Beartown Wilderness is a U.S. wilderness area in the Eastern Divide Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. It is a very rural Wilderness, consisting of an area of 5,613acres with elevations ranging from 2400to. It was created from existing National Forest lands in 1984 by the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984.With its remote location, steep terrain and thick vegetation, the wilderness is rarely visited. It contains a unique combination of fast flowing streams, rare old-growth communities, sphagnum bogs and outstanding views.Location and AccessLying to the southwest of Burke's Garden, Virginia in Tazewell County, Virginia, the wilderness is bounded on the northwest by Clinch Mountain and on the southeast by Chestnut Ridge.The Appalachian Trail follows the boundary of the wilderness for about four miles as it passes along Chestnut Ridge from the trailhead on Route 222.The Roaring Fork Trail, FS 6504, is a 2.3 mile trail following Roaring Fork, with trailhead on Forest Rd 222 that is reached by taking SR 625 from Va 42 at Ceres, Va.A difficult 8.2 mile roundtrip, overnight-backpack begins at a trailhead on Forest Road 631. A few logging roads, no longer maintained, allowing access by foot, can be identified by looking at older editions of the USGS topos (Hutchinson Rock) Some of these difficult hikes are: Coon Branch, 4 Miles, 1600 foot elevation change, trailhead Forest Service Road 631Clinch Mountain Trail, 2.7 miles, 600 foot elevation change, trailhead Coon Branch TrailRoaring Fork Connector Trail, 1.7 miles, 150 foot elevation change, trailhead Forest Service Road 631Hutchinson Rock Trail, 1.9 miles, 250 foot elevation change, trailhead Roaring Fork Connector Trail
