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About Bridge Day

What is Bridge Day?

  1. Bridge Day is October 19, 20224, and is the 40th Bridge Day due to the 2020 and 2021 events being cancelled due to COVID concerns.
  2. Bridge Day™ is trademarked.
  3. Bridge Day is an annual one-day event held on the third Saturday every October to commemorate the 1977 completion of the New River Gorge Bridge.
  4. Organizers went back 100 years to get the best foliage day and weather day.
  5. US Route 19 is generally closed from 7 am until 5 pm on Bridge Day.
  6. Bridge Day is West Virginia’s largest one day festival and one of the top 100 festivals in the US.
  7. Bridge Day consists of:
    1. Sightseers who walk the Bridge
    2. BASE
    3. High Line
    4. Rappellers
    5. Vendors
  8. The first New River Gorge Bridge Day was held on November 8, 1980. There were two parachutists that jumped from a plane onto the bridge. Then five parachutists jumped from the Bridge. 5,500 certificates were given out to people taking the 3,000-foot walk across the Bridge.
  9. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
  10. There have been three deaths during Bridge Day due to accidents involving BASE jumpers.
  11. Bungee jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge was tried a couple of time during Bridge Day festivities (1993 and 1995). Injuries sustained during a mass bungee jump in 1995 prompted the banning of bungee jumping at Bridge Day. It was decided that base jumping was a much more enjoyable attraction for spectators and participants alike.
  12. Each Bridge Day generates one million dollars plus in the southern West Virginia economy.
  13. Since 9/11, the Bridge Day rappelling community has performed a raising and lowering of our flags. Before 9 am, two rappellers ascend a rope with both the United States of America and West Virginia flags. After 3 pm as the last BASE jumper leaves the Bridge, two rappellers rappel down with the flags.
  14. Bridge Day is coordinated by the New River Gorge Bridge Day Commission, and is sponsored by numerous organizations of local, state, and national significance.
  15. All four lanes of the bridge are closed on Bridge Day and the east side is open to pedestrians.
  16. Estimates have 40,000 to 250,000 people attending Bridge Day through the years.
  17. The 1st Bridge Day which was called Bridge Walk.
  18. The website for Bridge Day is www.officialbridgeday.com.
Visit the Official Bridge Day Website

Bridge Day Bridge Walk

Celebrate West Virginia’s Bridge Day with a wonderful walk along the catwalk of the New River Gorge Bridge. Watch the BASE jumpers from the middle of the Bridge!

Book Your Spot for the Bridge Day Bridge Walk here.

High Line

The Bridge Day High Line gives the general public the opportunity to be a Bridge Day participant.  The first New River Gorge Bridge High Line was in 1994. In 2001, when Bridge Day was cancelled, there was a 2,200’ high line rigged near the New River Gorge Bridge that extended across the New River Gorge.  This will be the 19th Bridge Day High Line with over 2,200 riders.

The high line rider will glide from the New River Gorge Bridge’s catwalk to State Route 82.  Your speed will be controlled by a belayer. You will drop 300 vertical feet while sliding 600-700’.  Please go to www.bridgedayrappel.com for information about and register for the New River Gorge Bridge Day High Line in 2022.

Rappel

Bridge Day rappel teams rappel distances between 700-851 feet depending on their respective anchor on the catwalk of the New River Gorge Bridge.  The rappelling requires equipment, training, and experience. The rappeller’s age range has been from 14 to 81. Please go to www.bridgedayrappel.com for information about the New River Gorge Bridge Day High Line.

High Line and Rappel Registration Website