Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.
With the New River Gorge Bridge in the background, the Miss M. Rocks idles in the outflow of the New River’s Old Nasty Rapids to give passengers a view of the bridge and a whitewater raft group approaching its take-out at nearby Teays Landing.
Hawks Nest Jet Boats’ Miss M. Rocks approaches the New River Gorge Bridge near the turnaround point of an upriver excursion from Hawks Nest State Park.
Capt. Rick Larson backs the jet boat Miss M. Rocks out of its slip at Hawks Nest Marina as a 30-minute, eight-mile roundtrip excursion gets underway.
Capt. Rick Larson, now in his 30th year as a skipper on New River Jet Boats excursions, squeezes his way to the driver’s seat as business owner Bobby Bower and a group of seated passengers look on.
The 16-passnger Miss M. Rocks glides under a railroad trestle crossing Hawks Nest Lake near the starting point for an eight-mile roundtrip excursion.
New River Jet Boats passengers get a taste of whitewater, as the 20-foot Miss M. Rocks enters the tailwaters of Old Nasty Rapids, the New River's final stretch of whitewater before entering Hawks Nest Lake.
Capt. Rick Larson, right, talks with New River Jet Boats owner Bobby Bower before departing Hawks Nest Marina on an excursion run.
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With the New River Gorge Bridge in the background, the Miss M. Rocks idles in the outflow of the New River’s Old Nasty Rapids to give passengers a view of the bridge and a whitewater raft group approaching its take-out at nearby Teays Landing.
Hawks Nest Jet Boats’ Miss M. Rocks approaches the New River Gorge Bridge near the turnaround point of an upriver excursion from Hawks Nest State Park.
Capt. Rick Larson backs the jet boat Miss M. Rocks out of its slip at Hawks Nest Marina as a 30-minute, eight-mile roundtrip excursion gets underway.
Capt. Rick Larson, now in his 30th year as a skipper on New River Jet Boats excursions, squeezes his way to the driver’s seat as business owner Bobby Bower and a group of seated passengers look on.
The 16-passnger Miss M. Rocks glides under a railroad trestle crossing Hawks Nest Lake near the starting point for an eight-mile roundtrip excursion.
New River Jet Boats passengers get a taste of whitewater, as the 20-foot Miss M. Rocks enters the tailwaters of Old Nasty Rapids, the New River's final stretch of whitewater before entering Hawks Nest Lake.
Capt. Rick Larson, right, talks with New River Jet Boats owner Bobby Bower before departing Hawks Nest Marina on an excursion run.
ANSTED, W.Va. — Bobby Bower bought New River Jet Boats at a time that would turn out to be what he termed “the perfect storm of a bad time to start a business.”
“It was early 2020, just before COVID hit,” he recalled as he sat in the shade at the shoreline passenger check-in station at Hawks Nest State Park for the eight-mile roundtrip jet boat excursions his company offers.
The virus arrived in West Virginia in March 2020, forcing a delay in the planned opening of the excursion season for his jet boats, but Bower eventually got the green light to begin running trips.
In July, soon after his delayed debut season got underway, Bower received word from the company that operates Hawks Nest Dam that it would soon begin a 25-foot drawdown of Hawks Nest Lake to accommodate repairs and perform maintenance. Since his business could not operate on a narrow channel clogged with newly emerged boulders and surrounded by mud flats, Bower’s abbreviated first season abruptly came to an end.
By the start of the 2021 season, repairs to the dam and a downriver hydropower plant were complete, the lake had refilled and Bower was more than ready to put boats on the water.
“Our second year started out super strong. The Gorge had just gotten its National Park brand, which helped us bring record numbers of people here through May,” the jet boat company’s opening month, Bower said.
But in early June, a state park employee discovered a safety issue while making a routine morning inspection of the aerial tramway that carries jet boat passengers from the Hawks Nest Lodge to the New River Jet Boats marina. Park officials ordered the 50-year-old tramway closed until repairs could be made, later opting to replace the tram along with a similar system at Pipestem Resort State Park. Contracts have yet to be awarded for replacement trams.
Since the Hawks Nest tramway was closed, the state parks system has helped keep New River Jet Boats afloat by providing a shuttle van and driver to take jet boat passengers from Hawks Nest Lodge to the New River Jet Boats marina and back. The alternate route to the marina involves a one-mile drive on U.S. 60 to Ansted, then a four-mile descent of Mill Creek Road to the marina.
“It’s a beautiful ride following Mill Creek down to the marina, and along the way the driver gives people a taste of the great history of the area,” Bower said.
“I appreciate the state providing the shuttle van, and I have great faith that it will provide the park with a new tramway sometime soon,” Bower said. “Even with the challenges we’ve had, we’re running record numbers on the boat. But with a tram back in operation, it will dramatically increase visitation and make it more attractive for people to spend more time down here on the lake, and we can roll out rental kayaks, rowboats and paddleboards.”
It takes about an hour for passengers to ride the shuttle van from Hawks Nest Lodge to the marina, check in with the staff at New River Jet Boats and make the eight-mile, roughly half-hour roundtrip jet boat ride on Hawks Nest Lake from the dam to Old Nasty Rapids in the shadow of the New River Gorge Bridge.
Most of the trip takes place on the flat water of Hawks Nest Lake — the portion of New River backed up by Hawks Nest Dam — at speeds of more than 30 mph. Excursions provide access to a roadless section of canyon, passage under a railroad trestle and views of an assortment of imaginatively designed boat-in fishing camps perched on boulders and ledges along the shoreline.
Near the turnaround point of the excursions, jet boats pass Teays Landing, the take-out point for Adventures on the Gorge raft trips, and enter the outflow waves from Class III Old Nasty Rapid, the New River’s final stretch of whitewater before entering Hawks Nest Lake.
The trips take passengers to within a mile of the New River Gorge Bridge, which can be seen during most of the upriver leg of each excursion. The steep slopes bordering the waterway upstream of the marina are part of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
“We see blue herons on most of our trips, and we’ve seen a couple of juvenile bald eagles, some ospreys and peregrine falcons on other trips this year,” Bower said.
“The jet boat rides are a true, family-friendly activity, for people from 2 to 102 years old,” Bower said. “It’s not that rare for us to see four generations of a family getting on a boat. Even family dogs can take the trip.”
In addition to family groups, church, school and Scout groups account for a large share of New River Jet Boats’ customer base, he said.
Trips involving small groups usually take place aboard “Lil Boat,” an open-air tunnel hull boat with a 110-horsepower jet drive outboard and high-back padded seats for up to six passengers.
Trips with up to 16 passengers can be accommodated in the 20-foot “Miss M. Rocks,” a roofed, open-sided Waterman jet boat powered by a 406-cubic-inch engine providing 350 horsepower to an inboard water-jet propulsion system.
Rounding out the fleet is “Fish Lips,” a jet boat for fishing excursions, built on the same type hull as “Lil Boat” with seats for two anglers and a guide.
New River Jet Boat trips are piloted by Bower and veteran New River Jet Boats skipper Rick Larson, both of whom hold U.S. Coast Guard captains’ licenses.
Lanky, bearded Larson has been a captain for the company since it started operating in 1992, on a stretch of the New just below Sandstone Falls, at the south end of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The company has been based at Hawks Nest, bordering the north end of the newly designated national park, since 1994.
In his raspy, chain-smoker’s voice, Larson, or Captain Rick while on the job, regales jet boat passengers with a series of tall tales, outrageous observations and implausible self-deprecating commentary that can be as entertaining as the trip’s scenery is beautiful.
New River Jet Boat Trips cost $30 for those 17 and older and $15 for those 5 to 16. Passengers 4 and younger ride free. The ticket price includes shuttle service from Hawks Nest State Park Lodge to the marina.
Special group rates are available on weekdays. From now through October, the jet boat trips are available seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, tickets are sold at the Hawks Nest State Park lodge or at the New River Jet Boats marina. Reservations can be made for larger groups.
For more information, call 304-469-2525.
Bower said he sees Hawks Nest as the main gateway to America’s newest national park for West Virginians living in the Charleston, Huntington and Parkersburg areas.
“It’s kind of a hidden treasure of state parks,” he said, “secret enough that you don’t have to get in a long line to ride in a boat. Once you come here, you can tell other people about it — but just tell the cool ones.”
A West Virginia native who grew up in Beckley, Bower has been working on the river since 1988, starting as a whitewater rafting guide, working into management positions for outfitters and serving for many years as director of the West Virginia Professional River Outfitters.
He is also the founder and owner of Fayetteville-based Rapid Approach Rescue, maker of inflatable swift water rescue boats, and manager of Rocky Mountain Rafts and Pro River Outfitters in Oak Hill.
“There are a lot of business opportunities here in West Virginia,” Bower said. “You just have to go out and find them.”
Rick Steelhammer is a features reporter for HD Media. He can be reached at 304-348-5169 or rsteelhammer@hdmediallc.com. Follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.
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