There is a long list of reasons why you should visit the amazing Adventures on the Gorge.
Located in the startlingly beautiful New River Gorge in the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia, which is part of the New River Gorge National Park, it’s not only in a uniquely beautiful location but also offers an astonishing array of adventure activities, including whitewater rafting, which is the iconic reason the resort began in the first place.
The New River Gorge National River is still somewhat of an undiscovered paradise and was designated part of the United States National Park Service in 1978. It spreads out for 53 miles along the New River, and includes some of the most prime white water rafting territory in the United States. The river flows north through deep, scenic canyons, is one of the oldest rivers on the continent, and the park itself offers over 70,000 acres of land available for world-class rock climbing, hiking, zip lining, a bridge walk above the river, and plenty of other water sports in addition to white water rafting. Adventures on the Gorge is the perfect place to experience this area and all it has to offer.
This is not your average vacation or even your average resort; rather, it’s a completely unique adventure resort – and we loved every minute of our recent visit, including a visit to charming, nearby Fayetteville, West Virginia with interesting little shops and restaurants. Everything from the amazing array of accommodations, to the hospitality of all the employees, to the activities from relaxing by the beautiful Canyon Falls Swimming Pool to rafting your way down the New River, white-knuckled and soaked, make this a great destination.
But one of our very favorite things on a recent visit turned out, quite surprisingly, to be the food.
The resort has three restaurants each of which offers great, friendly service, fabulous views, and really, really good food. Most of the meals in the restaurants are buffet-style or casual dining like pizzas which makes sense when you consider that most everyone at the resort is participating in incredibly active activities and is starving! However, they also can provide some pretty darn fancy meals as well, which is nice since they also do weddings. One nice thing about all the restaurants is that they are super casual so you certainly don’t have to worry about dressing up for a meal.
On our first night at the resort, we spent the evening at Chetty’s Pub. Chetty’s does not require reservations, is open for lunch and dinner most days, and is the only restaurant at the resort that is open year round. They specialize in Appalachian-style pub food including chicken wings, which are also featured on Monday nights at wing nights where they offer specials and live music.
Named for Chester Wayne “Chetty” Morton, an expert bus driver and mechanic who worked for the resort for years as a bus driver, his namesake restaurant is a charming, large wooden building which is perfect for the area, and has a laid-back atmosphere with plenty of beer on tap, multiple big screen televisions, and a huge deck with a great view of the New River Gorge.
Prior to dinner, we enjoyed the view and I had a delicious drink called a Watermelon Jolly Rancher which is just my kind of alcoholic drink – sweet, cold, and delicious!
We enjoyed an array of appetizers for our table which gave us the opportunity to try several different times, all of which were delicious, especially the wings. They also have a pretzel and beer cheese dip which looks amazing!
But my favorite was a spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip which was the perfect accompaniment for my ice cold drink since I needed that coolness to offset the spiciness!
We also had dinner one night at Buffler’s Barbecue Grill which is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner most days seasonally as it is an open-air restaurant. They offer sandwiches, salads, a variety of barbecued dishes, and great pizzas, which is what we enjoyed. You can eat there or take the pizza with you, or even have it delivered to your cabin or campsite!
It wasn’t until I looked over their dining options online that I realized, with our busy schedule on our visit, we had completely missed out on Sweet Java Falls, a coffee and espresso bar at the resort. Offering sweet rolls, and a variety of delicious coffee drinks, this is a place my coffee-addicted husband would have loved. It’s on our list for the next visit!
Our favorite place to eat though (at least on this visit!) was Smokey’s on the Gorge. Another charming wooden building overlooking the Gorge, it’s a premium yet casual restaurant which offer five star food but still allows you to dress casually. Named for Dana “Smokey” Morton, another loved and famous bus driver for the resort, the restaurant offers gourmet buffet dining which may seem to be an oxymoron but actually works for this location. The outdoor deck seating is the place to be for the amazing views of the Gorge, especially at sunset. Their breakfast buffet offers one option that will have you praising your choice to eat here – brown sugar bacon which was so amazing, I nearly cried when I found out we were having breakfast someplace else another morning.
A full, fresh, and delicious salad bar comes with every dinner, and the entrees include grilled meats, poultry, and seafood, all creatively presented by their chefs. A different menu is offered every night so they can take advantage of the freshest local ingredients available. French-pressed coffee and delectable, homemade desserts finish your meal and wine or a cocktail is available from the full bar.
On our last night at the resort, our group was presented with a special and completely wonderful meal at Smokey’s, which gave us an idea of how great the food would be at any event they plan.
We started with two appetizers which were so delicious, I had to force myself to stop eating so I could enjoy the rest of the meal.
Then, just when I thought life could not get any better, a plate of a tender and luscious steak with an equally delicious crab cake creatively stacked on top was placed in front of me.
And when I had inhaled all of that and thought I couldn’t eat another bite, I had to make room for some fabulous cake. Which, because I am quite professional at food writing and also a bit of a pig for sweets, I did.
Adventures on the Gorge really has something to offer for everyone from very active, adventurous sports to just relaxing by the pool with a cold drink. But, in addition to all the activities, there’s the food.
And the food is almost worth making the trip all on its own.
The resort is also the perfect place to relax and watch the amazingly beautiful sunset over the New River Gorge.
So whether you are going for fun or food or both (my recommendation!), you will love it here just as much as we did.
And if you are still not quite sure the food is as amazing as I said, check out this video.
[vimeo 100120536 w=500 h=281]