Mount Rogers Crest Zone

Mount Rogers Crest Zone is a protected high-mountain landscape in western Virginia’s George Washington and Jefferson National Forests around the state’s highest point. Part of the Mount Rogers Cluster and a heavily visited section of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, it is known for open alpine scenery, trails including the Appalachian Trail, and traces of earlier logging and railroad use. Its cool drainages, northern hardwood forests, spruce ridges, wetlands, and peat bogs support rare plants, salamanders, birds, trout streams, and an endangered northern flying squirrel subspecies. Conservation has developed unevenly, leaving ongoing debate over management, recreation, and protection of its roadless character.

Virginia · United States