New River Gorge Bridge

One of the longest steel arch bridges in the world, 267m above the river.

A staggering piece of engineering: 1,700 feet of curving steel arch standing 876 feet above the New River. From 1977 until 2003 it was the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world; it's still the third longest. From the Canyon Rim Visitor Center on the north side there are two observation decks and a long boardwalk-and-staircase trail down to a lower platform that offers the best photo.

For a more visceral encounter, the privately run Bridge Walk takes small groups (in harnesses, on a permanent catwalk underneath the highway deck) the full length of the bridge — a serious bucket-list experience for anyone comfortable with heights.

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A story
When the bridge opened in 1977 it cut the drive across the gorge from 45 minutes to 45 seconds. For one Saturday every October — Bridge Day — the highway closes and the deck becomes the largest legal BASE-jumping event in the world: hundreds of jumpers leap off the rail into the gorge, while rappellers descend ropes and ordinary pedestrians are allowed to walk across for the only time all year.