By Greg Jordan, CNHI West Virginia
FAYETTEVILLE — West Virginia became the nation’s first state Friday to reopen its national parks after disagreements in Congress over funding bills led to the federal government’s shutdown.
Speaking during a live streamed press conference from the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in Fayette County, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that West Virginia had received a signed donor agreement from the National Park Service to fully reopen its national parks amid the federal government shutdown, becoming the nation’s first state to do so.
“It’s truly an opportunity to showcase West Virginia,” the governor said at the park’s Canyon Rim Visitors Center. “West Virginia is America’s playground and we want you to know our national parks are open and ready for you to visit.”
Morrisey said that he reached out to the Trump administration when the federal government’s shutdown threatened to close the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve as well as Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in Jefferson County.
“I know that President Trump cares so much about national parks,” Morrisey said, adding that by securing the nation’s first agreement to keep national parks open, the ongoing shutdown will have no effect on the ones in West Virginia.
After learning that national park visitor centers would be closed, Morrisey said that his team at the West Virginia Department of Tourism immediately began developing a plan to keep the state’s national parks accessible to the public. This agreement guarantees two weeks and can be reevaluated if needed.
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park are open to visitors and are expected to return to full operations in the next few days.
“I want to thank Secretary Doug Burgum and the Trump administration for working with West Virginia to become the first state to fully reopen our national parks,” Morrisey said. “We recognize the importance of our parks to the local economy and hardworking West Virginians, as well as the many visitors who want to enjoy our state’s natural beauty.”
Reopening West Virginia’s national parks is especially important this time of the year, said West Virginia Department of Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby.
“Tourism is essential to West Virginia’s economy, and we want to ensure that our national parks are able to continue welcoming folks to the Mountain State,” Ruby said. “October is one of our busiest months for visitation, and thanks to Gov. Morrisey for allowing us to use state funds, travelers can still visit our parks for stunning fall foliage.”
In 2024, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve recorded a total of 1,811,937 visitors with more than 200,000 visiting in October alone. Last year, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park welcomed more than 488,000 guests with nearly 78,000 arriving that October.
Morrisey and Ruby spoke about figures that they said demonstrated tourism’s importance to the state economy. Economic impact data released Tuesday at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism showed that West Virginia has surpassed $9.1 billion in annual tourism economic impact for the first time, with visitor volume surpassing 77.2 million. On average, travelers spend more than $18 million in West Virginia a day.
During the press conference, Morrisey urged the public to plan trips to West Virginia’s national parks by visiting wvtourism.com/fall.
“The best way to sell West Virginia is for you to come and visit,” Morrisey said, adding that the state is revisited more often than any other destination in the country. “Who wouldn’t want to come back here again and again and again?”
The governor called for the federal government to reopen and resume operations.
“While we are excited to have our national parks reopened, it’s time for (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats to come to the table and end the Schumer shutdown,” he said.
