A new National Park Service regulation goes into effect by the end of January 2014 that allows visitors to ride bicycles on about 65 miles of existing trail in the New River Gorge National River, including:
• Hawks Nest Connector Trail (3.5 mi.)
• Fayetteville Trail (4.0 mi.)
• Park Loop Trail (1.1 mi.)
• Timber Ridge Trail (1.0 mi.)
• Kaymoor Trail (8.6 mi.)
• Arrowhead Trail (13.0 mi.)
• Craig Branch Trail (2.4 mi.)
• Long Point Trail (except the last 0.2 miles closest to the Long Point vista) (1.4 mi.)
• Keeneys Creek Rail Trail (3.0 mi.)
• Headhouse Trail (0.5 mi.)
• Tipple Trail (0.5 mi.)
• Seldom Seen Trail (0.3 mi.)
• Nuttallburg Town Loop Connector Trail (0.3 mi.)
• Brooklyn Mine Trail (2.7 mi.)
• Southside Trail (7.0 mi)
• Rend Trail (3.4 mi.)
• Stone Cliff Trail (2.7 mi.)
• Terry Top Trail (1.7 mi.)
• Little Laurel Trail (2.6 mi.)
• Glade Creek Trail (5.6 mi.)
An additional 40 miles of trail that have not yet been constructed will become available for bicycle use in the future, including:
• Garden Ground Stacked Loop Trail (33.0 mi.)
• Mud Turn Trail (2.8 mi.)
• Panther Branch Connector Trail (3.0 mi.)
• Brooklyn Miner’s Connector Trail (0.8 mi.)
Other park trails will remain open only to pedestrians. More information on trails and biking opportunities in the New River Gorge National River is available at park visitor centers and on the park website (http://www.nps.gov/neri) under the Plan Your Visit tab.
Bicycle use in units of the National Park Service is generally prohibited unless park managers follow special procedures to open designated trails for bikes. These procedures include analyzing the environmental impacts of bicycle use in the park and offering opportunities for public comment. The New River Gorge National River initiated the procedures in 2009, which have included three opportunities for public input and comment. Notification of this regulation was forwarded to the Federal Register this week.