New River Gorge, located in West Virginia, is one of the U.S.’s newest national parks, but already has incredible infrastructure for visitors, including viewpoints, campsites, and hiking trails. One of the most famous hikes in New River Gorge is the Endless Wall Trail, which offers tons of dramatic viewpoints over the Gorge. If you want to experience this incredible hike for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about the Endless Wall Trail.
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About the Endless Wall Trail
- Length: 5.3 miles
- Elevation gain: 538 feet
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate
- Dog friendly? Yes, but your furry best friend must stay on a leash
- Trail map
How to get to the Endless Wall Trail
The Endless Wall Trail actually has two trailheads, located here and here, less than 10 minutes from the city of Fayetteville, West Virginia.
The main parking area for the trail is quite large, holding about 60 or so cars, plus you can always park at the other trailhead if you have trouble finding a spot. Still, hiking the Endless Wall Trail is one of the most popular things to do in New River Gorge National Park, so if you’re visiting during a busy period, like weekends in the summertime, you might want to show up on the earlier side to guarantee that you get a spot.
What to expect along the Endless Wall Trail
If you start from the main parking area (i.e., hiking clockwise), the pathway begins by snaking through a dense Appalachian forest.
After about 0.3 miles of walking slightly downhill, the path forks a bit, If you follow the path to the left, you can peer down into a deep gorge with Miner’s Ladder, a spooky looking metal ladder that’s bolted into the side of a cliff and used by climbers to reach the floor of the gorge. Fun fact—did you know that New River Gorge National Park has over 1,600 climbing routes and is one of the most popular rock climbing destinations in the United States?!
Retrace your footsteps back to the main trail and, after about another 0.3 miles, you’ll start noticing small pathways on the left hand side of the trail. These pathways lead from the dense forest to rocky outcroppings along the rim of the gorge that provide stellar views over the New River, almost one thousand feet below.
There are seemingly countless of these overlooks, the most famous of which is called Diamond Point. From here, you’ll have panoramic views over the gorge and, with any luck, you’ll be able to spot climbers, clinging on to the layered sandstone of the walls here.
Oftentimes, hikers may use Diamond Point as a turnaround point, which turns this trail into a three mile roundtrip hike.
If you decide to press on, there are several more overlooks along the gorge wall, including some that provide a view of the iconic New River Gorge Bridge (i.e., the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere!!!), off in the distance.
After about 1.9 miles of hiking, the path veers away from the rim of the gorge back into the forest and you’ll eventually pop out of the dense trees into the smaller parking area for the trailhead. Here, you can decide to retrace your steps back along the trail to where you originally parked or, alternatively, walk 0.5 miles along the Lansing Edmond Road back to the main parking area.
When my husband, Justin, and I hiked this trail, we opted to take the shorter route back to our vehicle, along the Lansing Edmond Road. It’s definitely not the most ideal pathway—there is no established pedestrian pathway along the road and cars often zoom by you—but it does shave off over two miles, as compared to retracing your steps back along the entire Endless Wall Trail.
Tips for hiking the Endless Wall Trail
Bring waterproof hiking boots
Parts of the trail, especially towards the trailheads, can get quite muddy. Accordingly, I’d recommend wearing proper waterproof hiking boots to provide decent grip and traction on slippery sections. Justin has used these boots for years and loves them and here’s the pair of hiking boots that I swear by.
Come in fall
Certain northeastern states, like Vermont and New Hampshire, are known for their stunning fall foliage, but did you know that West Virginia has spectacular autumnal colors too?
Any of the hikes in New River Gorge National Park that offer views directly over the gorge, including the Endless Wall Trail or the Long View Trail, are excellent options to provide you with spectacular vistas of the millions of tree, aflame with autumnal colors, that line the slopes of the gorge.
I hope you enjoy the Endless Wall Trail—it was one of our absolute favorites in New River Gorge National Park! Do you have any questions about this trail? Let us know in the comments below!
