New River Gorge - Sandstone Falls

Although there was still more to discover in the Fayetteville area, and we like to complete one section before moving on to another, rain was in the forecast, and I wanted to see Sandstone Falls on a sunny day, so we rearranged our schedule. 

On the way to the actual falls, we stopped at a couple of overlooks, and found some gorgeous views. We crossed the river in Hinton and headed to the falls, where we started with the little island loop walk.

After leaving the Sandstone area proper, we stopped at a couple of pullouts which were still in the National Park. This would be an awesome place to have a picnic, but not with toddlers!

Maybe someday we'll be back to hike the Big Branch Trail, but this time we said good-bye to river and headed back to the Sandstone Visitors Center (which wasn't open yet when we drove by that morning). After checking out all the exhibits, we ate our picnic lunch. Then it was time to explore the Grandview area.