Book Your Adventure Group Vacation in West Virginia

Perfect Summer Trip with Friends

If you are looking for the perfect summer trip with friends, look no further than Lansing, West Virginia! This is a fantastic area for white water rafting and is perfectly placed near the newly designated New River Gorge National Park. We chose to do this trip with friends with New & Gauley River Adventures, a locally owned white-water rafting company.

This guide will go over the variety of activities available in the area, places to stay and eat, and nearby attractions to check out. I will also go over why I think this company is a great place to book your group trip for a variety of reasons, primarily the way they allow you to reserve and book your adventure group vacation.

*This post is NOT sponsored, and we did NOT receive any compensation or discount in any form for booking with New & Gauley River Adventures for writing this post. This company just has a very group friendly way to book and pay for the trips AND is in an excellent location to see other sights*

Why Lansing, West Virginia?

The primary goal for our group trip was to find an affordable white water rafting location that was central to where all our friends were located, and West Virginia fit the bill perfectly. Lansing is located within 60 miles of three different domestic airports which gave anybody that wanted to fly several options to choose from when booking their flight. This is also where the newly appointed New River Gorge National Park was located which sealed the deal for us as we are huge national park fans.

Why New & Gauley River Adventures?

There are several rafting companies in the area, however, New & Gauley River Adventures caught our eye because they are a locally run company and I liked what I saw in their online reviews. The main thing was that they adjusted the trip according to the group’s skills and desire for excitement. No one in our group had been white water rafting before, but we are all adrenaline junkies! They offer other activities such as mountain biking, fishing, and horseback riding AND they have places available to stay on site which meant I only had to coordinate booking a trip with one company instead of several different places.  

Booking Your Small Group Travel Vacation

The number one reason I recommend booking your group vacation with New & Gauley River Adventures is the way they have it set up. My biggest concern with planning group vacations is the money investment. Typically, one person must front the money for the entire group and inevitably several people end up canceling or backing out last minute. This means that if you didn’t get the money from them already, chances are that you are out the cost of their part of the trip. I also hate having to harass everyone to make sure they give me the money in time to book everything (we all have at least one friend who procrastinates).

When I called to find out the timeframe for giving the company the final number of guests in my group and what the options were for paying, I was happily surprised to find out that everyone could pay separately, and that the timeframe was equally flexible. This meant that I was NOT going to be financially responsible for anyone else in our group aside from my husband. What a huge relief! As everyone booked their trip, they just had to give my name to be added under our reservation so we would be kept on the same raft. I was also updated with an email each time so I could keep track of who was coming and who I still needed to check in with.

This also meant that people could easily adjust the number of days they wanted to stay and potentially book other activities with the company as they saw fit. We even had one person add themselves days before we arrived.

Places to Stay

There are several parks in the area like Babcock State Park along with numerous campgrounds, hotels, and Verbo or Air BNB sites to choose from when you are looking for a place for your group to stay. New & Gauley River Adventures offers several accommodations to make your trip planning as easy as possible. They have several campsite and cabin options available onsite and in nearby locations.

There are two small campgrounds onsite that start at $12/night per person and several no-frill cabins available for $75/night. These cabins are very basic with 4 queen-sized beds in each unit (bunkbed style). They do not have running water or electricity (no A/C). With both of these options, you will have access to bathrooms with showers in one of the main buildings. The bathrooms have great A/C if you need to cool off for a bit on a hot day!

Riverside Cottage is located nearby in Thurmond. This cottage has a deck that overlooks the water along with a hot tub if you want to soak your muscles after the rafting trip. It can sleep up to 4 people and it is dog friendly for an extra $40 cleaning fee. The cost per night is $160 and there is an additional $75 cleaning fee for your stay.

Meadow River Campground has 8 electric campsites available, each costing $45 per night. This campground is in Russellville and is close to a ton of other activities such as tubing, swimming, and hiking. Call this phone number to book your campsite: 304-574-3008 or 304-63-5607

If you would prefer a hotel, you can use our link below.

With the increasing popularity of the area, I do recommend that you book a place to stay as soon as possible. This way you will not have to drive too far to get to your room or tent for the night which means more time enjoying nature and the company of your friends.

New & Gauley River Adventures Activities

New & Gauley River Adventures provides the chance to book several fun activities like white water rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, and fishing through them. Be sure to check out their website for special packages and discounts that they offer along with more information about each activity you may be interested in. Prices do vary depending on the time of year you book and how long you would like each activity to last. You can even combine several of these activities into a custom package for an added discount. If you choose to stay onsite, this can also be made to be a part of your package.

Mountain biking

New & Gauley River Adventures does have mountain bikes you can rent. They can help you pick a trail suited to your skill level at New River Gorge or Summersville Lake. If you aren’t comfortable going off on your own, you can book a guide to take to on your adventure.

Horseback riding

Horseback riding is available at the Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County, which is about a 2-hour drive. The trails will lead through mountains and across streams so you can admire nature at its finest. It is open year-round and in winter they even offer sleigh rides! You will have your choice of rides that last anywhere from 30 min to overnight depending on how horse-obsessed you may be.

Fishing

From April to October, you can book a fishing trip on the New River which is a fantastic area to catch small-mouth bass. Their day trips include lunch, or you can choose an overnight fishing trip that will get you 2 full days on the water.  You do have to provide your own tackle and gear.

White Water Rafting

New & Gauley River Adventures offers several white water rafting trips depending on the skill set of the members in your group and the river you would like to go on. Both the New and Gauley Rivers can be separated into two sections: Upper and Lower. The Upper New is best for families or those with younger kids. The Lower New and Lower Gauley are for those who are looking for some adventure. And the Upper Gauley is for experienced rafters and is considered quite challenging. White water rafting fans travel all over the world to check these rapids off their bucket lists. This trip is only available in the fall so be sure to plan ahead.

Be sure to check the company’s website to book the trip that is best for you. If you have any questions or concerns, they are more than happy to answer them for you on the phone or through email.

Our Experience

We chose the all-day Spring Lower New River rafting trip package, and it was perfect. This gave us 2 nights of camping at their campsite and a full-day rafting trip. On the day of the trip, we met down at the main office in the morning for a crash safety course on the equipment and to pick up our gear before we got on the bus. This is where you will meet any other guests who will be rafting with you that day. In our case, the people that would be on the other raft.

 It is recommended to bring water and sunscreen for the trip, remember that there is a chance it may be lost overboard in the rapids. The guides do try to find any item that goes missing to keep the rivers as clean as possible but there is a chance it may be gone forever.

Tip: It is easier to spot a brightly colored bottle in the water than a clear or pale container -bonus if it has a carabiner.

As the bus went through town, our guides did a great job pointing out different spots to eat and find entertainment. Once we arrived at our starting place, we had one last chance to use a real bathroom before the start of our trip. At this point, there was also a professional photographer to take our photos before we headed out. They are also positioned at several different rapids for action shots of your trip. These are available for purchase once you get back to the base camp.

Safety is New & Gauley River Adventures’ main concern, so we went over the safety rules in greater detail one more time before we hopped in the rafts for a fantastic day. Before each rapid, our guide Patrick also went over what we needed to know specifically for that rapid and what to do in the event we fell out of the raft.

He also made sure to ask if we wanted to play it safe or make it a wilder ride. Of course, we always chose wild! We are happy and proud to say that we only lost 1 person on the first rapid. They learned quickly and we all stayed in the boat for the rest of the trip! Our raft even helped pull other rafters out of the water when they went overboard and helped them back to their boats.

Since it was a full-day trip, lunch was provided and consisted of chicken salad, chips, and a variety of pre-packaged snacks to eat. They also have a water cooler so you can refill your individual containers to keep you from being dehydrated. Once we finished eating, we hopped back in the rafts to finish our trip.

During the trip, our guides were full of fun stories and interesting facts about the places we passed by. They made sure to pause, when possible, to give us time to admire the sights and even took our photos at different points. At no point did we feel rushed which was great as we saw other rafting companies blowing by us down the river and their passengers staring at us with jealousy.  

Once we helped load the rafts and gears back on the bus and got back to base camp, we put our gear away and waited to check out our rafting pictures. We bought the flash drive and split the costs among the 6 of us on the trip which meant it was about $10/person. When we got back home from the trip, Danny uploaded the photos on Google Drive so everyone would have access to them.

Food

Whenever you get hungry you will have multiple food options available. Within walking distance of the New & Gauley River Adventures base camp is the Burrito Bar at Breeze Point for tacos and the Undercut Pub & Grill that is onsite for bar food and drinks. The Burrito Bar is typically open for lunch and dinner, but they are closed on Tuesdays. Both locations do have limited hours in the off-season.

For a wider variety of restaurant choices, you can take a short drive to Fayetteville. I do suggest checking the hours of the restaurants and breweries you are interested in before you head out, especially if you are there in the spring or fall. Some of these locations have limited hours during the shoulder seasons or may be closed on certain days to focus on brewing and bottling their beers (who can be mad at that?)

Don’t forget to utilize your guide for awesome food suggestions. Our guide Patrick did not disappoint us with his suggestions for meals or hikes in the area. During our trip, we ate at the following three restaurants and they did not disappoint!

Southside Junction Tap House is a great place to chill and enjoy a beer with your friends. They have an awesome selection of both beer and food. This was a great place to relax with our group after setting up our campsites for our stay.

Pies and Pints is a chain restaurant that is known for its pizzas and beers. We had stopped at one in Charleston, West Virginia and everyone liked it enough to eat at multiple times.

Nearby attractions

New River Gorge National Park is only minutes away! This National Park covers a large area so plan on spending several days just exploring the trails. Hike, bike, or go rock climbing while you explore the park.

Babcock State Park is one of the countless gorgeous state parks in West Virginia. There is a sawmill that provides great photo opportunities and they rent out kayaks and stand-up paddleboards near their swimming beach. They also have campgrounds available if you need a place to stay.

Visit Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine for a unique view into the not-so-distant past of coal mining days. Their coal mine tour is special because it is led by actual veteran miners that take you on a cart ride down into the mine.

Summerville Lake is a great spot for all sorts of water activities and sports including scuba diving. There are also plenty of hiking trails in the area.

Why You Should Visit:

Planning an epic group vacation doesn’t have to be a huge headache and financial stressor. Lansing West Virginia is home to an abundance of outdoor activities, especially for your more adventurous friends. By booking with a local company like New & Gauley River Adventures, not only are you helping the local economy, but you will be able to get a more custom experience. This company is a one-stop-shop to make booking your group trip as easy as possible. No matter who you book your white water rafting adventures with, it will be a trip that your friends will never forget!

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