USFS · Virginia

Rough Mountain Wilderness

Rough Mountain Wilderness is approximately six miles long and two miles wide, an area of steep ridges and dry drainages with elevations ranging from 1,150 feet along the Cowpasture River to 2,842 feet on Rough Mountain. The ridges often afford great views across the Allegheny Mountains, the Blue Ridge, and the Cowpasture River Valley. Upland hardwoods dominate the ridges, and the drainages contain mainly oaks. The south-facing slopes contain a southern yellow pine component. Rough Mountain receives light visitor use, primarily due to difficult access: Most of the area borders CSX Railroad land and other privately owned acreage without legal access.

Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).

Wilderness9,327 acresUSFSVADesignated 19881 trail
Official page at Wilderness Connect ↗
Rough Mountain Wilderness
Photo from Wilderness Connect, wilderness.net

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationWilderness
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateVirginia
Size9,327 acres
Designated1988, by Congress
Center point37.91° N, 79.70° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 10)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

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 Rough Mountain Wilderness30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 3.64 inches of precipitation, 8.0 inches of snowFebruary: 3.13 inches of precipitation, 7.0 inches of snowMarch: 4.31 inches of precipitation, 4.6 inches of snowApril: 4.30 inches of precipitation, 0.5 inches of snowMay: 4.69 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 4.31 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 4.22 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.59 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 4.13 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 3.14 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowNovember: 3.35 inches of precipitation, 0.6 inches of snowDecember: 3.69 inches of precipitation, 4.5 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 30.6°F averageFebruary: 33.5°F averageMarch: 41.0°F averageApril: 51.5°F averageMay: 60.0°F averageJune: 67.6°F averageJuly: 71.1°F averageAugust: 69.7°F averageSeptember: 63.3°F averageOctober: 52.5°F averageNovember: 42.1°F averageDecember: 34.1°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Hot Springs, 9 miles from the center point at 2,244 feet, station USC00444128 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 47 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 25 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 →

No federal campground is within ten miles of the boundary in the Campsite Atlas index. Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from trails and water, with no facilities; the managing agency page has the permit and group-size rules.

Trails

Trailhead Atlas →

1 named Forest Service trail enters this wilderness, 3 miles in all.

TrailMiles
Crane2.9

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.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 25 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 Rough Mountain Wilderness?

9,327 acres.

Source: Wilderness Connect

Who manages Rough Mountain Wilderness?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: Wilderness Connect

What state is Rough Mountain Wilderness in?

Virginia.

Source: Wilderness Connect

When was Rough Mountain Wilderness designated?

Congress designated it in 1988.

Source: Wilderness Connect

How do I get to Rough Mountain Wilderness?

A point inside the boundary is at 37.914° N, 79.698° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: Wilderness Connect

Are there historic places near Rough Mountain Wilderness?

The National Register has 25 listings within 15 miles, including Millboro School and T. C. Walker School.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
  • 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.