ACE Adventure Resort started as a whitewater company in the late seventies. Over time, 1,500 acres in Oak Hill grew into something considerably more: more than sixty cabins, a water park, a bar and restaurant called the Lost Paddle, and a music festival lineup that is starting to draw crowds who have never put on a life jacket. Mountain Music Festival is in its twelfth year. Domefest is in its second. Boots in the Gorge — a country music festival debuting July 31st and August 1st — is brand new, pairing country icons with up-and-coming West Virginia acts and representing a deliberate genre pivot by operations director Chris Colin.
The events strategy at ACE has been as much about locals and non-outdoor visitors as it has been about rafters. Chris talks about setting up at community events and hearing from West Virginians who want nothing to do with whitewater — so he tells them about the concerts, the paint and sip, the hot tubs, the trail runs. Get them through the gate once, and there’s an 85 percent chance they come back. Once someone has spent a weekend at ACE, they start telling everyone they know about the New River Gorge. That word-of-mouth loop, Chris says, is the outdoor economy business model in miniature.
Learn more about: ACE Adventure Resort / New River Gorge National Park / Mountain Music Festival 2026
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