge drive.
Sight · 1 mi awayLong Point OverlookA rough last pitch opens onto the park’s signature bridge view.
Sight · 1 mi awayKaymoor Mine FallsA mossy cascade where mine drainage meets Wolf Creek.Parkwolf’s New River Gorge ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
