new river junction

I like this because it has a real down to earth country vibe to it. The section of the river you float down is nestled in between too gorgeous hills, and the train runs quite often and is fun to look at while floating down the river. It's not deep at all. Some parts of the river are only ankle deep, but it's still tons of fun. I would also rank it safe due to the low depth of the water.The shuttle the drives you back to the parking lot is nice too. Be warned: they make you pay for parking.

I went with my friend on a beautiful day, and floated down the river several times. It's very relaxing and fun. However, its a bit hard to find, so follow the instructions on their website. Also, it saves time at the counter to print off liability forms ahead of time. I also highly recommend wearing water shoes or old sneakers and having a restraint for sunglasses. The best time to go is when the river is low.

This place is great to go with friends or family just for a fun summer afternoon. It's reasonably priced to go tubing as long as you want and they provide transportation back up to the starting point in case you don't want to walk. It's not a super long float, but definitely a fun one with "mini rapids" scattered throughout.

We camped here in our popup side by side with our best friend's family, both of us having many pre-teen and teens. All of us had an absolute blast! The sites are smaller than many campgrounds, however most back up to the gorgeous river. You can position your vehicle to get as much privacy as you prefer. The river was gentle enough to swim, fish, float and allow all to enjoy nature's playground. There is indeed a train that goes by several times but this added to the over thrill of being in the mountains (we were so tired from playing in the river that we mostly slept through the noise). The bathrooms were the only area that I would say needed improvement, but the positives totally outweighed that for us so we will definitely return.

For a few bucks you can tube a short distance in the river and then cook out at their park. They include the grill, charcoal and paper products. The staff was very friendly. Fun day.

This camp ground is nestled between two very active, especially at night, trains. They are very loud and one blows its whistle for minutes all night. No sleep. You share a site with others and there is limited customer support. Very crowded. They allow drinking even though their site says they don't so if you don't want your kids around that then this isn't the place for you. The river is nice, but when the water is low its next to impossible to "tube".

This is a very small campground with RV campsites right on the river and is quite picturesque. That is where the pleasure ends. There is one bathroom for women - that means one person in at a time for all amenities. We couldn't get the shower to turn on so no shower for us. It was clean however. One further secret is that the campground sits between two very active train tracks that are deafening - kids counted over 40 trains in a 24 hr period and woke us up multiple times throughout the nights. The worse thing though was the commercial grade lawnmower that roared through the small campground from 5-7 pm on one night and from 5 until dark he next night. So much for a peaceful campfire meal by the fire. Totally obnoxious. Caretakers were nice and friendly but will not be back.

casual, fun activity to relax and cool off on a hot day. Plan ahead as their doesn't seem to be a place to change out of wet clothes afterwards.

We came here with a Girl Scout troop. We had a blast and the crew was very cautious about safety. All kids under 16 have to wear a life vest. Although most of the water is shallow, once you get past the rapids, it is over your head. At least 10 feet deep. From the start to past the rapids, it is about 45 - 60 minutes. You can also stop before the rapids at the picnic area and have lunch. Then you can just do the rapids part over and over. There is a bus to take you back to your car.They were a little overwhelmed because the VT and Radford students were back and they were crowded. Here is some advice:Try to go when the water is higher. We had a summer drought and so our butts scraped on a few rocks. Wear shorts over a bathing suit. It will protect the suit.There are only two bathrooms - single person. They are by the Junction entrance and not where you end tubing.The rapid WILL splash you and you may get a mouthful of water.If you are with a good-sized group, keep track of where your tube is at all times. It makes it easier to check out at the end.

NJR is fun for all -- we camped in sites 12 and 13 and they were right by the river - great views. We didn't like that they lock the bath house for part of the day and the Port-A-Potties needed to be cleaned out more often.

Family and I visited on July 5. Beautiful 70 degree weather, sunny skies and clear river greeted us and we were thrilled to be there at our arrival. We paid the required $2 parking fee and then self parked our car about 300 yards away and walked to the main building to purchase tickets for tubing rentals etc...we arrived at 1pm and were told by the attendant that they were not renting anymore tubes until the ones that were already rented out started getting returned (they had run out by 1pm). We asked if there was a waiting list that we could sign our names onto and told them we were more than happy to wait. The attendant explained that they don't make waiting lists and that we should just go sit by the river banks and play and that when some tubes became available that they would walk out there and yell at everyone to come on up and get them. Well 3 hrs passed and none of the staff ever bothered to notify us of tubes being available even though they had been trickling in....Well we finally approached the manager at the location and confronted him about the fact that we noticed tubes were being rented and they never bothered to notify anyone waiting even though they knew we were waiting for hours...he admitted they had tubes and would rent them to us, we only had time for one trip down the river before they closed for the day and even though we asked for two child sized tubes they insisted the four tubes we were given included two children's tubes and two adults. We compared the diameters by stacking them and they were all identical sized....so our two children kept falling through the bottoms of their tubes during the trip down the river.So here is the good, the bad & the ugly of this attraction:The Good:Gorgeous and amazingly clean and clear river surrounded by beautiful mountains!The Bad:Business is operated poorly and has a very limited supply of tubes available.The Ugly:The staff is uninterested in providing customer service, looked annoyed when asked about starting a waiting list for the tubes and told everyone that they couldn't buy more tubes because the manufacturers are selling them any more? Seriously? rubber tubes arent being made anymore?

NRJ is a hidden gem of fun for anyone that loves the outdoors. The staff there is exceptional, with a ton of local knowledge. I appreciate the fact that they place a very high priority on safety. Always call before arriving, unless you're in the area for a few days. The New River can be difficult to predict and NRJ may be closed because of high water even though the weather is beautiful. They are good about updating the daily status by 10:30 AM.The float downriver is beautiful, even if you choose to exit at their park rather than go over McCoy falls. NRJ provides a lot of support if you want to grill. Talk to your bus driver and he or she can really help you out there.A visit to NRJ is best when you bring 5, 10 or 20 friends along! Check their website for their guidelines. The only thing they take as seriously as safety is protecting the environment that makes this stretch of the River special (no glass bottles, being very careful of trash, etc.).Overall, a great way to spend 4-6 hours on a summer day. You don't have to wait for the weekends - NRJ is open every day the river allows. They also have a campground with amenities.

Some of the most awesome people you'll ever meet. Just park, pay, and float all day. The bus comes to fetch you for another round. Can't beat it.

Overall, we had a good time, mostly due to the beautiful weather and good friends that joined us. We drove on over and had a nice time in the great outdoors. The river is wide and not too deep, so we felt very safe. The water was also pretty warm, so that was especially nice. It moved along in a leisurely drift for about 30 minutes then there is some rapids just past the get out spot. The rapids are great, but you will need to walk down the road to the picnic area/get-out spot for the bus to pick you up. I would have preferred a longer tubing experience with another shuttle further down the river. It just seemed like you were just starting to get settled in, then it was already time to get out. We didn't have to wait long for the shuttles to arrive, but if it wasn't full, we would just sit on the bus and wait. The drivers were polite, but not friendly. They seemed disinterested if folks were having a good time or not.I wasn't surprised that we had to pay to park in a field, as all of the charges are listed on their website, so check there if you have any questions about fees. However, since we did have to pay to park, I did expect somebody to patrol or at least have the feeling of being secure. Also, I'm glad it didn't rain, because they just have a pegboard type key holder where you hang your keys and anybody could watch you then go steal you car while you are in the river. . I wonder how many electronic keys have gotten ruined in the rain, when a quick storm popped up? I did see a porta-potty and that a shower was available if you needed it. There was a train that came by during our visit and I loved the charm of that :)The campers in the campground seemed happy and friendly.The next day, we chose to visit Cascade Falls in Pembroke. I would highly recommend this attraction for a day in the outdoors.

What a great day this place is fun for everyone small or large groups plan ahead to make sure they are open due to water levels great place to grill out and a full day of fun. Relax down the river with a cooler or a raft for your pet. They set up the grill upon request and shuttle you back to the start for as many times down as you like. Very clean and friendly staff along with great rates make this a destination of choice. This is a A+ retreat and will return many more times!!