Picnic area · New River Gorge National Park
A handy river access point with a permit-required picnic shelter.
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
Thurmond's Railroad Town“You're approaching Thurmond, a preserved railroad town where freight trains and Amtrak still use the tracks.”
Plays as you drive up to Dun Glen Day Use Area 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
Dun Glen is a small day-use area near Thurmond and one of the park's public river access points. It suits a quick trip to the water or a picnic break more than a sightseeing stop in its own right. Navigate to 136 Dun Glen Parking Lot in Thurmond.
A picnic shelter is available by advance permit. Check with the park before building a visit around a reservation; the current booking arrangements were not clear in the information available.
Older maps and campground pages can be misleading: group camping at Dun Glen has been discontinued, and the group site moved to Meadow Creek after drainage problems. Treat this as a day-use stop, not an overnight option.
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
EasyRend Trail6.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayFive railroad trestles turn a gentle creekside walk into a gorge story.
ModerateChurch Loop Trail1.8 mi · 1 hr · 0.9 mi awayA short Rend Trail outing to Thurmond’s historic Black church.
ModerateStone Cliff Trail2.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA shaded New River road ends near a rare old-growth stand.
ModerateBrooklyn Mine Trail5.4 mi · 3.3 hr · 4 mi awayA shaded old road leads to the ruins of a coal mine.
ModerateSouthside Trail14 mi · 5.5 hr · 4.3 mi awayA long river rail grade past abandoned coal towns
Sight · 0.3 mi awayThurmond Historic DistrictA preserved coal town beside an active rail line.
Visitor center · 0.3 mi awayThurmond Depot Visitor CenterA rail-history stop worth the winding drive if you're exploring town.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayRush Run Community RuinsA vanished coal town, with beehive ovens still by the trail.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayConcho Rim OverlookWatch the New River curl around historic Thurmond from above.
Campground · 1.6 mi awayStone Cliff CampgroundFive sites on sand, two under the trees.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayRed Ash Community and Mining RuinsSee an unusual bread-loaf coke-oven design on the Southside Trail.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayDunloup FallsA quick roadside waterfall with a steep scramble for a closer look.
Sight · 3 mi awayRed Ash Island CemeteryA wooded island cemetery ties miners’ losses to everyday community life.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.
