Sight · New River Gorge National Park
A river bend framed by Grandview’s flowering rhododendrons.
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
Grandview Main Overlook“Up ahead is Grandview, where a short walk from the main parking area reaches a broad horseshoe bend in the New River. The overlook stands about fourteen hundred feet above the water.”
Plays as you drive up to North Overlook 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
North Overlook is one of three named viewpoints along Grandview's forested rim above the New River Gorge. The moderate Grandview Rim Trail connects Main Overlook and Turkey Spur, with North along the way; the full route is 1.6 miles one way, or 3.2 miles round trip. Keep this stop in mind if you're walking the ridge. The park identifies Main and Turkey Spur as the two overlooks accessible by car, and doesn't give a separate approach distance for North.
The view looks over a forested gorge to the New River below. The NPS photograph from North Overlook catches the river bend with pink rhododendron blossoms along the edge of the frame. When they're flowering, use the blossoms as foreground and leave the river curve visible below. Grandview's Catawba rhododendrons typically bloom in mid-to-late May.
The New River cuts through roughly 4,000 feet of sedimentary rock. Sand, mud, and plant material accumulated over an estimated 7 to 10 million years before compressing into sandstone, shale, and coal. Scientists' estimates for how long the river took to cut the gorge range widely, from 3 million to 320 million years.
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
EasyWoodland Loop Trail0.6 mi · 18 min · 0.3 mi awayAn easy forest loop from Grandview Shelter #2.
ModerateGrandview Rim Trail3.2 mi · 2 hr · 0.3 mi awayA wooded 1.6-mile route between two overlooks, with hills near Turkey Spur.
ChallengingCastle Rock Trail0.6 mi · 45 min · 0.3 mi awayWalk beneath layered walls and exposed coal along a strenuous gorge path.
ModerateTunnel Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayA short, shady walk beneath Grandview’s broad sandstone overhang.
ChallengingLittle Laurel Trail2.6 mi · 2 hr · 0.3 mi awayAn old road drops from Grandview toward Royal's coal-town remains.
EasyBig Buck Trail0.9 mi · 30 min · 0.4 mi awayAn easy loop through Appalachian forest, with tree signs along the way.ModerateGrandview Rim Loop3 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayRiver views, exposed coal seams, and a rocky loop back.
ModerateTerry Top Trail3.4 mi · 2 hr · 2.5 mi awayA quiet ridge walk ending at a nineteenth-century family cemetery.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayCliffside AmphitheaterA 1,200-seat stage for live summer drama at Grandview.
Visitor center · 0.3 mi awayGrandview Visitor CenterMaps, a small shop, and a walk to a seven-mile river view.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayGrandview Main OverlookSeven miles of river and gorge from one short overlook.
Picnic area · 0.4 mi awayGrandview Picnic AreaA meal stop among Grandview’s picnic shelters, playgrounds and trails.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayMill Creek River AccessA simple launch where Mill Creek meets the New River.
Sight · 1 mi awayTurkey Spur OverlookA steep staircase climbs to wooden platforms above the river.
Campground · 1.6 mi awayGrandview Sandbar CampgroundWooded campsites put you beside the New River.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayMcCreery River AccessClass II McCreery Rapids begin right at the put-in.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.
