Gaudineer Scenic Area, National Natural Landmark in Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, United States
The Gaudineer Scenic Area spans 140 acres at 4,000 feet elevation, featuring 50 acres of virgin red spruce forest along Shavers Mountain ridge.
A surveying error by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company between 1900 and 1920 inadvertently preserved this section of virgin forest from extensive logging.
The Forest Service acquired this land to maintain a natural Appalachian spruce stand for educational purposes and scientific research of native ecosystems.
Visitors can explore multiple hiking trails through dense forest areas while observing native hardwoods such as red maple, sugar maple, yellow birch, and beech trees.
The protected forest contains red spruce trees measuring 40 inches in diameter, with some specimens reaching ages beyond 300 years.
Location: West Virginia
GPS coordinates: 38.62810,-79.84250
Latest update: March 24, 2025 08:09
West Virginia combines natural areas with historic sites. The state features waterfalls, mountain peaks, caves and old railroad tracks. Visitors find national forests, historic battlefields and mineral springs. The region displays geological formations, abandoned mining towns and astronomical observatories.
Green Bank Telescope
21.7 km
Spruce Knob
28.1 km
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
26.5 km
Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad
9.3 km
Bald Knob
21.5 km
Green Bank Interferometer
21.7 km
White Top
3 km
Gaudineer Knob
1.4 km
Reber Radio Telescope
22.1 km
40-foot telescope
21.3 km
Laurel Fork North Wilderness
20.6 km
Middle Mountain Cabins
11.6 km
Tygart Valley Homesteads Historic District
17.5 km
Laurel Fork South Wilderness
14.2 km
Shavers Fork Mountain Complex
1.4 km
Camp Bartow Historic District
12.3 km
E. E. Hutton House
15.4 km
Cass Historic District
27.2 km
Beverly Historic District
23.9 km
Butcher Hill Historic District
24.1 km
Blackman-Bosworth Store
23.9 km
Green Bank Observatory
21.2 km
Green Bank Observatory Science Center
22.1 km
300 foot Radio Telescope
21.7 km
Green Bank Jansky Antenna
22 km
Beverly Heritage Center
23.8 km
Howard E. Tatel Radio Telescope
21.4 km
Green Bank 85-3 telescope
22.1 kmReviews
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