Roaring Branch

Roaring Branch is a remote protected wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of southwestern Virginia, valued for old forests, undisturbed stream valleys, and unusually intact mountain watersheds. Recognized as a Wilderness Society “Mountain Treasure,” it has no roads into the area and includes a three-mile stretch of Roaring Branch considered eligible for the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Its old-growth hardwood, pine, hemlock, and chestnut oak forests support songbirds and rare plants, while trails and remnants of logging roads and railroad grades reflect both access and the region’s earlier heavy timbering. Later management decisions reduced some protections despite its exceptional natural qualities.

Big Stone Gap, Virginia · United States