New River State Park

The rest of the week I am going to share some great places to visit here on the blog and over on "A Life Lived Simply's" FB page. Most of the places are free to get into and are located in our beautiful North Carolina mountains. All of them are places that can be visited in a day's time, if you live in the western NC area. The last two places I will share this week are waterfalls. 

Today and tomorrow's places to visit are in the same area and can be visited in the same day. They are both have trials to hike and picnic areas. The places are New River State Park and Mount Jefferson Natural Area. They are located in Ashe County in North Carolina. The first place I am sharing is the New River State Park. 

New River State Park has several access areas, but the main one is off of HWY 221. Most of the areas have campgrounds and primitive campsites. All of them have canoe access areas where you can put in your canoes or tubs for that matter. There are picnic areas and spots where you can get into the river to wade. You can find a map of the park at the following link: New River Park Map. 

The Main Access

The Visitor's Center

Access to the river for canoes or for wading.

The New River

The park makes a nice laid back place to spend a hour or two in the river then enjoy a picnic lunch. Afterwards, you can spend a few minutes touring the Visitor's Center to learn about the river's history and ecology. Or make a weekend of it by planning a camping trip. Start planning your visit now, for this weekend or in the month of October when the leaves are changing. You won't be disappointed!   

Simply enjoying spending time with my family and creating simple memories!