Across 10 counties. The forest home page rounds the same land to nearly a million, and the CRS puts all Forest Service land in the state at 1,047,859 acres
The largest Forest Service wilderness in the eastern United States. Eight wilderness areas on the Monongahela cover 115,000 acres, all of them closed to vehicles
34 Forest Service, 11 Corps of Engineers and two Park Service, of which 33 take bookings. New River Gorge counts eight free primitive campgrounds of its own
NOAA calls it some of the highest east of the Mississippi. The Charleston weather office gives a range of 30 to 150 inches for the high country
Suspension for wet gravel and short steep grades
West Virginia asks for compliance more than travel. The Highland Scenic Highway climbs from 2,325 feet near Richwood to more than 4,500 feet across 43 paved miles, and the gravel that matters leaves routes like that and drops into hollows and river corridors. Spring rates set for the finished loaded weight, and damping that survives a long washboard descent, do more here than lift height.
Rain is the variable. Central West Virginia takes 50 or more inches a year, so the same road is two different roads in one week.
A suspension shop matches spring rates and shock valving to the vehicle's real loaded weight, corrects the geometry that a lift changes, and aligns it afterward. On an overland vehicle the goal is control and durability under constant load, not maximum height.
The work usually includes
01Coil and leaf springs rated for the load
02Shocks: monotube, remote reservoir or adjustable
03Control arms, track bars, driveline and brake line corrections
04Air bags or helper springs for heavy rear loads
05Alignment after the work
06Advice on gearing when tire size goes up
How to choose a suspension shop
The right shop asks about weight before it asks about height.
01Weigh the vehicle loaded, or ask the shop to. Choosing springs without a weight is a guess.
02Ask what else the lift changes on your platform: alignment range, driveline angles, brake lines, headlight aim and driver-assistance sensors.
03Ask whether they align in house.
04Ask for the least height that clears your tires and keeps the geometry happy. More lift is not better.
05Ask how it will ride at both ends of your use: empty around town and loaded on washboard.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
Weight is the number that matters.
01Year, model and drivetrain
02Current tire size and the size you want to run
03Everything bolted on: bumper, winch, rack, tent, drawers, water
04Loaded weight, if you have been across a scale
05How you use it, and a budget range
Questions people ask
How much lift do I need?
Less than you think. Most overland travel is dirt roads, washboard and the occasional ledge, and the vehicle spends its life loaded. Enough lift to clear a sensible all-terrain tire, with springs rated for your weight, usually drives better and breaks less than a tall kit.
Why does my truck sag in the back?
Because the factory springs were chosen for an empty truck. Drawers, a fridge, water, a tent and a rear bumper add constant weight. The fix is springs rated for that constant load, sometimes with air bags for the occasional heavy trip.
Do bigger tires mean I need new gears?
Larger tires make the engine and transmission work harder and change the speedometer reading. Whether re-gearing is worth it depends on the tire size, the vehicle and how much weight you carry. A shop that knows your platform can tell you where the line is.
How high is West Virginia?
From Harpers Ferry at 490 feet to Spruce Knob at 4,863.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,0006,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
DavisOn WV 32 in Tucker County. Forest Road 13, the Canaan Loop Road, leaves WV 32 a few miles south and works around Canaan Mountain.3,097 ft
BeckleyWhere I-64, I-77 and US 19 meet. The Coal Heritage Trail runs south from here through the coalfields.2,420 ft
RichwoodWestern end of the Highland Scenic Highway at 2,325 feet, and the road town for the Cranberry River and the Cranberry Wilderness.2,203 ft
MarlintonOn US 219 in Pocahontas County, near the eastern end of the Highland Scenic Highway and the Gaudineer road off US 250.2,125 ft
LewisburgOn I-64 and US 219 in the Greenbrier Valley, at the southern end of the Monongahela and the eastern end of the Midland Trail.2,077 ft
ElkinsWhere US 219, US 33 and US 250 meet on the western side of the Monongahela National Forest. Bickle Knob and the Otter Creek Wilderness sit east of town.1,928 ft
SummersvilleOn US 19 beside the Corps of Engineers lake, between the Gauley River canyon and the Cranberry country.1,878 ft
FayettevilleOn US 19 at the New River Gorge Bridge. Fayette Station Road drops into the gorge and climbs the far side from here.1,815 ft
ParsonsOn US 219 at the Cheat River, the northern approach to the Otter Creek Wilderness and to Dolly Sods by way of Laneville.1,647 ft
Seneca RocksAt the junction of US 33 and WV 28/55 under the rocks themselves, inside the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area.1,567 ft
PetersburgOn WV 28/55 in Grant County. Smoke Hole Road and the eastern approach to Dolly Sods by Jordan Run both leave from here.934 ft
MorgantownOn I-79 and I-68 in the north. Coopers Rock State Forest is less than 15 miles east, with more than 50 miles of trail.888 ft
GilbertMingo County town among the southern Hatfield-McCoy systems, where a trail permit matters more than a map of pavement.837 ft
LoganCounty seat in the southern coalfields, in the part of the state the Hatfield-McCoy trail systems were built across.675 ft
CharlestonState capital where I-64, I-77 and I-79 meet, at the western end of the Midland Trail. Kanawha State Forest is seven miles out.596 ft
Harpers FerryEastern Panhandle, where the Shenandoah meets the Potomac near the 240-foot state low point, on the Washington Heritage Trail.490 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Spruce KnobThe highest point in West Virginia, with a gravel forest road to a parking area below a stone and steel observation tower4,863 ft
Forest Roads 112 and 104 to Spruce KnobForest Road 112 to the Forest Road 104 junction, then up to the summit parking area4,863 ft
Mount Porte CrayonA Randolph County summit above the Roaring Plains country. No agency publishes an elevation for it, so this is our own reading of the 3DEP surface at the USGS point4,770 ft
Gaudineer KnobThe high ground of Shavers Mountain above the Gaudineer Scenic Area, reached by Forest Road 27. Our own 3DEP reading, because the forest page states no elevation4,447 ft
Forest Road 27 to the Gaudineer Scenic AreaDurbin west on US 250 for four miles, then north on Forest Service Road 274,447 ft
Bickle KnobThe knob east of Elkins on the forest road network above the Cheat River. Our own 3DEP reading4,002 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
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