Fall Rafting Season Set on West Virginia’s Gauley River

September 8, 2022

News Release | AP

CHARLESTON, WV - The fall rafting season on West Virginia’s Gauley River gets started this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin lowering Summersville Lake to its winter level through releases at the Summersville Dam starting Friday. The weekly releases will continue through Oct. 16.

The releases form about 100 rapids on the Gauley, which drops more than 650 feet (198 meters) along its 24-mile (39-kilometer) route in southern West Virginia.

The six-week Gauley rafting season attracts about 40,000 visitors to the New River Gorge National Park each fall.