Pennington Passages

When visiting the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, the bridge walk is a must-do if you are not afraid of heights. You won’t be disappointed. We took the tour in August of 2025 with a couple of our friends from West Virginia. The price was $79.00 per person and worth every penny. The tour takes you on the catwalk under the bridge where you walk the entire length of the bridge. The 360 degree views are breathtaking!

The Bridge Walk

We met our friends, Danny and Jane, at the Bridge Walk LLC building just across the street from the National Park Visitor Center. There, we signed in for our tour and received the gear and instructions we needed. The gear consisted of a harness and rope. This safety gear would attach us to a cable that runs the length of the catwalk. We then loaded up in a van that dropped us on the north side of the bridge to start the tour.

We opted to be the last four in line. Soon we were all hitched up to the overhead cable.

Jane was first in our group and Danny was last. Our position at the end of the line turned out to be the best. We were able to linger behind the rest of the tour group and take our time.

Although the catwalk was only 24 inches wide, the safety lines assured us that we were in no real danger. As we walked towards the middle of the bridge, the views of the New River got better and better. We paused to snap pictures looking north and south.

We walked slowly and snapped as many pictures as we could without falling to far behind the main group.

While gazing south, we noticed the tiny bridge below. We learned it was the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge, also known as the Fayetteville Station bridge, built in 1889. The old bridge was closed in 1977 when the new bridge (the one we were standing on) opened. The old bridge was then refurbished and reopened in 1997.

As we continued, our tour guide suggested we sit down on the catwalk. Wow was that fun! It is hard to describe the feeling of letting your legs and feet dangle more than 800 feet above the river. We loved it!

As we made our way to the south side of the bridge, we looked backed at the impressive structure and narrow catwalk.

At the end of the tour, our guide snapped pictures of each group. We then exited the catwalk to the south side of the bridge. From there, we hopped into the van again to be shuttled back to the north side where we started.

After dropping off our gear, we couldn’t resist the selfie backdrop. What fun!

Next, we set our sites on finding food…

Secret Sandwich Society in Fayetteville, WV

We were hungry after the tour. Jane, who lives near the park, led us to the Secret Sandwich Society in Fayetteville just a few minutes down the road.

She suggested starting with the Brussels Sprouts appetizer. It was delicious! For our main course, we devoured a meatloaf sandwich and pimento fries. Yummy!

After our delicious meal, Jane offered to take us to a few more less known placed in the National Park.

Bridge Buttress Trail

Our first stop was the Bridge Buttress Trail. Jane cautioned us that it could be a little tricky and steep hiking to the overlook area.

She was right! However, it was worth it – the views of the bridge buttress were very close from our vantage point on the cliffs.

Tunney Hunsaker Bridge

Our next stop was to the original bridge that we could see from a distance during our catwalk tour. After crossing the old bridge, we stopped for minute to get more iconic pictures of both bridges.

Kaymoor Trail to Wolf Creek Falls

As the sun was starting to set, we decided to get in one last short hike before calling it a day. The Kaymoor Trail was nearby so we opted to follow it to Wolf Creek Falls.

We enjoyed the view of the cascading falls disappearing under the trail. The cool mist cooled us off as evening set in.

We had a great day with our friends at the New River Gorge. The bridge walk will always be one of our favorite memories of the National Park.

For more adventures around New River Gorge, check out our post about Babcock State Park . It is the perfect base camp for visiting all the attractions in and around the National Park.