Hawks Nest State Park is located on in Fayette County near

Ansted, West Virginia Ansted is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The population was 1,303 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Route 60 in West Virginia, U.S. ...

. The park's clifftop overlook along

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

provides a scenic vista of the New River, some 750 feet (230 m) below. The hydro-electric project tunnel that passes underneath nearby Gauley Mountain was the scene of the Depression-era

Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster The Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster was a large-scale incident of occupational silicosis, lung disease in the 1930s as the result of the construction of the Hawks Nest Tunnel near Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, as part of a hydroelectric project. Th ...

. The original building, now a gift shop and museum, was built as a

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC) project. The park lodge was constructed in 1967 by

The Architects Collaborative The Architects Collaborative (TAC) was an American architectural firm formed by eight architects that operated between 1945 and 1995 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The founding members were Norman C. Fletcher (1917–2007), Jean B. Fletcher (19 ...

(TAC). The park's lodge and aerial

gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

to the river are located about a mile further east from the overlook along U.S. 60, closer to the center of Ansted.

Features

* 31 room lodge * Restaurant * Aerial tram between the lodge and the New River shore (currently dismantled) * Swimming pool * Hiking trails * Picnic area * Gift shop * River Nature Center * Hawks Nest Rail Trail (1.8 mile)

Accessibility

Accessibility for the

disable Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

d was assessed by

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

. The assessment found the park lodge and facilities to be generally accessible.''Guide to Accessible Recreation and Travel in WV'', WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities web site, accessed July 31, 2006
However, during the 2005 assessment, some issues were identified with a stairway and with some exit lighting.

References

External links

* {{authority control Golf clubs and courses in West Virginia Historic districts in Fayette County, West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, West Virginia Nature centers in West Virginia Protected areas established in 1935 Protected areas of Fayette County, West Virginia State parks of West Virginia State parks of the Appalachians 1935 establishments in West Virginia IUCN Category III

Features

Accessibility

See also

References

External links