The Gauley River National Recreation Area, located near

Summersville, West Virginia Summersville is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,459 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County. History Summersville was laid out in 1824. The city was named for Lewis Summers, a lo ...

, protects a portion of the

Gauley River The Gauley River is a river in West Virginia. It merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. The river features numerous recreational whitewater areas, including those in Gauley River National Recreation Ar ...

and a segment of the Meadow River in southern

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. Little of the national recreation area is accessible via roads; one must travel via the river. At the upstream end of the park is the Summersville Dam, the only area of the park accessible by vehicle.

Rapids

Within the park are a number of Class V rapids. They have been given names such as: * Insignificant * Pillow Rock * Lost Paddle * Iron Ring * Sweet's Falls

References

External links

Official NPS SiteSummersville Lake water levels and outflow
National Park Service National Recreation Areas Protected areas of Fayette County, West Virginia Protected areas of Nicholas County, West Virginia National Park Service areas in West Virginia Rivers of West Virginia Rivers of Fayette County, West Virginia Rivers of Nicholas County, West Virginia IUCN Category V {{US-NationalParkService-stub