George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Part 1.
2 Million Acres of Public Land ~2 Hours From DC.
“Similar driving distance as Shenandoah but with fewer people and lots to explore. This is a perfect entry point to DC’s closest national forest that we wouldn’t have known about without Will’s help and planning. He planned an excellent day for us.”
Two previous HGA posts covered specific hikes within this amazing national forest — Wolf Gap Recreation Area and Strickler Knob. Much of the Blue Ridge Parkway also runs through the forest and I included multiple day hike and side excursion suggestions in my 4-part series on the parkway — check it out, starting here: “Blue Ridge Parkway: America’s Favorite Drive, Day 1").
But the majesty of nearly 2 million acres of public land accessible to all, much of it backcountry, and just hours from DC deserves a special post all its own.
BACKGROUND AND SCALE
The forest’s full title is George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Originally, they were two separate national forests (as the name would imply) managed by the US Forest Service (USFS). But they were combined for management purposes and now encompass more than 1.8 million acres across Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. This represents one of the largest blocks of contiguous public land in the eastern United States. Within that, is over 230,000 acres of old-growth forest (some of the largest areas of old-growth left in the east) 140,000 acres of wilderness, the highest peaks in Virginia, and more.
It’s hard to grasp the scale of such large acreage without a visual so here’s a crude and completely unscientific map I drew in Google. In blue is Shenandoah National Park — very familiar to most DC residents, at roughly 200,000 acres. In red, is George Washington and Jefferson National Forests — much less familiar to those in DC but similar drive time to the northern regions and roughly 10 times bigger than Shenandoah.
As you can see, the forest stretches nearly the entire length of Virginia. Of course, not all my drawing is backcountry public land. There are many towns and roads that carve through what was once unbroken, ancient Appalachian forest. But it’s amazing to have something like this in the crowded east even in its current form.
Also, as the years progress and large areas of this forest remain protected, increasingly more of it is able to return to that old-growth state — which in turn brings back diverse ecosystems. Some day, we may once again have living in this forest wolves, mountain lions, herds of natural elk, and other species that once thrived in the mid-Atlantic!
*NOTE ON NAMING: I have historically thought of the forest region closest to DC as “George Washington National Forest” and regions further south and west as “Jefferson National Forest.” But again, since these forests were combined, and to avoid confusion, I will just refer to everything as “GWJNF” throughout the rest of the blog.
I hope that was a good primer to the amazing outdoor options you can expect visiting GWJNF any time of year!
GWJNF REGIONS, PART 1
Now, for the trip ideas. This is a long post and one of two I plan to write to cover everything. But to make things manageable, I divided my many trip ideas and easy-to-follow guides into seven regions within GWJNF. The first three regions are in this blog — all about 2 hours from DC. Part 2 blog will cover regions a little further from DC — 3 to 5 hours.
The first three regions include easy day-hike starting points that anyone can do on up to more advanced multi-day wilderness backpacking trips. Begin with a few easy trips to one region and keep coming back to this blog for more ideas!
Here are the regions / sections of this blog (moving north to south):
- REGION 1: Great North Mountain — Wolf Gap Recreation Area, Trout Pond Recreation Area, Tuscarora Trail (~2 hours from DC).
- REGION 2: Massanutten North— Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area (rock climbing), Woodstock Tower (360 views), Massanutten Trail, Peter’s Mill Run / Taskers Gap OHV System (off-roading 4x4) (~1.5 to ~2 hours from DC).
- REGION 3: Massanutten South — Strickler Knob, Camp Roosevelt Recreation Area, Kennedy Peak (360 views) (~2 hours from DC).
REGION 1: Great North Mountain — Wolf Gap Recreation Area, Trout Pond Recreation Area, Tuscarora Trail (~2 hours from DC).
The first thing to do when you’re new to exploring GWJNF is to pick up some Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) maps. The PATC has been working collaboratively with the US Forest Service for nearly 100 years maintaining trails within the forest, doing volunteer work, and educational and conservation work. They are an amazing organization and their rugged, all-weather maps are both informative and necessary if you run out of cellphone range in deeper backcountry areas of the forest. The PATC map for this first region is: Map F: Great North Mountain.
Great North Mountain is a 50-mile long mountain ridge that runs along the WV and VA borders. As far back as 1755, it’s also been referred to as “The Devil’s Backbone.” There are hundreds of miles of trails and camping options in this area.
Wolf Gap and Trout Pond are both designated USFS recreation areas. Certainly, you can outdoor recreate in the whole Great North Mountain region! But, these designated recreation areas have a little more in the way of facilities: toilets, designated camp areas, plenty of parking, etc. If backcountry camping isn’t your thing, definitely consider Wolf Gap or Trout Pond.
Wolf Gap Recreation Area is very accessible from DC and you can drive right up to the trailhead with cell service the whole way. You can do this as a day hike or camping trip. Although, camping is the best way to hit both Tibbet Knob and Big Schloss trails— which both have incredible 360 views from the top.
I’ve already covered Wolf Gap extensively in a previous blog so please go here for all the details.
Trout Pond Recreation Area is 30 minutes down the road from Wolf Gap and is a great place to cool off in the hot summer months. There’s sandy beach swimming at Rock Cliff Lake and stocked trout for fishing. Trout Pond right next to it is the only natural lake in West Virginia. Additional easy trails around the lake can be found. There’s even flush toilets and warm showers! Check out the USFS page for more details: here.
The blue-blazed Tuscarora Trail is also in this region. This is an incredible 250-mile trail through the “Ridge and Valley Appalachians of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.” It was established as an alternate to the Appalachian Trail. More information can be found at: www.hikethetuscarora.org. The Tuscarora Trail is also part of a larger developing trail system called the “Great Eastern Trail” that aims to connect multiple regional trails together into an 1,800 mile unbroken trail from Alabama to New York that parallels the Appalachian Trail to the west.
Again, the best way to visualize all the trails in this region (aside from my great photos) is to pick up the PATC Map F: Great North Mountain.
REGION 2: Massanutten North — Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area (rock climbing), Woodstock Tower (360 views), Massanutten Trail, Peter’s Mill Run / Taskers Gap OHV System (off-roading 4x4) (~1.5 to ~2 hours from DC).
Moving east from Wolf Gap is the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area of GWJNF. The northern section of this region is even closer to DC (only 1.5 hours) but I cover it here second as the region extends further south and west along the massive Massanutten Mountain ridge. Plus, I still think Wolf Gap is an excellent / easy starting place for those new to GWJNF!
This second region is covered in the PATC map: Map G: Massanutten Mt.
Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area is a section of GWJNF well known for rock climbing — one of the many uses of our incredible national forests! I am sad to say that I have ONLY ever been rock climbing here. But there are tons of trail options nearby. Since it is a recreation area, similar to Wolf Gap and Trout Pond, there are toilets, well-kept campsites, and a few other amenities to make your day trip or weekend camping trip easy. Check out the USFS website: here. The 250-mile Tuscarora Trail, mentioned in the previous region, also extends into Elizabeth Furnace.
An absolute must in this Massanutten region is Woodstock Tower. The old Civilian Conservation Corps observation tower is in great condition and offers 360 views of the backcountry forest and mountains, the Fort Valley and town of Woodstock thousands of feet below, and the seven bends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. There is also Seven Bends State Park that I’d highly recommend for beautiful flat trails right alongside the river.
Woodstock Tower is easily accessible any time of year but in the winter months Woodstock Tower Road coming from the town of Woodstock is closed. You can make it just across the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in your car but then you have to park at the GWJNF sign / gate (limited parking along the road shoulder). From here, it’s about a 5-mile total roundtrip hike along the road to the tower and back with about 1,300 ft of elevation gain.
Here’s my screenshot of this hike. I parked at the green spot just beyond the Burnshire Hydro Dam. I then hike along the Woodstock Tower Road zig-zagging up until the visible “P” you can see in the screenshot which is the much closer parking area for the tower but only accessible in warmer months. From this parking area, it’s a very short distance to the tower — only about 0.2 miles.
All these points are accessible on Google Maps as well as the PATC map for the area.
Also near this parking area is one of the entry points onto the orange-blazed Massanutten Trail. You can do as much of this trail as you like as a relatively flat ridgeline hike out-and-back from the parking area with frequent great views (especially in winter with no leaves on the trees). The total trail is an epic 70-mile loop that traverses the entire Massanutten Mountain ridge. The loop also encircles Fort Valley below which seems to exist like a protected oasis time capsule of rural land surrounded by mountains.
I highly recommend driving through this area — which is another way to get to Woodstock Tower in the summer months from points east like DC. Cutting directly across GWJNF through Fort Valley on smaller, mostly forest service roads (but all very-well marked and mapped on Google) means you don’t have to circle all the way around to the west and the town of Woodstock first. This drive, climbing up and over the Massanutten Mountain ridge then down into Fort Valley (still some churches, country stores, and private properties around), is beautiful and like stepping back 100 years. You will also pass through Little Fort Recreation Area just to the east of Woodstock Tower — another great place for camping.
I can’t recommend this region enough! It is amazing and easily accessible while still feeling much more remote than almost any similar region so close to DC. I’ve never seen more than a few people at a time in this area and there are many more side trail options visible on the PATC map — again, Map G: Massanutten Mt.
Also, in the same region but a little further south is Peter’s Mill Run / Taskers Gap OHV System. “OHV” = off-highway vehicle. So this is a big off-roading and 4x4 area — the largest in the state of Virginia in fact. Horses, Jeeps, ATVs, motorcycles, and other 4x4 vehicles thrive in this area along fun and challenging rocky / dirt roads. There are even dedicated OHV camping areas only reachable with a 4x4 vehicle. While controversial to some, OHV is another example of the many uses of our national forests and one that is hard to find in many national parks, for instance. For more information, permits, and maps, check out: here.
REGION 3: Massanutten South — Strickler Knob, Camp Roosevelt Recreation Area, Kennedy Peak (360 views) (~2 hours from DC).
Continuing south along the Massanutten Mountain ridge is Strickler Knob. I have an entire blog dedicated to this hike, which is one of my favorites in the area and has incredible views. There are also many easy camping options. Please check that blog out: here.
Another great area of this region is the Camp Roosevelt Recreation Area. You should be well aware of the options USFS recreation areas can provide at this point. But Camp Roosevelt is particularly important because it is the site of the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the nation. If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know the impact the CCC had on building so many of the trails and parks we enjoy today.
From History.com, “Considered by many to be one of the most successful of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, the CCC planted more than three billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks nationwide during its nine years of existence. The CCC helped to shape the modern national and state park systems we enjoy today.”
Enjoy camping and hiking at the historic Camp Roosevelt in GWJNF. But for one of the best hikes in region, check out Kennedy Peak. I highly recommend Hiking Upward’s 7.0-mile trail loop: here. This starts from the parking area along the orange-blazed Massanutten Trail to the short spur trail at the end which takes you to the Kennedy Peak observation deck. This loop then continues along Massanutten Trail and returns along the yellow-blazed Stephens Trail.
If you want to cut down on the miles you can just hike to the peak and back along the same Massanutten Trail which is about 5 miles with only 900ft of elevation gain. It’s a great and pretty flat ridgeline trail until the final (short) spur trail climb to the peak.
The Kennedy Peak parking area also has an incredible view of the Shenandoah Valley below and is easily navigated to from Google Maps.
On top of Kennedy Peak is a fire tower viewing platform with 360 views. Ony two hours from DC this is an easy day hike with incredible views. Although, with tons of great breweries, wineries, mountain cabin rentals, and little towns like Luray to explore along the way it’s easy to turn this into a weekend+ trip.
I’ll stop there for this Part 1 but will continue on south and west in GWJNF in Part 2 which will cover some truly spectacular areas, like:
- Three Ridges Wilderness
- The Blue Ridge Parkway
- McAffee Knob (the most photographed spot along the Appalachian Trail)
- Mount Rogers (highest peak in VA)
- Grayson Highlands (wild ponies)
- Waterfalls
- Old-growth forests
And more!
Finally, remember that there are important differences between the U.S. Forest Service land of George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and the National Park Service land of Shenandoah or the Great Smokies. There are specific rules and regulations to “know before you go.” USFS is typically more remote, backcountry, and requires a bit more planning. But once you do, an incredible outdoor world opens up! And as always, Leave No Trace.
Will Hackman, Hackman Guided Adventures
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