Grandview shelters & picnic area receive makeover

NPS Historic Preservation Training Center Mason Michael Weibush working with the NERI Trail Worker and AmeriCorps Members on the repair of hearths at Grandview Shelter 1. Photo courtesy NPS.

Over millions of years, the New River has carved a beautiful, pastoral gorge in West Virginia. It’s one of the oldest rivers on the continent. After more than 50 years as one of West Virginia’s most popular state parks, Grandview was transferred to the National Park Service in 1990. New River Gorge National Park & Preserve (NERI) encompasses more than 70,000 acres of land along the New River, rich in both cultural and natural history and abundant in scenic and recreational opportunities. It attracted more than one million visitors in 2020.

NERI received $280,000 in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) to address long deferred maintenance on the historic Grandview shelters and picnic area. Grandview provides some of the most dramatic scenery found in the park and is a popular place for hiking, picnics, and sight-seeing.

"We are excited to see the repair of these historic hearths and fireplaces,” said New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Acting Superintendent Carmen Chapin. “They have been used by families for generations. Visitation at Grandview increased more than 300% with the park's recent redesignation. This restoration ensures that they can be enjoyed by generations to come in what is one of our most popular day use areas. "

This project would not have been possible without the support of AmeriCorps and the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia. This project paved the way not only for tackling an important park project but to also serve as a means to train workers in the dwindling art of historic masonry.

Left image

Credit: NPS photo

Right image

Credit: NPS Photo

The team is working on preserving and improving the safety of more than 30 historic hearths, an area that offers a layer of protection for creating a fire and is often used today by families picnicking nearby. Each hearth received new grates and fire brick. Loose, missing and deteriorated mortar and stones are being accurately replaced or repaired. As part of this funding, the park is also addressing wood repairs to shelters, painting, drainage, and numerous landscape maintenance issues.

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