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America’s newest national park has received lots of media attention since its designation was announced in January 2021. As long-time New River Gorge enthusiasts, we are thrilled to share our playground with a wider audience and are thankful for the well-deserved media coverage, but we’ve found that many of the stories miss the mark. It’s […]

The best way to truly experience the New River Gorge National Park is to take the trails less traveled.  By avoiding the most popular hiking areas – and other humans – you are much more likely to see wildlife, find undisturbed flora, and experience the natural rhythms of the forest. Here are five less traveled […]

Komorebi: Light coming though the forest canopy.

Without a doubt, the best view of the New River Gorge Bridge is from the end of the Long Point Trail in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. While it is the Instagram-worthy spot at the trail’s terminus that gets most of the attention, the journey has other merits, and there are a […]

Smiling faces on the overlook of the Long Point Trail

Yearning for a fun getaway but nervous about traveling? We get it, and we’re here to help. In this post, you’ll find a list of New River Gorge activities that get you outside in the fresh air and beautiful sunshine. No need to worry about group activities, close quarters, or social interactions. There is plenty […]

Sunrise at Grandview in NRG

Few people truly understand what makes the New River Gorge one of the most special places on Earth. Some folks are simply amazed by the deep cut of the river and the beauty of the gorge itself. Some are surprised by the whitewater and beguiled by the world-class rafting. Others are impressed by the engineering […]

The Appalachian Mountains in the New River Gorge.

We spend a lot of time in the New River Gorge hunting for mushrooms. When we’re not hunting mushrooms we’re usually talking about hunting mushrooms, which often prompts people to ask us why we enjoy it so much. Sometimes, we fear, they soon regret asking because we can go on and on about the many, […]

Lafayette Flats owners, Shawn and Amy taking a selfie with a mushroom.

Promoting art and artists from our home state is not only our passion, it’s in our business plan. Each year we dedicate a portion of our vacation rental income to the purchase of West Virginia art to add to our collection at Lafayette Flats. For this year’s art purchase, we decided to commission a watercolor […]

Thoreau said it best: “A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors.” While we have strived to make the interior spaces of Lafayette Flats as beautiful and comfortable as possible, we are at our core, outdoor people. Most every weekend for us includes at least one walk in the woods, whether hunting […]

Komorebi: Light coming though the forest canopy.

When we heard about the New River Gorge 100 Mile Challenge last year, we knew that we wanted to participate. We love The Gorge, we love hiking and we love challenges, so the idea of putting in 100 miles in the calendar year seemed perfectly suited for us. We wasted no time, putting in our first […]

Back in late 2014, we set a personal goal to hike at least one serious trail in the New River Gorge each month. Here are the links to the blog post about our adventure: A Year of Hiking, Part 1: January – April A Year of Hiking, Part 2: May – August A Year of […]

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171 N. Court Street
Fayetteville, WV 25840
(304) 900-3301