ROCK CLIMBING SCHOOLS


September 9, 2007 at 2:00a.m.

ROCK CLIMBING SCHOOLS

New River Mountain Guides of Fayetteville offers climbing lessons and guided trips to a variety of routes in the New River, Summersville Lake and Seneca Rocks areas, with trips starting at $140 per person. Group rates are available. newriverclimbing.com or (800) 73-CLIMB.

Seneca Rocks Climbing School offers a variety of courses, with prices of $95 per person for an anchor-building seminar and guided climbs starting at $195. climbseneca.com or (800) 548-0108

Hard Rock Climbing Services of Fayetteville offers basic and advanced rock climbing courses, as well as a climbing and rappelling course and trips to Summersville Lake. Prices start at $75 each for at least two people for a half-day of climbing and/or rappelling and $140 per person for a full day. hardrockclimbing.com or (304) 574-0735.

New River Gorge National River: www.nps.gov/neri/home.htm or (304) 465-0508. Admission is free, and the park is open 362 days a year — all but Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. On third Saturday of October, up to 200,000 spectators will stand on the bridge and watch some 450 BASE jumpers leap from the single-arch span for at least six hours. www.bridgeday.info or www.officialbridgeday.com.

Accommodations: The park has no lodge, but camping is available. Towns near the park also offer a variety of hotels, motels, inns and cabins. Check out Fayetteville, www.visitfayettevillewv.com or (304) 574-1500, or the New River Convention & Visitors Bureau, www.newrivercvb.com or (800) 927-0263.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Whitewater: Nearly 250,000 people raft the New, Gauley and three other West Virginia rivers, with 40 rafting companies to pick from. www.visitwv.com/whitewaterlinks.cfm or (304) 465-5617.

Trains: At the peak of fall foliage season in October, the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society runs sightseeing trips through the gorge on the old C&O rail line, from Huntington to Hinton. www.newrivertrain.com/nrt.shtml or (866) 639-7487.

Tamarack: The state’s arts and crafts showcase offers regional cuisine, live music and six resident artisans who work in observation studios with textiles, glass, metal, wood, pottery and jewelry. Admission and parking are free. www.tamarackwv.com or 1-88-TAMARACK.