Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Drakes Branch, Virginia

Little Otter, designated as FS 322, is a short, well‑maintained gravel road that remains open year‑round. The trail offers an easy and relaxing drive through the forest, with low vegetation overgrowth and no meaningful obstacles along the route. Several signs appear near the beginning of the road, ...
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Little Cedar, designated as Forest Road 320, is a seasonally open route with access from April 1 through January 10. The entrance can be easy to miss from Cheatham Road, but a small vertical sign marking 320 is posted at the start. A no trespassing sign is also present near the entrance; this applie...
Learn more about Little Cedar

Otter Trail is a 1-mile loop that branches off the South Pedlar Trail, offering riders a short detour to change up the pace or add a bit of mileage. Like the other trails in the area, it features a wide tread with well-built waterbars and sweeping curves that meander through dense forest. The trail ...
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Terrapin Trail is a short, 0.6-mile connector linking the South Pedlar Trailhead parking area off State Highway 130 to the main South Pedlar loop. This easy, smooth trail is very wide with no obstacles, consistent with the rest of the trail system. It features the same hard-packed surface, scattered...
Learn more about Terrapin

Piney Trail is a 0.9-mile gradual ascent when traveling west to east, serving as a useful cutoff across the South Pedlar loop to shorten your ride. The trail is wide and smooth with well-placed waterbars, and any small loose rocks or leaf litter are mostly pushed to the sides. A few muddy ruts may b...
Learn more about Piney

South Pedlar is a 10.5-mile ATV loop trail in George Washington National Forest offering a fast and flowy ride through mossy woodlands. The wide, well-maintained trail features a smooth surface with scattered loose rocks and leaf debris, along with banked corners and wooden bridges. While most of th...
Learn more about South Pedlar

Pedlar River is a basic trail in Virginia's George Washington National Forest. The trail is a maintained Forest Service road with a largely gravel surface and occasional small rocky areas. The trail is two-way, with its northern terminus near the Oronoco Campground. The trail offers decent views of ...
Learn more about Pedlar River

Lone Mountain Trail is a 1.8-mile easy connector that cuts across the South Pedlar ATV loop, allowing riders to create shorter route options. The trail winds gradually through a beautiful forest dominated by eastern hardwoods, with tight corners and meandering curves that offer a more enclosed, inti...
Learn more about Lone Mountain

Goff Mountain Road, designated as FS 951 and sometimes referred to as Battery Creek, is an easy, well‑maintained gravel road suitable for most passenger vehicles. A few larger embedded rocks appear along the route, but none present significant difficulty for typical ground‑clearance vehicles. The t...
Learn more about Goff Mountain Road

Rattlesnake Trail is a 0.5-mile ATV trail that provides smooth, easy access from the large Rattlesnake Trailhead parking lot off State Highway 130 to the South Pedlar loop. It features large water bars and fast, flowy riding with rocks pushed to the sides. The trail winds through a scenic forest dom...
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Lasso Trail is a 2.6-mile spur off the north end of the South Pedlar loop, forming a lasso-shaped route that adds a scenic extension to your ride. The trail is wide and smooth throughout, with well-spaced water bars and minimal obstacles, making it ideal for riders of all skill levels. It winds thro...
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Peters Creek, also known as Hunt Club Road and designated as Forest Service Road 54, is a well‑maintained gravel road that remains open year‑round. The trail serves as access to the Piney Ridge trailhead, located on the right fork of the road, just after the local hunting and fishing clubhouse. The ...
Learn more about Peters Creek

This out-and-back starts in the valley, and after following along Hunting Creek, it tops out at a gate just past the aptly named Camping Gap. There are a couple of small campsites near the bottom, and plenty of space is available at the grassy clearing near Camping Gap. The majority of the road is g...
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Overstreet Creek climbs from just over 1,300 feet in elevation to 3,250 ft, where it meets the Blue Ridge Parkway. This four-mile-long route is mostly gravel, but some of the steep sections include larger rocks. The namesake creek parallels the road for most of the length, and several waterfalls are...
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Cedar Bridge Hollow, designated as FS 36D, is a seasonally open route with access from April 1 through January 10. The trail begins as an easy, well‑maintained gravel road with minimal vegetation overgrowth. As it climbs the mountain and continues deeper into the forest, the difficulty increases to ...
Learn more about Cedar Bridge Hollow

Bear Tolley, designated as FS 36E, is a seasonally open route with access from April 1 through January 10. The trail begins with an easy, well‑maintained gravel surface for the first mile, offering smooth travel and minimal vegetation overgrowth. Beyond this initial section, the road becomes more c...
Learn more about Bear Tolley

A seasonal forest route that traces along the Blue Ridge Parkway at a lower elevation. The surface is natural dirt with rocks, mud, and stream crossings. A tunnel around the mid-point passes under the BRP. Several mud holes are of varying difficulty depending on recent rain. The trail can be accesse...
Learn more about Enchanted Creek

This trail is mostly graded gravel, with some dirt and a few rocky sections. There are multiple water features, small waterfalls along the trail, one-lane bridges, and scenic waysides. There are dispersed campsites in abundance in the area, and the trailhead to the Appalachian Trail is on Swapping C...
Learn more about Swapping Camp

Petites Gap descends the northern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the parkway. After descending a few switchbacks, it parallels a fork of Elk Creek until leaving the National Forest. There are a couple of campsites along the way. Some are large enough for a vehicle, or possibly two. At least ...
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Mount Horeb Road climbs away from US 60 outside Amherst, offering a quieter alternative route toward Long Mountain Wayside when you'd rather not follow a slow truck up the highway. It starts on pavement through open farmland, passing a handful of houses and crossing a one-lane bridge, before switchi...
Learn more about Mount Horeb Road

Otter Trail is a 1-mile loop that branches off the South Pedlar Trail, offering riders a short detour to change up the pace or add a bit of mileage. Like the other trails in the area, it features a wide tread with well-built waterbars and sweeping curves that meander through dense forest. The trail ...
Learn more about Otter

Terrapin Trail is a short, 0.6-mile connector linking the South Pedlar Trailhead parking area off State Highway 130 to the main South Pedlar loop. This easy, smooth trail is very wide with no obstacles, consistent with the rest of the trail system. It features the same hard-packed surface, scattered...
Learn more about Terrapin

Piney Trail is a 0.9-mile gradual ascent when traveling west to east, serving as a useful cutoff across the South Pedlar loop to shorten your ride. The trail is wide and smooth with well-placed waterbars, and any small loose rocks or leaf litter are mostly pushed to the sides. A few muddy ruts may b...
Learn more about Piney

South Pedlar is a 10.5-mile ATV loop trail in George Washington National Forest offering a fast and flowy ride through mossy woodlands. The wide, well-maintained trail features a smooth surface with scattered loose rocks and leaf debris, along with banked corners and wooden bridges. While most of th...
Learn more about South Pedlar

Cow Camp Road is an inviting mountain route in the George Washington National Forest that offers offroaders of all skill levels a gentle climb through scenic hardwood forests and quick access to famous Blue Ridge hiking trails. Spanning approximately 3.4 miles, this unpaved forest road ascends the s...
Learn more about Cow Camp Road

FR1176, also known as Rocky Mountain Road, is an ideal route for offroaders seeking a short but scenic mountain climb that leads to impressive high-elevation vistas in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Beginning at Salt Log Gap at an elevation of 3,235 feet, this 1.7-mile trail a...
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Hog Camp Road is a scenic 5.8-mile mountain route through the George Washington National Forest, perfect for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, high-clearance SUVs, and SxSs looking for high-elevation access. Climbing over 1,200 feet from a minimum elevation of 2,465 feet up to a peak of 3,505 feet, t...
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Big Piney is a gravel road passing through a portion of the George Washington National Forest, offering access to hiking, camping and swimming. The trail is rocky and typically unmaintained after rain or snow. You may encounter shallow water crossings and obstacles under 12" on the trail, including ...
Learn more about Big Piney