USFS · Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest

The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover 1.8 million acres of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Approximately 1 million acres of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 139,461 acres have been designated as wilderness areas, which prohibits future development.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest3.5 million acresUSFSVAWVKY57 campgrounds within 10 mi105 Forest Service sites594 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesVirginia, West Virginia, Kentucky
Size3.5 million acres
Forest Service code0808, region 08
Center point37.70° N, 80.21° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11)

Boundary map

6 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near George Washington and Jefferson National Forest30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 3.05 inches of precipitation, 5.6 inches of snowFebruary: 2.79 inches of precipitation, 6.3 inches of snowMarch: 3.70 inches of precipitation, 3.4 inches of snowApril: 3.66 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowMay: 4.52 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 3.71 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 4.15 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.34 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 3.58 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 2.70 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowNovember: 2.57 inches of precipitation, 0.4 inches of snowDecember: 3.26 inches of precipitation, 2.0 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 30.8°F averageFebruary: 33.7°F averageMarch: 40.9°F averageApril: 51.1°F averageMay: 59.7°F averageJune: 67.2°F averageJuly: 71.1°F averageAugust: 70.3°F averageSeptember: 64.2°F averageOctober: 52.8°F averageNovember: 41.8°F averageDecember: 34.4°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at White Sulphur Springs, 8 miles from the center point at 1,919 feet, station USC00469522 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 41 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 18 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

45 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 12 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Bark Camp
First-come34 sites
FS · Inside
Beartree
Reservable132 sites
FS · Inside
Blowing Springs
First-come22 sites
FS · Inside
Bolar Mountain Recreation Area
Reservable125 sites
FS · Inside
Boley Field Group Campground
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Brandywine Campground
First-come35 sites
FS · Inside
Caldwell Fields Group Campground
Reservable2 sites
FS · Inside
Camp Roosevelt
First-comeVA
Show 4 more

45 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 105

The Forest Service lists 105 recreation sites in this forest, among them 27 campgrounds, 9 day hikings, 8 fishings, 7 shooting ranges. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 45 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 594 named trails in this forest, 2,190 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Appalachian Trail ↗384.9
Virginia Highlands ↗80.8
Massanutten ↗69.6
Glenwood Horse ↗68.1
North Mountain ↗54.1
Shenandoah Mountain ↗43.4
Allegheny Trail ↗30.3
Wild Oak ↗27.3
Massanutten South ↗19.6
Virginia Creeper ↗17.1

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 594 trails in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Historical Park · 3 mi
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
National Park · 10 mi
Shenandoah National Park
National Scenic River · 17 mi
Bluestone National Scenic River
National Monument · 18 mi
Booker T Washington National Monument
National Historical Park · 28 mi
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 743 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Virginia

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Five-Star Trails: Tri-Cities of Tennessee and Virginia
    Johnny Molloy, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Virginia
    Bill Burnham, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Appalachian trail guide to Southwest Virginia
    Bill Prueschner and Mary Ann Prueschner, 2016
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking waterfalls in Virginia
    Andy Thompson, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in Northern Virginia
    Leonard M. Adkins, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is George Washington and Jefferson National Forest?

3.5 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages George Washington and Jefferson National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in?

The boundary crosses Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at George Washington and Jefferson National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to George Washington and Jefferson National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 37.703° N, 80.207° W. Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park is 3 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Which national parks are near George Washington and Jefferson National Forest?

Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park (3 mi), Shenandoah National Park (10 mi) and Bluestone National Scenic River (17 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near George Washington and Jefferson National Forest?

The National Register has 743 listings within 15 miles, including Humpback Bridge and Natural Bridge.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: George Washington and Jefferson National Forests on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.