FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — One of the best known times of the year in West Virginia has arrived. Friday morning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the first tube at Summersville Dam and energized the downstream flow of the Gauley River. The annual controlled release from Summersville Lake will become a playground for thrill seekers from around the world who flock to the mountains of West Virginia.
“It’s 22 days of the world’s best whitewater, period. The WORLD.” said West Virginia Tourism Commissioner Amy Shuler-Goodwin.
Shuler-Goodwin and colleagues stood on the banks of the river below the dam to see the first rafters of the season strap on helmets and life jackets and grab paddles to begin the ride of a lifetime down the 25 miles of nearly non-stop class III, IV, and V whitewater rapids.
“People from all across the country and folks from different countries were standing there watching as the release came out of Summersville Dam,” she said. “Getting into these rafts, the excitement is crazy.”
The revenue the season generates is crazy too. It’s the most lucrative time of the year for whitewater outfitters, but the season has a ripple effect throughout the local economy. The rafters are sleeping in local hotels, eating in local restaurants, and buying their gas and groceries there for the next several weekends. The best part is there is no competition. Nobody else in the world has a Gauley River.
“We are of tremendous value to the country and the world. We have things no other state has,” said Goodwin. “Those are things we know and believe in. Investing in travel and tourism is going to be the bread and butter of our economy as we move forward.”