Callie and I had no real agenda for the day, which is honestly the best way to start one. We loaded the dogs up and headed south on Route 60, and if you haven’t driven that stretch from Lewisburg to Hinton on a clear Saturday in April, you’re missing something.
We made a stop in Alderson first. The Alderson Artisans Gallery is a nonprofit community gallery run by local artisans, and our friend Kathleen DeRouen was working that day. We wanted to stop in, say hi, and see what she and the other artists had on display. Not surprisingly, a couple of things caught our eye, and we were happy to support. If you’re in Alderson on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, it’s an easy stop worth making.
The dogs had been patient through the whole gallery situation, but they made their feelings on the matter pretty clear from the back seat, so we pointed the car toward Sandstone Falls and let them win.
Sandstone Falls is part of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, and it’s the widest waterfall on the New River, stretching roughly 1,500 feet across and dropping somewhere between 10 and 25 feet, depending on where you’re standing. The Park Service has done a nice job with the area. There’s a boardwalk and a short island loop trail that takes you out over the water through a series of bridges and small islands, and it’s genuinely accessible for most people.
We walked the boardwalk, then took a path right out to the falls. On a clear blue sky day, they were the perfect backdrop, and the dogs wasted no time jumping into the river. After that, we followed the island trail back to the car. Nice, easy little walk with a great view the whole way.
After the falls, we went looking for a trail our friend Mike Renner had been telling us about. Big Branch Trail sits about a mile up River Road from Sandstone Falls, and Mike’s recommendation was absolutely on point. It’s a two-mile loop inside the National Park, and we didn’t see a single other person the entire time. Just us and the dogs following the trail past what had to be a dozen small waterfalls, with a really nice 30-footer tucked back in the ravine..
One tip, and one we’re glad we followed, go left at the fork. The loop works either direction, but left takes you uphill alongside the water flow with all the waterfalls along the way. The final stretch is pretty steep, so we were definitely happy to be coming down it instead of climbing up. My watch showed around 800 feet of elevation gain on the two-mile loop.
We cooled off by the creek for a bit after the hike, then made our way to close out the afternoon properly. Cantrell’s River City Grill is a locally owned spot with a great deck overlooking the New River. Cold beer, sandwich, good view. That’s really all you need after a day like that.
If you’ve been sleeping on the Sandstone area of the gorge, fix that. The falls are an easy half-day on their own. Throw Big Branch into the mix if you want to add a solid hike, and you’ve got a pretty perfect day outside.
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