Virginia's highest peak and one of the Appalachian Mountains' premier hiking destinations.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area in southwestern Virginia, near the border shared with Tennessee and North Carolina. The area centers on the Lewis Fork Wilderness, which contains Mount Rogers, the highest point in the Commonwealth of Virginia at 5,729 feet (1,746 meters). The recreation area flanks the southern Appalachian highlands and protects a substantial tract of mountain forest, balds, ridgelines, and headwater streams within the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
The recreation area encompasses approximately 154,816 acres (around 626 square kilometers) of public land, making it one of the largest federally administered recreation areas in the eastern United States. Trails, campgrounds, horse camps, rental cabins, and an extensive backcountry network connect visitors to the surrounding landscape. Grayson Highlands State Park adjoins the recreation area along its southern edge and provides the most familiar access points to the Mount Rogers summit.
Mount Rogers NRA is significant both for its ecological diversity and for its role as one of the premier hiking hotspots of the Appalachian Mountains. Nearly 400 miles of trails, including a long segment of the Appalachian Trail, cross the recreation area. Four federally designated wilderness areas, collectively covering roughly 18,500 acres, anchor the protected interior where natural scenery, wildlife habitat, and remote backcountry character converge.
