Hawks Nest State Park is located on 370 acres (150 ha) in Fayette County near Ansted, West Virginia. The park's clifftop overlook along U.S. Route 60 provides a scenic vista of the New River, some 750 feet (230 m) below. The hydro-electric project tunnel that passes underneath nearby Gauley Mountain was the scene of the tragic Depression-era Hawk's Nest incident. The original building, now a gift shop and museum, was built as a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) project in which Eleanor Roosevelt was a driving force to build State Parks in WV and other areas. The new lodge was constructed in the 1960s when Kermit McKeever was in charge of the WV Department of Parks and Recreation. The park's lodge and aerial gondola to the river are located about a mile further east from the overlook along