Spice Run Wilderness

Spice Run Wilderness
Part of Monongahela National Forest
Wilderness Area
The Greenbrier River (shown here downstream at Anthony) forms the western boundary of the wilderness.
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Counties	Greenbrier, Pocahontas

Elevation	1,965 ft (598.9 m) ^[1]
Coordinates	38°02′35″N 80°13′59″W / 38.04306°N 80.23306°W / 38.04306; -80.23306Coordinates: 38°02′35″N 80°13′59″W / 38.04306°N 80.23306°W / 38.04306; -80.23306
Highest point	Slabcamp Mountain ^[2]
- location	east of Droop Mountain
- elevation	3,284 ft (1,001.0 m) ^[3]
- coordinates	38°01′39″N 80°12′01″W / 38.02750°N 80.20028°W / 38.02750; -80.20028 ^[3]
Lowest point	Greenbrier River
- location	south of Spice Run
- elevation	1,949 ft (594.1 m) ^[4]
- coordinates	38°01′56″N 80°14′19″W / 38.03222°N 80.23861°W / 38.03222; -80.23861

Area	6,030 acres (2,440.3 ha) ^[5]

Established	2009 ^[6]
Management	Monongahela National Forest
Owner	US Forest Service

IUCN category	Ib - Wilderness Area
Topo map	USGS Denmar

Nearest city	Denmar, West Virginia

Location of Spice Run Wilderness in West Virginia
Website: Monongahela National Forest Wilderness Areas

Spice Run Wilderness (SRW) is a U.S. Wilderness area within the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia, USA. Fairly remote, it has no passenger car access whatever.

Access

Users of SRW must enter it via the Greenbrier River (easily fordable at low-normal flows upstream of Spice Run), or by hiking in from the adjacent Calvin Price State Forest, or by driving a high-clearance vehicle to the southeastern corner of the Wilderness along Greenbrier County Route 16.^[7]

History

Spice Run was named after a native shrub, Lindera benzoin — known as "spicebush" or "spicewood". The Spice Run Lumber Company created a logging boom town that harvested stands of timber to float down the Greenbrier River for the sawmills. So great were these log runs, that the waterways were choked. The "Run" in Spice Run is from the definition of "Run" as a waterway: "to flow, as a liquid; or, to flow along, esp. strongly, as a stream or the sea: The rapids ran over the rocks."

In 2009, Spice Run was designated a Wilderness along with several other areas of Monongahela National Forest.^[6]

Ecology

Aside from Spice Run, the Davy Run and Kincaid Run watersheds are within the Spice Run Wilderness. All three are native brook trout tributaries to the Greenbrier River. Besides fishing, camping, hiking, botany and bird watching are popular activities. There are at least 230 species of birds to watch, and 89 plant species. Nine animals are on the Federal list for endangered species or threatened species such as the northern flying squirrel.

Across the Greenbrier River rests the Greenbrier River Trail, maintained by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources along the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Greenbrier Subdivision. This portion still shows traces of the old lumber-mill on the banks where the flow of logs was controlled. Of the original community of Spice Run, only one house remains standing.

References

↑ "Spice Run". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1980-06-27. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
↑ "Spice Run Wilderness Fact Sheet". Wilderness.net. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
1 2 Denmar, West Virginia quadrangle (Map). 1:24,000. 7.5-Minute Series (Topographic). U.S. Geological Survey. 1995. ISBN 978-0-607-90810-7.
↑ "Davy Run". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1980-06-27. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
↑ "Spice Run Wilderness Map". U.S. Forest Service. 2008-03-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
1 2 "Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
↑ Steelhammer, Rick (2009-10-31). "Spice Run Wilderness: Truly wild, wonderful West Virginia". Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2009-11-01.

External links

Map of U.S. Wilderness areas

Monongahela National Forest

National Recreation Areas	Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area

Wilderness areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains West Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness

Mountains and summits	Allegheny Front Allegheny Mountain Back Allegheny Mountain Backbone Mountain Barton Knob Bickle Knob Champe Rocks Cheat Mountain Gaudineer Knob Mount Porte Crayon North Fork Mountain River Knobs Seneca Rocks Shavers Mountain Spruce Knob Spruce Mountain

Rivers and creeks	Black Fork Blackwater River Cheat River Cranberry River Dry Fork Elk River Gauley River Glady Fork Greenbrier River Laurel Fork Seneca Creek South Branch Potomac River Shavers Fork Tygart Valley River Williams River

Canyons and valleys	Blackwater Canyon Canaan Valley Germany Valley Smoke Hole Canyon

Lakes and bogs	Lake Sherwood Spruce Knob Lake Summit Lake Cranberry Glades

Observation towers	Bickle Knob Olson Tower

Other features	Bear Rocks Preserve Camp Allegheny Cheat Summit Fort Fernow Experimental Forest Gaudineer Scenic Area Highland Scenic Highway Middle Mountain Cabins Mill Point Federal Prison Sinks of Gandy

US Forest Service

Protected areas of West Virginia

Federal

National Historical Parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Harpers Ferry

National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson Monongahela

National Recreation Areas	Gauley River (NPS) Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks (USFS)

National Wildlife Refuges	Canaan Valley Ohio River Islands

National Trails System	Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Wilderness Areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Mountain Lake Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness

National Rivers	Bluestone NSR New River Gorge

State

State parks	Audra Babcock Beartown Beech Fork Berkeley Springs Blackwater Falls Blennerhassett Island Bluestone Cacapon Resort Camp Creek Canaan Valley Resort Carnifex Ferry Battlefield Cass Scenic Railroad Cathedral Cedar Creek Chief Logan Droop Mountain Battlefield Fairfax Stone Greenbrier River Trail Hawks Nest Holly River Little Beaver Lost River Moncove Lake North Bend Rail Trail North Bend Pinnacle Rock Pipestem Resort Prickett's Fort Stonewall Jackson Lake Tomlinson Run Tu-Endie-Wei Twin Falls Resort Tygart Lake Valley Falls Watoga Watters Smith Memorial

State forests	Cabwaylingo Calvin Price Camp Creek Coopers Rock Greenbrier Kanawha Kumbrabow Seneca

Wildlife management areas	Allegheny Amherst-Plymouth Anawalt Lake Bear Rock Lakes Becky Creek Beech Fork Lake Berwind Lake Beury Mountain Big Ditch Big Ugly Bluestone Burches Run Burnsville Lake Castleman Run Lake Cecil H. Underwood Center Branch Cheat Canyon Chief Cornstalk Conaway Run Lake Cross Creek Dents Run Dunkard Fork East Lynn Lake Edwards Run Elk Creek Elk River Fairfox Pond-Rehe Fort Mill Ridge Fox Forest Frozen Camp Green Bottom Handley Hilbert Hillcrest Horse Creek Hughes River Huttonsville State Farm Lantz Farm and Nature Preserve Laurel Lake Lewis Wetzel Little Indian Creek McClintic Meadow River Mill Creek Moncove Lake Morris Creek Nathaniel Mountain Panther Pedlar Pleasant Creek Plum Orchard Lake Pruntytown State Farm R.D. Bailey Lake Ritchie Mines Sand Hill Shannondale Springs Short Mountain Slatyfork Sleepy Creek Smoke Camp Snake Hill South Branch Stonecoal Lake Stonewall Jackson Lake Stumptown Summersville Lake Tate Lohr Teter Creek Lake The Jug Thorn Creek Tug Fork Turkey Run Upper Deckers Creek Upper Mud River Valley Bend Wetlands Wallback Widmeyer Woodrum Lake

Other WVDNR sites	West Virginia State Wildlife Center

Non-
governmental

Nature Conservancy preserves	Brush Creek Bear Rocks Cranesville Swamp Greenland Gap Hungry Beech Ice Mountain Mount Porte Crayon Murphy Panther Knob Pike Knob Slaty Mountain Upper Shavers Fork Yankauer

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