Saint Mary's Wilderness

37°55′29″N 79°08′07″W / 37.92472°N 79.13528°W / 37.92472; -79.13528Area9,826 acres (39.76 km²)^[1]Elevation3,400 ft (1,000 m)Established1984OperatorGeorge Washington and Jefferson National ForestsWebsiteGeorge Washington and Jefferson National Forests - Saint Mary's Wilderness Area

Saint Mary's Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The wilderness area is located next to the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Parkway's northern terminus and consists of 9,826 acres (39.76 km²). Saint Mary's Wilderness is the largest Virginia Wilderness on national forest land.^[2] Saint Mary's Wilderness ranges in elevation from about 1,780 feet (543 m) to 3,640 feet (1,109 m). The area has about 14 miles (23 km) of hiking trails within or near its boundaries.

Saint Mary's Wilderness includes the drainages of Cellar Hollow, Spy Run, and the upper part of the Saint Mary's River. Each waterway is a tributary of the South River; via the Maury and James rivers, which are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

History

The Saint Mary's River gorge was mined for manganese ore and iron ore from the early 1900s until the mines were abandoned in the 1950s. Scattered remains of the mining operations are still evident. Mine Bank Mountain, a creek, and a trail are all named Mine Bank after the mining operations.^[3]

Saint Mary's was designated a Wilderness as a part of the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984.^[4]

Recreation

Saint Mary's Wilderness is particularly popular during summer due to a large number of waterfalls within its boundaries. Fishermen can take native trout from the Saint Mary's River.^[2]

There is an extensive network of hiking trails, including:

Saint Mary's River Trail
Saint Mary's Gorge Trail
Mine Bank Creek Trail
Cellar Mountain Trail

References

^ "Wilderness.net - Acreage Breakdown". Wilderness.net. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
^ ^a ^b "George Washington and Jefferson National Forests - Saint Mary's Wilderness". Retrieved 14 March 2018.
^ Molloy, Johnny; Blouin, Nichole; Bordonaro, Marilou; Bordonaro, Steve (2014). Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge: A Hiking Guide to the Cascades of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Menasha Ridge Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0897329941.
^ "Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984" (PDF). Retrieved 14 March 2018.

External links

National Forest Web site
Hiking Upward website account of Saint Mary's hike
Wilderness.net
TopoQuest topographic map
Saint Mary's Hike detail
Details of a joint Forest Service/James Madison University project to lime streams in Saint Mary's Wilderness

Protected areas of Virginia

Federal

National Parks	Shenandoah
National Historical Parks, Historic Sites & Monuments	Appomattox Court House NHP Arlington House Booker T. Washington NM Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP Claude Moore Colonial Farm Colonial NHP Cumberland Gap NHP Fort Monroe NM George Washington Birthplace NM Harpers Ferry NHP Maggie L. Walker NHS
National Military Parks, Battlefields & Battlefield Parks	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP Manassas NBP Petersburg NB Richmond NBP
National Cemeteries	Alexandria Arlington Balls Bluff City Point Cold Harbor Culpeper Danville Fort Harrison Fredericksburg Glendale Hampton Hampton VAMC Poplar Grove Quantico Richmond Seven Pines Staunton Winchester Yorktown
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge Music Center Mabry Mill Peaks of Otter Rocky Knob Recreation Area) George Washington Memorial Parkway
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT Overmountain Victory NHT Potomac Heritage Trail Star-Spangled Banner NHT
National Wildlife Refuges	Back Bay Chincoteague Eastern Shore of Virginia Mason Neck Featherstone Fisherman Island Glenn Martin Great Dismal Swamp James River Nansemond Occoquan Bay Plum Tree Island Presquile Rappahannock River Valley Wallops Island
National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Other NPS Areas	Assateague Island National Seashore Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Prince William Forest Park Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts
Wilderness Areas	Barbours Creek James River Face Mountain Lake Priest Ramsey's Draft Rich Hole Rough Mountain Saint Mary's Three Ridges
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Chesapeake Bay

State

State parks	Bear Creek Lake Belle Isle Breaks Interstate Caledon Chippokes Claytor Lake Clinch River Culpeper Battlefields Douthat Fairy Stone False Cape First Landing Grayson Highlands High Bridge Trail Holliday Lake Hungry Mother James River Kiptopeke Lake Anna Leesylvania Machicomoco Mason Neck Mayo River Middle Peninsula Natural Bridge Natural Tunnel New River Trail Occoneechee Pocahontas Powhatan Sailor's Creek Battlefield Seven Bends Shot Tower Shenandoah River Sky Meadows Smith Mountain Lake Southwest Virginia Museum Staunton River Staunton River Battlefield Sweet Run Tabb Monument Twin Lakes Westmoreland Widewater Wilderness Road York River
State forests	Appomattox-Buckingham Big Woods Bourassa Browne Channels Charlotte Chesterfield Chilton Woods Conway Robinson Crawfords Cumberland Devil's Backbone Dragon Run First Mountain Hawks Lesesne Matthews Moore's Creek Niday Place Old Flat Paul Prince Edward-Gallion Sandy Point South Quay Whitney Zoar
Natural Area Preserves	Antioch Pines Bald Knob Bethel Beach Big Spring Bog Blackwater Buffalo Mountain Bull Run Mountains Bush Mill Stream Camp Branch Wetlands Cape Charles Coastal Habitat Cave Hill The Cedars The Channels Cherry Orchard Bog Chestnut Creek Wetlands Chestnut Ridge Chotank Creek Chub Sandhill Cleveland Barrens Clover Hollow Cowbane Prairie Crawford's Knob Crow's Nest Cumberland Marsh Dameron Marsh Deep Run Ponds Dendron Swamp Difficult Creek Elklick Woodlands False Cape Folly Mills Creek Fen Goshen Pass Grafton Ponds Grassy Hill Grayson Glades Hickory Hollow Hughlett Point Johnsons Creek Lyndhurst Ponds Magothy Bay Mark's and Jack's Island Mount Joy Pond Mutton Hunk Fen Naked Mountain New Point Comfort North Landing River Northwest River Ogdens Cave Parkers Marsh Parramore Island Pedlar Hills Glades Piney Grove Flatwoods Pinnacle Poor Mountain Redrock Mountain Savage Neck Dunes Unthanks Cave William B. Trower Bayshore Wreck Island
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Big Survey Big Woods Briery Creek Chester F. Phelps Cavalier Chickahominy Clinch Mountain Crooked Creek Dick Cross Doe Creek Fairystone Farms Featherfin G. Richard Thompson Game Farm Marsh Goshen and Little North Mountain Hardware River Havens Hidden Valley Highland Hog Island Horsepen Lake James River Land's End Mattaponi Mattaponi Bluffs Merrimac Farm Mockhorn Island Oakley Forest Pettigrew Powhatan Princess Anne Ragged Island Rapidan Robert W. Duncan Saxis Short Hills Smith Mountain Cooperative Stewarts Creek T. M. Gathright Turkeycock Ware Creek Weston White Oak Mountain

Other

Registered Historic Places in Virginia	Virginia Landmarks Register National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia Bridges National Historic Landmarks