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George Washington National Forest - North River Ranger District (Harrisonburg Area)
From Dirtopia, The Off-Road Encyclopedia
The entrance to George Washington National Forest is off of US Route 33 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Drive off of I-81 (Exit 247B) And head west, following Rt. 33. You will drive though town and start to head into the mountains. Once you pass the sign for George Washington National Forest, keep your eyes peeled, you will start to see trail heads on both sides of the highway. Just pick one and hold on to your rigs.
Camping is welcome, so make a weekend of it. Just a heads up, these trails are considered roads, so make sure your rig is street legal. I haven't seen many Park Rangers (one in 2 years) up there, but there is your heads up. There is a Wal-Mart near the intersection of Rt.33 and I-81 for your convenience. There are also a few "mom-n-pop" service stations on Rt. 33 about 5 miles before the GWNF. I'd suggest filling up in town though.
Here is a big warning....GWNF MUD IS VICIOUS! It will eat your rig right on up.
The Salt Shed is a trail in the Harrisonburg area of GWNF.
The trail entrance is a left on 33W past Rawley Springs, and is marked clearly by a shack at the turn off. After you start on the trail, just past the shack, make a right, the rest is fairly easy to follow. The trailhead is at N38°32.319' W79°03.941' The trail winds around the valley created by Dry River and is at a fairly steady elevation. Some areas have multiple routes around areas, mostly it seems by folks afraid of the mud. This is a decent trail to run with stockers, and guys with a few mods. The one or two real obstacles have bypasses for stockers. When it's dry, I'd rate it a Green I, when it's wet, it gets to be a Green II or III. When it's really muddy, trucks on highway tires run a risk of getting stuck. Obsticles on this trail are mostly short hills, muddy ruts, tight runs through trees, and water crossings. As with all trails in this area, during the Summer especially, you run the risk of getting some pinstripes from low hanging branches, etc, though not too bad on this trail. The biggest variable on this trail are the two stream crossings. I've seen them as low as about 18", and as high as about 30". I've seen pictures of them MUCH higher. Use caution and don't be stupid, your engine isn't worth it. The trail dumps you back out a few miles further West on 33 at N38°33.960' W79°05.237' You can run the trail from the exit first if you want to check the water level first thing. After the final stream crossing you're just about out. Leaving the bank of the stream you can stay to the left to get back to the road the easy way, or take a couple decent hill climbs on the right for some fun. Be respectful here, this area is often used for camping and fishing. A fun trail, and nothing to be afraid of unless the water is high.
Meadow Knob, AKA Flagpole Knob trail and also "The Meadow"
For clarification, there are two "meadows" here. "The Meadow," refers to a meadow down in the valley by Switzer Lake; this is usually where larger groups running the area stage up and camp. Meadow Knob refers to a meadow on top of the mountain. There are two knobs(peaks) here as well, Meadow, and Flagpole. The trail I'm describing goes by Meadow Knob. There are many, MANY, trails and off-shoots in this area, and I have not taken them all. I just want to document the main trails, you can run what you want. The Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer documents most of the available trails. I recommend you pick one up before going off of the well documented trails. A GPS loaded with Topo maps is also very handy.
To get to both "The Meadow" and to the trail known as Meadow Knob, take 33W from Harrisonburg. You will be on 33 through Rawley Springs, down through the valley, and then will start to climb the mountain. This will be some 20 miles. Once you start up the mountain, you will finally get to see a left turn lane(the first one as you go up,) take it.
To get to "The Meadow," after you've made the left off of 33, you'll be on a fire road. It will be mostly down the mountain, and during the day you'll see the lake on your left. You'll be on the fire road @4 miles and will cross a concrete bridge. Just after the bridge, turn left into the camping area to your left. You'll see a 4x4 trail at the right of this camping area, take that. 100' or so and this dumps you into the meadow. Park your truck, pitch your tent, drink beer and have a good time!
Meadow Knob (AKA Flagpole Knob) trail. Follow the directions to the Meadow above, but don't turn into the camping area; go straight. Or if you are in the Meadow, exit the way you came in, but make a left. You're now on the fire road heading SSW. This fire road switchbacks all around the mountain, going down and up. There are some nice camping spots for small groups along the way, and even some muddy ruts to hit off the main road if you're into that.
As you continue on the fire road, you will eventually run into a T intersection, take the left. You will pass through a meadow at the top of the mountain. It's a very pretty sight, and a good place to line up the trucks and take a picture of them with the mountains in the background. Once you pass the upper meadow, you'll finally need to shift into 4. Some fun stuff comes around. Nothing a stock truck can't do, but there's one nice rock at the top that's reserved for those who have a few mods. It's off the main trail, but a good place to take pictures. Eventually the trail turns back into a fire road then dumps you out on Union Springs Rd. This will take you to Clover Hill Road. Turn left and keep on that road until it takes you back to 33. You're then back about 5 miles outside the GWNF.
The vast majority of this trail is just a fire road. The obstacles are small rock gardens and some slightly off camber hills and descents with optional rocks to make this a bit more interesting. The parts that aren't a fire road might be a Green I if you take the easy lines, but you can make it a Green III if you take it the hard way. For some reason it seems like they used to be more difficult than they were last time. Anyway. The one big rock at the top is probably a black obstacle, but it's not very long. It is optional, of course.
Rocky Run ATV Trail (a.k.a. Second Mountain and Dictum Ridge) Be ready to share this trail with any quads or dirt bikes.
Directions: Travel west from Harrisonburg, VA, on Rt. 33 for approximately 10 miles. Turn right on Rt. 612 for approximately 4.5 miles. Turn left onto Forest Development Road (FDR) 72 at Gospel Hill Church. Follow FDR 72 for 5-6 miles and turn left on the trailhead access road for about one mile. Users should be aware that FDR 72 is a single-lane road with limited turnouts, and is recommended for high clearance vehicles only.
The Rocky Run ATV trail is comprised of two trails, Second Mountain and Dictum Ridge. They are connected with a narrow ATV trail. I suggest SWB vehicles only, unless you don't mind running the risk of body damage. (I had a Wrangler, and I was fine, but a friend had a Grand, and it got pretty sketchy.)
Second Mountain To start on Second Mountain, go to the left out of the Trail-head. It's pretty straight forward. This is a pretty easy trail. At the bottom there is some private property with a gate. DO NOT cross the gate. Also, if a ranger spots you, they'll ask you which direction you came in from. Tell him you came in from the top (Because you did...right?).
Dictum Ridge I have not personally been on Dictum Ridge, (The friend in the Grand wanted us to turn around...) but there is a pretty good sized rock that can be tricky. It puts to off-camber towards a cliff. Perhaps someone else who has been on Dictum can edit this...
---peters mill ohv trail.---
this trail is alittle bit further north of harrisonburg. it is in edinburge va. it is a pretty fun trail to run. there are two areas. one a gavel fire road and there other double track wide enough to run a full size truck thru. from the parking lot go across the street and up the paved road, it will end soon. if its wet have it in 4 wheel drive by then. pretty much straight forward from there. just follow the road. trail isn't to rough but it is fun. lots of water bars and puddles. a few big lager rocks to play on. no real off shouts for jeeps. the trail ends in a gravel parking lot. from there go straight on the road and up to the top of the mountain and stop off at the woodstock tower. great spot to view hole valley.
dir. from 81
take edinburg exit on 81 torward rt 11. take right on rt 11. dont speed nice little town. take left at jeep dealer ship. follow road to top of mountain. watch out for the turns they are tight. as u crest the mountain there will be a sign and parking lot on right. air down and disconnect there. cross the road u turned off of to enter peters mill. have fun keep it safe.
