George Washington and Thomas Jefferson National Forest covers approximately 1.8 million acres which gives plenty of opportunities to explore and disperse camp. For this trip I target the area around Staunton and Lexington, VA.
Attendees:
- Ben D.– 2021 Toyota 4Runner
- Jeff K. – 2022 Land Rover Defender
I started the trip at the Confederate Breastworks Interpretive Site near West Augusta, VA. It is a small Civil War site that provides some interesting history. From there I picked up the Mid-Atlantic Backcountry Discover Route (MABDR) and headed south. The first forest service road I explored was 394 – Sugar Tree which was a well graded gravel road with a few dispersed camping sites.
From there I explored forest road 465 – Piney Mountain which was your typical rough road with a few dispersed sites. Wanting to camp near a stream, I headed to Poor Farm Dispersed Camp area which is set up well for tents but not sleeping in a vehicle. Poking around the area I found a dispersed site nearby that perfectly met my needs!
The next morning, I hit the road early to meet up with Jeff for some more exploring. We met in Millboro Springs and headed for the Pads Creek Trail. Once we got to the start of the trail we aired down for the adventure ahead.
We started at the north end of Pads Creek Trail which runs along a train track with several tight sections that are happy to leave some pinstripes on your rig. The trail has several stream crossings and deep mud puddles. We had been watching the Cowpasture River USGS river monitor and with it registering around 1.5 feet we didn’t encounter any problems with any of the crossings of Pads Creek.
We did end up going through an optional deep mud puddle that had a slimy bottom that stopped both of us mid-crossing. With a short backup and a bit more skinny pedal we both made it through without any assistance.
The final obstacle at the south end of the trail is a long crossing of the Cowpasture River. The stream bottom was firm gravel that was relatively smooth at the time we crossed so even though the water was a bit deep we crossed without any drama.
After finishing Pads Creek we put a little bit of air in our tires and proceeded to take a scenic drive on some back country roads to Lexington, VA. From here we parted ways with Jeff heading for home and me resupplying before heading for my planned camping area. After resupplying in Lexington I headed to an area west of Buena Vista which looked like it had some promising dispersed camp spots. I found the perfect spot near the Pedlar River!
The next morning I headed into Buena Vista for a few things before heading south on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Around Mile Marker 51 I turned off the Parkway to access Robinson Gap Road which I took to the north end of the Enchanted Creek Trail. There is also an alternative entrance right off the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Rice Mountain Overlook near MM 53.7. Enchanted Creek Trail is only open from August to December and is a fun trail with a mix of rocks, ruts, and mud puddles. On my 4Runner with approximately 11” of ground clearance I lightly bumped a rock on my skid plate once and had to drag my belly through one set of ruts.
The highlight of this trail is a tunnel under the Blue Ridge Parkway which provides an opportunity for some creative rig photos!
I had wanted to exit the trail via Forest Road 318B but it was gated and appeared to not have been driven by a full-size vehicle in some time. Instead I exited onto the Blue Ridge Parkway near MM 56.
From there I decided to explore more of the area I had camped in the night before so I headed south on the Parkway to Route 130 and exited onto the backroads. I ended up driving on forest roads 39 – Pedlar River, 315 – Shady Mountain, 315C – Gorge Access, and 315A – Panther Falls. These roads are the typical rough forest service roads with plenty of opportunities to disperse camp. After exploring these roads, I aired all the way up and headed for home!
GWNF Exploration
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Pads Creek
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Enchanted Creek
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Trail Report written by Ben Dunkerton. Pictures contributed by Ben Dunkerton and Jeff Kohler. GPS track provided by Ben Dunkerton.