Devils Fork

Devils Fork is a protected wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, valued for its remote mountain scenery, streams, trails, waterfall, and the rock-carved pool called Devils Bathtub. Its forests include 628 acres of old growth, important biological areas, and habitat for species such as magnolia warblers, black bear, deer, and turkey. Older logging roads and railroad grades remain from the heavily timbered early twentieth century. In recent decades, its history has turned on conservation and contested land use, as roadless protections were reduced, private mineral rights persisted, and coal exploration was permitted near its western edge despite continued management for recreation and conservation.

Virginia · United States