Trail Overview

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 the surrounding mountains and fantastic views of the Lynchburg Reservoir. The trail can easily be completed in 2WD and most passenger vehicles should be able to ride the trail without difficulty. Cell coverage in the area is virtually non-existent. The trail has numerous campsites along its path, and the area is fantastic for spending a weekend getting away from it all.

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Difficulty

The trail is mostly gravel, with some sporadic bumpy/rocky areas. Any passenger vehicle should be able to complete the trail.

Technical Rating

Jeremy W

Sep 25, 2025

Open

Trail was wet and muddy, but nothing difficult. One tree down half-way down, just past the reservoir completely blocking the road. My son and I moved it. Otherwise a beautiful, misty drive.

Jim Schaner

Jun 22, 2025

Open

Quiet trail, a few campers, dusty and dry

Mark Whitney

Apr 17, 2025

Open

Super easy trail but still enjoyable. Mostly gravel road, but still worth airing down for comfort.

Russell Dalton

Sep 15, 2024

Open

Brian Chris

Sep 14, 2024

Open

Nothing to it…maintained a steady 20mph doing the whole thing…stopping only to have lunch.

Russell Dalton

Sep 14, 2024

Open

BigPapaPickle

Sep 08, 2024

Open

Easy trail, well kept with some rocky sections. Saw two bicyclist and some hikers so be careful driving down this trail.

Brad Barton

Sep 06, 2024

Open

Dirt road. Saw a Ford Taurus at a campsite if that helps explain the difficulty of the trail.

Mark Mayhew

Jun 16, 2024

Open

Easy trail, some rocky sections. The water reservoir would best be seen with no leaves on the trees. The Appalachian trail crosses Pedlar River via a nice walking bridge with a beach and swimming/fishing hole beneath. Enchanted creek crosses further south. There are many camp sites, some next to Pedlar creek. If you go make sure you camp. I did a day trip and wish I could have stayed overnight next to the water. Make sure you make Shady Mountain trail part of your adventure by hiking in to Panther falls for some high jumping and swimming in the pool. There’s also Shady Mountain campground up that way. Enjoy.