Taking In The Views At Turkey Spur Overlook In New River Gorge National Park
- Address: 4799-4649 Turkey Spur Rd, Beaver, WV 25813
- GPS: 37.84845, -81.06122
Turkey Spur Overlook is located in the Grandview section of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia.
The overlook provides stunning panoramic views of the the surrounding Appalachian hills as well as the winding New River 1,000 feet below.
The boardwalk and steps were replaced and the overlook reopened in 2017 after a fire destroyed the structure in 2015. From the top you can view Stretchers Neck, which is a four-mile hairpin turn in the river that makes it appear to be doubling back on itself.
From the overlook you can also see the town of Prince to the west that happens to be the home of an Amtrak depot. Directly below Turkey Spur overlook is the abandoned coal mining town of Royal, which was Raleigh County’s first coal mine.
The overlook is located off a small parking area at the end of Turkey Spur Road in Beaver, West Virginia. It’s trailhead marks the ending (or beginning depending on where you start) of the Grandview Rim Trail.
From the parking lot you take a short path leading to the steps of the overlook. Once you walk up 150 steps (get ready to feel your calves burn) you will reach the top. A boardwalk will take you to multiple viewing platforms to soak in all the spectacular views surrounding you. Have your camera ready!
We hiked the rim trail to the overlook and back and truthfully, unless the rhododendrons are blooming, I would skip that hike. The rim trail is pretty easy, but we found it extremely boring. Save yourself some time and just drive to the parking lot.
Turkey Spur Overlook is a cool spot though and completely worth checking out. It’s a bit of a workout climbing all those steps to reach the top, but the extra effort is worth it for all those incredible views of the park. This is a pet friendly trail as well which is always a bonus.
If you do want to get some hiking in though you can do a loop with Castle Rock trail, Grandview Rim trail and Turkey Spur Overlook and make an adventure out of it. Castle rock trail is really cool and we both enjoyed it a lot.
