Diamond Point Overlook

Turn from Route 19 onto Lansing-Edmond Road; the road to the trailheads is narrow. The Fern Creek lot is small and often fills. If it is full, use Nuttall Trailhead rather than parking on the road. Fern Creek has parking and a vault toilet before the walk. Keep well back from the exposed cliff edges.

Diamond Point is the popular turnaround on the trail. The full Endless Wall route continues 2.4 miles one way and finishes with a half-mile road walk back to its start, so the out-and-back to the point is the simpler choice if the overlook is your goal. The approach passes through forest, crosses Fern Creek, then follows the cliff edge past several vistas. Expect a real hiking trail, with rocky and rooted stretches and steps, rather than a paved viewpoint.

Whitewater rafts can look tiny on the river far below, and sandstone cliffs rise across the gorge. The park has more than 1,600 climbing routes, and climbers may be visible on the rock faces along this stretch. Take a moment to scan the walls instead of keeping your eyes only on the river.

The gorge cuts through layers of sandstone, siltstone and shale that include coal seams. That geology helped shape the region's coal era: Nuttallburg, elsewhere along the wider gorge, became the largest mine in the New River Coalfields in the late 1800s. The historic mine is a separate destination, not part of the overlook itself.

From the established viewing area, include a strip of sandstone in the foreground with the river below. That bit of near rock helps a phone photo show the drop; stay back from the edge rather than stepping out for a wider angle.