By state · WV

National Parks in West Virginia.

West Virginia's NPS network at a glance — units, designations, visit totals, and what shapes the visiting season.

By Nicholas Major · Last updated

West Virginia has more than five NPS units, anchored by New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (designated a National Park in 2020 — the country's most recently elevated NP) and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (jointly with Maryland and Virginia). Other units include Bluestone National Scenic River, Gauley River National Recreation Area, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (multi-state corridor), and segments of the Lewis and Clark and Trail of Tears national trails. Charleston (CRW) anchors the central state; Beckley (BKW) is closer to New River Gorge; Washington Dulles (IAD) reaches Harpers Ferry. New River Gorge's headline visitor surface is the bridge plus the rafting season (May through October); Harpers Ferry operates year-round with peak summer crowds. The state's NPS network has shifted meaningfully since New River Gorge's 2020 elevation — visit infrastructure is still adapting to the new visitation level.

Every NPS unit in West Virginia.

West Virginia's 8 NPS units: 2 National Historical Parks · 1 National Scenic Trail · 1 National Scenic River · 1 Other · 1 National Recreation Area · 1 National Historic Trail · 1 National Park & Preserve. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 13,169,954 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch — see methodology). The most-visited unit is Appalachian National Scenic Trail at about 6.22M annual visits.

UnitDesignation5-yr avg visitsBusiest month
Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailAPPA 6,215,118 July
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park National Historical ParkCHOH 4,552,595 September
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve National Park & PreserveNERI 1,750,769 July
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park National Historical ParkHAFE 434,030 October
Gauley River National Recreation Area National Recreation AreaGARI 201,004 September
Bluestone National Scenic River National Scenic RiverBLUE 16,438 July
Chesapeake Bay —CBPO — —
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail National Historic TrailLECL — —

Methodology

Unit list and per-unit visit counts come from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. The "5-year average visits" column is the mean of 2021-2025 Recreation Visits. Multi-state NPS units (Yellowstone, Death Valley, Great Smoky Mountains and others) are listed under every state they touch; the per-unit visit count is the unit's total, not a per-state share. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.

Adjacent reading

Independence

Independent site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Data comes from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025; editorial analysis is ours. The NPS Arrowhead and other NPS marks are not used.

Last updated · 2026-05-19