How Crowded Is New River Gorge National Park & Preserve in April?

April runs about 0.8× New River Gorge National Park & Preserve's average month, which makes it a quiet month here — roughly 7% of the park's yearly visitors come in April.

In a typical April the park sees about 100,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1984 to 2025.

That makes April the 7th-busiest of the park's twelve months, sitting between the July peak (1.9×) and the January low (0.3×).

On our Best Time to Visit score April rates 57/100 ("Fair"), versus the top-rated September at 62/100 — pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season).

Typical April weather, from 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals at the nearest station, averages a daytime high near 64°F and an overnight low around 43°F, with about 3.6" of precipitation and roughly 2" of snow.

That average of about 54°F is a comfortable range for hiking and being outdoors all day.

Because June, July and August together draw about 43% of annual visitors, choosing April instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 13 hours of daylight in April to explore — between the 9.4-hour midwinter low and the 14.6-hour summer high.

Park-wide, 2025 drew 1,958,440 recreation visits, up 8.1% from 1,811,937 in 2024.

Across the past decade overall visitation has risen about 49.7%, so a April visit is likely to feel busier than it did a few years ago.