Cheat Narrows Put-in Improvement Planned

The group Friends of the Cheat has raised funds that will allow it to purchase riverfront property for a much-improved put-in on the Cheat Narrows. 

FOC's Charlie Walbridge says that $26,000 was raised to fund the purchase of land where Narrows paddlers currently have to park along a narrow, busy roadside and then slip-slide under a guardrail and down an embankment to put on. FOC now will pursue grants to increase parking, improve the river access, and install traffic calming measures. This access point, known as The Caves, has long been used by private boaters as well as commercial outfitters. "Paddlers familiar with this section of the Narrows know how stressful it can be when unloading boats and humans along the narrow scenic byway," FOC's whitewater access web page points out.

Donation of adjacent land facilitating the overall improvement plan was finalized in March. "In honor of the family’s mother, the access site will also be known as 'YaYa’s Landing.' FOC is grateful for the generosity and continued support from Arkley Forestlands LLC and the Clark family," the group says on its web page, which has a rendering of the improvement plan. The page says that "FOC is committed to improving this prized section of river over the next few years to make it one of the more user-friendly access points in West Virginia."