CHARLESTON, W.VA. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) is upgrading public access sites along the Elk River in Kanawha County and adding several new locations near Charleston where anglers and kayakers can put a boat into this popular waterway.

Work is underway on new access sites in Clendenin and Big Chimney. Additionally, upgrades are being made to existing sites along the river.

“The Elk River is a resource unbelievable in beauty, fishing, kayaking and just enjoying a great day with your family and it’s coming to life for all of us here in West Virginia,” said Gov. Jim Justice. “This is more great work by our DNR and I thank them for continuing to help our state’s tourism continue to expand.”

In addition to building new access sites along the Elk River, the WVDNR will upgrade an existing site in Clendenin. The agency will also close the access site at Blue Creek and build a larger, more accessible site located upstream. The current site at Mink Shoals will be closed so a new site across the river at Coonskin Park can be built.

“With the growth of tourism in West Virginia, we really want to promote access to our rivers and streams, which is a huge part of our agency’s mission, and these five brand new access sites are going to open up the Elk to a lot of people,” said WVDNR Director Stephen McDaniel. “The Elk River is a place people have fished for many years and these improvements will make sure that people can keep doing that for years to come.”

Each access site is located between four and six miles apart to spread out fishing pressure and make it easier for the WVDNR to perform maintenance in future years. To learn more about public access sites along the Elk River and on other waterways in West Virginia, visit www.mapwv.gov/huntfish.