New River Gorge National Park

Site Description:

A rugged, white water river flowing northward through deep canyons, the New River is among the oldest rivers on the continent. Located in southern West Virginia, New River Gorge National Park was established in 1978 to preserve and protect 53 miles of the New River as a free-flowing waterway. This unit of the National Park System encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along the New River between the towns of Hinton and Fayetteville. The park and the surrounding area are rich in cultural and natural history, and contain an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities. Volunteers will work on trails, plant trees, paint signs and clean along the beach and campground. They will also spend a day on work projects at the Southern Appalachian Folk Life Center. Interaction with local residents is limited.

Site Resources:

http://www.nps.gov/neri/home.htm

Site Contact:

We discourage students from directly contacting the site; all reservations are made through the Center for Social Concerns. Further emergency contact information will be provided to students upon enrollment in the seminar.

Mark Bollinger: Mark_Bollinger@nps.gov; 304-466-0417
Shelli Turner: shelli@folklifecenter.org; the_folks@folklifecenter.org; 304-466-0626

Lodging:

Students can bring swimsuits in warmer weather! Students provide their own bedding (sleeping bag, pillow, and/or blankets and sheets), and will be sleeping in beds.

Travel:

Students will travel to the site on Sunday, October 16, and will return the following Friday, October 21.

Personal Expenses:

Students must pay for their own meals while they travel from Notre Dame to the site on Sunday and back to Notre Dame from the site on Friday or Saturday. Students are requested to bring enough money to pay for these 2–3 meals, and it is also suggested that students bring extra spending money for personal purchases during their immersion. The availability of ATMs varies with each site, and so in the interest of avoiding fees or running out of money, it is suggested that students have a reasonable amount of cash on hand before the immersion.

Meals:

Students will use Center credit cards to purchase groceries and prepare their own meals.