Note: Due to Hurricane Helene, travel in some Southwest Virginia destinations may be challenging at this time. Anyone traveling to these areas should plan driving routes using the 511 Virginia resource from the Virginia Department of Transportation and confirm travel plans ahead.

Southwest Virginia is a land of superlatives – highest elevations, most remote wild places, and most biologically diverse rivers. There’s a reason why the people of Southwest Virginia call it the Mountain Empire. From the royal New River Valley west to Virginia’s rooftop at Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, then across I-81 and onward to the bucolic Clinch River Valley all the way to historic Cumberland Gap, Southwest Virginia has a lot to brag about.

New River Stand Up Paddleboard
Photo Credit: Sam Dean, @sdeanphotos

Protected public lands in the region provide wide-ranging recreational offerings. Ply a standup paddleboard at Gatewood Reservoir, kayak the New River, canoe down the Powell River, or take the family water skiing on massive, mountain-framed South Holston Lake. Land-based activities range from bicycling the rewarding New River Trail or hiking Sugar Hill near Saint Paul, camping at Washington County Park, or historical study at Matthews State Forest.

Yet Southwest Virginia’s splendor can be found in other parcels, special tracts managed primarily for their flora and fauna -- state-designated Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), which open a whole new set of outdoor adventures. To make these adventures happen, Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) has developed an online tool to help us discover and navigate outdoor recreation at DWR’s WMAs. Known as Explore the Wild Virginia, this web-based resource is your ticket to successfully discovering and exploring Virginia’s WMAs—from the mountains to the sea.

Explore the Wild not only highlight the state’s WMAs, but it also suggests and describes other nearby non-WMA natural destinations, such as national, state, county, and city parks and forests, where your outdoor dreams may be further pursued. You can discover one of Southwest Virginia’s WMAs, and then explore additional outdoor parks and refuges nearby.

Crooked Creek Wildlife Management Area
Photo Credit: Meghan Marchetti, @virginiawildlife

For example, from Crooked Creek WMA near Pipers Gap, Explore the Wild will also lead you to Big Survey WMA where hikers have two summits to reach, each with exhilarating 360-degree views. Explore the Wild also suggests Matthews State Forest with its 11 miles of pathways, most of which are open to mountain bikers. Also on site is the highly-rated Matthews Farm Museum, where you can go back in time to a preserved farm from yesteryear. The online tool also suggests highly recommended Gatewood Reservoir, a neat preserve centered on a pristine reservoir that serves as the drinking water supply for Pulaski. Paddle, fish, and camp at this mountain-rimmed tarn within easy reach of Pulaski and I-81.

So that’s how it works. Between the Virginia WMAs and other nearby outdoor destinations highlighted by Explore the Wild, the outdoor fun increases by the click. So click on over to Explore the Wild and begin exploring the wilds of Virginia.

Virginia Wildlife Management Areas: Know Before You Go

All Actions Listed Below Can Be Executed on the Explore the Wild Online Tool

  • All WMAs require a valid Virginia hunting or fishing license, boat registration, or DWR daily access permit, all of which allow you to access any Virginia WMA on that day. Annual access permits are available and a good value.
  • Licenses are required to fish and hunt on Virginia WMAs.
  • DWR camping authorizations, which are free, are mandatory for campers on WMAs. You will need to obtain a free customer ID number if you have not previously registered with DWR’s GoOutdoorsVirginia licensing system. Camping authorizations are located under “Special Licenses” in the online license catalog. There is currently no charge for camping, but you must hold a daily WMA access permit, hunting or fishing license, boat registration, or Restore the Wild membership along with the camping authorization to camp. Camping is dispersed, with no designated sites or facilities of any kind.
  • WMAs may have seasonal access closures due to certain hunting seasons, wildlife hatches, etc., which will be noted on Explore the Wild. Download the map for each WMA you plan to visit to help you when on the ground. Pack out your trash while visiting WMAs. 

Note: The primary mission of Virginia’s wildlife management areas is to enhance habitat for the state’s flora and fauna. Therefore, Virginia WMAs are managed in a more primitive fashion – generally no amenities such as visitor centers, campgrounds, or restrooms.

It takes a little more effort to learn the ins and outs of exploring Virginia WMAs. That is where Explore the Wild pays dividends, rendering obtaining the necessary permits and licenses, as well as details for each WMA (and suggested non-WMAs), a breeze.

Consider that the more primitive experience at Virginia WMAs also means getting closer to nature, and don’t we all want to get a little closer to nature? To help you get started, here are four rewarding Wildlife Management Areas in Southwest Virginia that you can explore. Additionally, for each WMA listed, you can learn about three nearby local destinations found in Explore the Wild to increase your Virginia outdoor experiences.

Exploring Southwest Virginia’s Wildlife Management Areas

Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area

Nearest Town: Saltville

Potential Activities: Hiking, primitive camping, paddling, fishing, wildlife viewing

Why Go There: Fish, hike and play along 7 miles of Big Tumbling Creek

What You Need to Know: This is the most biologically diverse WMAs in the state, with elevations ranging over 3,000 feet in one place!

Primary WMA Access Coordinates: 36.892832, -81.842780

Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Photo Credit: Meghan Marchetti, @virginiawildlife

Occupying long ridges divided by prototype mountain streams, Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area is one of the largest WMAs, at 25,000+ acres, as well as one of the most beautiful getaways in Southwest Virginia. Big Tumbling Creek is the centerpiece of the scenic arrangement, and there’s a reason Big Tumbling Creek got its name—spilling in fall after fall, divided by deep, chilly pools, framed by rising hardwoods. The stream is a fine trout fishery, but is also ideal for wading, skipping rocks from a gravel bar, or just being “out there.” Mountain-rimmed 340-acre Laurel Bed Lake is the other primary body of water, perfect for reflecting autumn colors from its surface. Or fish from its pier or kayak around its natural shoreline. Wildlife lovers like to visit this WMA, with a diversity of habitat that comes along with elevation ranges from 1,600 to 4,700 feet. Turkey and bear are regularly spotted. A series of gated roads, good for hiking or mountain biking, lead all over the WMA. Head up Panther Lick Cove, coursing through highland meadows to earn a big view from atop Whiterock Mountain.

Additional Outdoor Destinations Near Clinch Mountain WMA Found Using Explore the Wild

Saltville Well Fields

Nearest Town: Saltville

Potential Activities: Hiking, wildlife viewing

Why Go There: The park’s marshes are revered for the birding opportunities

What You Need to Know: This preserve harbors the only saline marshes in inland Virginia, attracting wildlife

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.876544, -81.765308

On the Department of Wildlife Resources’Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail, this series of wetlands and lakes bordered by hills is an interesting place to visit. A Saltville city park, with trails, lies above the saltwater wells once pumped for local saltworks. The saline content of this area has attracted animals for thousands of years. Remains of Ice Age mastodons, musk ox and other creatures have been found on digs. Plants that otherwise grow along Virginia’s salty coast can be found here. This unique habitat still draws geese, ducks and other waterfowl. Despite the salt content, the lakes still deliver angling opportunities for freshwater species such as bass. The all-access Helen Williams Barbrow Interpretive Trail helps you understand this special yet often overlooked place. You can also link to the Salt Trail, a rail-to-trail connecting Saltville and Glade Springs, and visit nearby Salt Park to learn all about the salt-making process done so long ago.

Buller Fish Hatchery Wildlife Conservation Site

Nearest Town: Adwolfe

Potential Activities: Wildlife viewing, hiking, fishing

Why Go There: Check out the fish rearing station then hike along the South Fork Holston River

What You Need to Know: The South Fork Gorge Trail is very beautiful and pretty level, doable by hikers of all skills

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.759147, -81.538899

This is a busy hatchery, producing hundreds of thousands of cold water and warm water fish for stocking Virginia waters throughout the state. You can tour the grounds, set in the valley of the South Fork Holston River, then make your way to the South Fork Gorge Trail, one of my favorite unsung hikes in Southwest Virginia. Pick up the trail at the upper end of the hatchery then walk along this attractive river flanked by mountain greenery, a blend of pools and rapids flowing beside you. Anglers can vie for trout found in the South Fork while others will go for spring wildflowers, autumn colors or just a good old-fashioned walk in the woods. Walk as far as you please then backtrack.

Beartree Lake

Nearest Town: Konnarock

Potential Activities: Swimming at swim beach, hiking, mountain biking, rail trail biking, camping, fishing

Why Go There: Relax at an all-inclusive national forest recreation area

What You Need to Know: Three long distance trails are very nearby and accessible – the Appalachian Trail, the Iron Mountain Trail and the Virginia Creeper Trail

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.660052, -81.687689

I’ve never understood why Beartree Lake isn’t more popular. The recreation area has it all – a great setting 3,300 feet high in the Appalachians, a stunning mountain lake with a swim beach and paddler launch, a fine campground encircled on three sides by highlands, streams flowing through it, hiking and mountain biking trails galore, plus quick access to the heralded Appalachian Trail, the bicycler’s heaven that is the Virginia Creeper Trail, and the lesser traveled Iron Mountain Trail, all at Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Do you really want to slow your life down and go off the grid? Beartree Lake is the place. My appreciation for Beartree Lake Recreation Area increases with every visit and I’ve been going there for two-plus decades.

Stewarts Creek Wildlife Management Area

Nearest Town: Lambsburg

Potential Activities: Wildlife viewing, hiking, primitive camping, trout fishing

Why Go There: Visit remote mountain streams flowing off Blue Ridge Parkway

What You Need to Know: Native brook trout thrive in the WMA’s cold, clear mountain streams

Primary WMA Access Coordinates: 36.596094, -80.780760

Stewarts Creek Wildlife Management Area
Photo Credit: Meghan Marchetti, @virginiawildlife

Smaller in size than most Virginia WMAs, Stewarts Creek is a lesser-visited pleasant surprise located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, down toward the North Carolina border. Stewarts Creek is undoubtedly the centerpiece of this WMA, with its bigger-than-average pools, striking cascades and larger-than-average native brook trout. It’s a mountain stream-lover’s joy and bliss. A gated road, open only to hikers and equestrians, follows Stewarts Creek upstream to where it divides into two branches. Most visitors turn around here. Stewarts Creek is a productive spring wildflower area. Lake June/early July will reveal streamside rhododendron blooms by the thousands. A secondary access on the north side of the WMA off Commodore Lane leads up through managed clearings and an old cemetery. The WMA can be your surprise escape from the busier Blue Ridge Parkway.

Additional Outdoor Destinations Near Stewarts Creek WMA, Found Using Explore the Wild

New River Trail State Park – Galax Access

Nearest Town: Galax

Potential Activities: Rail trail bicycling, hiking, fishing

Why Go There: Hike or bike one of Virginia’s most scenic rail trails

What You Need to Know: The trail starts in Galax so you can enjoy the nature of the hike along with small town charm and amenities from dining to lodging

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.668060, -80.924716

One end of the 57-mile New River Trail starts right here in Galax. A linear state park, the New River Trail is a well-kept and scenic pathway offering first-rate pedaling and hiking to view the upper New River and tributaries including waterfalls, distant mountains and streamside history. Travel through three tunnels and over 30 bridges on the trail. Nearby Cliffview area offers developed camping. Other suggested highlights along the New River Trail included the Shot Tower and Chestnut Creek Falls. I suggest you put the New River Trail on your “must-do” Virginia adventure list. I’ve pedaled/hiked every mile of it between Galax and Pulaski and keep coming back for more.

New River Trail State Park – Foster Falls Access

Nearest Town: Fort Chiswell

Potential Activities: Historic study, camping, bicycling, hiking, paddling, fishing

Why Go There: Foster Falls access has the greatest concentration of recreation opportunities at New River Trail State Park

What You Need to Know: An outfitter operates in summer renting bicycles, kayaks, canoes and provides shuttles

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.884288, -80.856405

New River Trail State Park
Photo Credit: Henry Saint-Jean

Foster Falls is my favorite “base camp” for exploring New River Trail State Park. Back in the 1880s, a millrace was built on the river here, harnessing the falling water to power a mill. A community grew, then declined, around the mill as times changed. Then came New River Trail State Park and the refurbishment of the historical buildings of Foster Falls. Today you can pitch your tent beside the rapids of Foster Falls at the state park campground, then hike or bicycle the New River Trail, a winning endeavor any time of the year.    

New River Boating Accesses – Byllesby Pool,  Ivanhoe, Riverside, Loafers Rest, Austinville, Foster Falls and Allisonia

Nearest Town: Fries

Potential Activities: Boating, tubing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, swimming

Why Go There: Combine stream floating with slower lake areas on the New River around Fries

What You Need to Know: New River Outfitters, operating between Galax and Fries, offers rental boats, tubes, kayaks as well as shuttles for paddlers and bicyclists

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.716925, -80.957198

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources manages several boating access site along the New River where it enters Virginia from North Carolina and winds north and west, carving a picturesque valley and combining a big beautiful waterway with bountiful mountains. Rapids in this area are mostly Class I and a little Class II, with the bigger Class III rapids downstream toward Pearisburg. A good run with milder rapids is the trip from Austinville to Foster Falls, with outfitters on site at Foster Falls during the warm season. Other trips can take place on calm, dammed segments of the New River, such as upstream of the dams near Fries and Byllesby. More experienced paddlers can – and should – create their own trips.  

Hidden Valley Wildlife Management Area

Nearest Town: Abingdon

Potential Activities: Primitive camping, paddling, hiking, fishing, climbing

Why Go There: Enjoy a remote mountain lake at 3,600 feet in elevation

What You Need to Know: Trail system links to Channels State Forest

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.837056, -82.086383

Hidden Valley Lake
Photo Credit: Brad Deel, @brad.deel

Discover this 6,400-acre mountain-perched valley lying in a bowl atop Clinch Mountain. The setting is fine, and Hidden Valley is waiting to be discovered. Escape from summer’s heat or come for first-rate fall color viewing. Start at Low Gap, then hike along the rim of Brumley Mountain, linking to Channels State Forest via the Brumley Mountain Trail. A great vista from a rock outcrop awaits 1.5 miles into the hike. A boat launch makes it easy to paddle the montane shores of Hidden Lake where you can sightsee or fish for warmwater species such as bass. The WMA also sports a sandstone cliff line rising about 70 feet, attracting climbers who have mapped some 200 routes. Hidden Valley WMA truly gives you a chance to find an undiscovered piece of Virginia.

Additional Outdoor Destinations Near Hidden Valley WMA found using Explore the Wild

Washington County Park

Nearest Town: Abingdon

Potential Activities: Lakeside camping, boating, waterskiing, fishing, swimming, picnicking

Why Go There: Enjoy a relaxed “throwback” atmosphere at this county park

What You Need to Know: Washington County Park is set on a peninsula of big South Holston Lake, set in the mountains where Virginia and Tennessee meet

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.599453, -82.015371

If the land at Washington County Park were for sale it would go for big, big bucks. It’s set on wooded peninsula jutting into clear South Holston Lake, above which runs the Appalachian Trail. The melding of lake and mountain results in outstanding scenery, and South Holston Lake is big enough for powerboating, waterskiing, fishing and more. Washington County Park avails open RV campsites as well as shaded tent campsites and hot showers. They also feature a lakeside beach, big boat ramp, and an easy little hiking trail running along the shore, as well as numerous picnic shelters, playgrounds and other traditional park offerings you’d expect at a throwback preserve like this one.

Clinch River Boating Accesses -- Saint Paul, Carterton, Blackford Bridge, Cleveland

Nearest Town: Saint Paul

Potential Activities: River floating, fishing, swimming, nature study

Why Go There: Explore one of the world’s most biologically diverse rivers

What You Need to Know: The Clinch River is home to over 50 types of mussels, more than any other river on the planet

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.915210, -82.221504

The Clinch River flows some 135 miles from its headwaters to the Tennessee state line, winding through the Southern Appalachians in a mix of mountain and pastoral scenery. Multiple Department of Wildlife Resources boating access sites make canoeing, kayaking, and even tubing trips a breeze. I’ve paddled the 75 miles from Cleveland to the Tennessee state line, with no rapids above Class II, making it doable by your average paddler. The Clinch is a worthy destination – the bluffs, gravel bars, light rapids, slow pools combine to create a winning watery getaway. River outfitters operate out of Saint Paul, availing boat and tube rentals and shuttles.

Clinch River State Park – Sugar Hill Unit

Nearest Town: Saint Paul

Potential Activities: Hiking, mountain biking, fishing, picnicking

Why Go There: Hit the trails at one of Virginia’s newest state parks

What You Need to Know: This is just the start of a first-rate multi-parcel state preserve

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.90095, -82.31939

Situated inside a bend of the Clinch River near Saint Paul, the Sugar Hill Unit of Clinch River State Park delivers to visitors over eight miles of well-laid out trails. Opened in 2021, this is Virginia’s first blueway state park and will have multiple accesses on the Clinch River replete with overnight camping and additional landward hiking trails. Sugar Hill was once home to a French settlement, and you can see its remains. Don’t miss the 3.3-mile Sugar Hill Loop Trail, which travels along the Clinch and then atop Sugar Hill. Water lovers will want to trek the aptly named Riverside Trail, which adds more streamside hiking as well as bank fishing opportunities. Stay tuned as more units of Clinch River State Park are opened.

Crooked Creek Wildlife Management Area

Nearest Town: Pipers Gap

Potential Activities: Nature study, primitive camping, hiking, fishing

Why Go There: Explore a mountain stream valley dotted with old homesites and clearings

What You Need to Know: The WMA has easy access to Hillsville and I-77 for supplies and dining opportunities

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.675617, -80.813040

Crooked Creek Wildlife Management Area
Photo Credit: Meghan Marchetti, @virginiawildlife

If you like clear mountain streams overlooked by most outdoor enthusiasts, then this is the place for you. The valley was partly settled, with mostly small subsistence farms, resulting in partial clearings to go with the ample woods also found among the hills and hollows of this nearly 2,000-acre WMA. The melding of open and wooded habitats adds biodiversity to Crooked Creek. Gated doubletracks travel along upper Crooked Creek as well as East Fork Crooked Creek, making for fun and solitude-filled mountain biking, hiking and backcountry fishing opportunities. An open road, Forest Oak Road, runs along the lower part of the creek, enabling easy stream access for waterplay or vying for stocked rainbow trout. Start off VA 683 and walk down Crooked Creek for some quality wildflower action during spring, viewing from trillium to dwarf crested iris. This is where brook trout are more likely to be found as well. In summer the stream vales will be dotted pink with rosebay rhododendron blooms.

Additional Outdoor Destinations Near Crooked Creek WMA Using Explore the Wild

Big Survey Wildlife Management Area

Nearest Town: Wytheville

Potential Activities: Hiking, nature study

Why Go There: Earn then enjoy spectacular mountain views

What You Need to Know: This WMA is primarily a hiking destination

Primary Access Coordinates:  Big Rocks Trailhead: 136.906361, -81.042101, Tower Trail Trailhead: 36.915543, -81.088117

Towering over the city of Wytheville, Big Survey Wildlife Management Area (on the top 10 all-time WMA names list) is one of those places every town wishes it had on its doorstep. Hikers love to soak in the 360-degree views, shared with some low craggy pines, after hiking 1.4 miles on the High Rocks Trail. You can gaze down on Wytheville and a host of mountains beyond, confirming that the highlands of Virginia can stack up to any other peaks in the country. You can also tackle the Tower Trail, which leads to a splendid vista. That path is 1.8 miles one way to the overlook. You can see these towers from I-81 and vice-versa. 

Matthews State Forest

Nearest Town: Galax

Potential Activities: Historical study, hiking, bicycling, picnicking 

Why Go There: Go back in time at the Matthews Farm Museum

What You Need to Know: The conveniences and activities of Galax are nearby

Primary Access Coordinates: 36.625305, -80.952328

This 616-acre state forest presents over 11 miles of trails, nine miles for mountain bikers, and two miles for hikers. The Interpretive Trail delivers onsite information for those who like a little environmental education to go along with their outdoor adventures, while the Birding Trail loops by streams as well as outbuildings of the old Matthews Farm. Allow time to check out the Matthews Farm Museum during the warm season. You can gain insight into the way subsistence farms were run as well as Southwest Virginia history. Don’t miss it.  

Gatewood Reservoir

Nearest Town: Pulaski

Potential Activities: Lakefront camping, mountain biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing

Why Go There: Enjoy multiple activities at Pulaski’s water supply reservoir

What You Need to Know: This is a welcoming, relaxing place

Primary Access Coordinates: 37.044287, -80.869279

You will be happily surprised with this preserve set in the mountains just outside of Pulaski and convenient to I-81. The 35-site campground, open during the warm season, overlooks “no gas motors allowed” Gatewood Reservoir, and you can rent a glamping tent, an Airstream or Shasta camper for the night, or a cabin or bring your own rig or tent. The 162-acre mountain-rimmed reservoir showcases an eye-pleasing natural experience for whatever aquatic activities you desire, whether it’s renting a stand-up paddleboard, kayak, canoe, or electric-powered fishing rig. The park’s trail system runs for miles through the hollows and hills surrounding the lake, giving you a chance to stretch your legs or roll through the woods. Overall, the outdoor refuge exudes a family-friendly atmosphere.  

Want to explore more Wildlife Management Areas in Virginia? Check out these guides to continue your outdoor adventures!