• Home
  • How We Work
  • Where We Work
  • News Room
  • About Us
  • My Nature Page

The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Warm Springs Mountain Preserve

 

Crested Dwarf Iris (Iris cristata) at Warm Springs Mountain

 

Support Virginia
 

Donate Now!

The success of The Nature Conservancy in Virginia relies on the support of people like you.

Learn More

Location
Bath County

Size
9,269 acres on and around Warm Springs Mountain

Conditions
Easy hiking trails. Please stay on the trails to avoid harming sensitive habitat. Trail brochures and maps are available at the Ingalls Overlook Trail visitor kiosk.

Woods in the fog at Warm Springs Mountain

Warm Springs Mountain Preserve helps stitch together thousands of acres of forest and conservation lands in western Virginia’s Allegheny Highlands. The heart of the preserve protects a key wildlife corridor and habitat for an amazing diversity of natural communities, plants and animals.

How to Begin Your Visit

Park at the Dan Ingalls Overlook, located on Route 39 just outside the village of Warm Springs. Here at the northern end of the preserve you will find the trailhead for the Ingalls Overlook Trail. This well-marked interpretive hiking trail (2.4 miles round trip) provides an excellent introduction to the mountain. Please see "Preserve Visitation Guidelines."

Field Trips

Local Conservancy staff members offer a slate of guided hikes, providing visitors with opportunities to explore many facets of the mountain. From spring wildflowers to birding to forest ecology — the field trip themes appeal to a wide variety of interests. For the current schedule, click here.

Ecological Significance

The preserve features Virginia’s only substantial montane pine barren, a globally rare, arid, fire-dependent landscape. The mountain harbors at least two other rare natural communities, three rare plants and eight rare invertebrates.

What to See: Animals

Migratory songbirds, raptors, black bear, bobcat, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, timber rattlesnake, wood frog, red-spotted newt

What to See: Plants

Stunted pitch pine, Catawba rhododendron, mountain laurel, scrub oak, variable sedge, bunchberry, Fraser’s marsh St. John’s-wort

Ongoing Conservation

Through diverse conservation partnerships, the Conservancy continues to research, protect and, in certain areas, restore the rich ecology of Warm Springs Mountain and the Allegheny Highlands.

 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Dana Blackmer Photography (Woods in the fog at Warm Springs Mountain); Photo © Dana Blackmer Photography (Crested Dwarf Iris (Iris cristata) at Warm Springs Mountain).