Little Laurel Branch

The Little Laurel Branch area is part of the Breaks of Pine Mountain, a water gap with dramatic multi-level cliffs interspersed with near vertical wooded slopes. It is an outstandingly rugged, scenic place of the sort that is extremely rare in the Cumberland Mountains.

The southern boundary of the Little Laurel Branch area is the Russell Fork River, a churning river popular for whitewater rafting, where the area's richly forested slopes rise from some of the major rapids. The river area is home to one of Virginia's only populations of the rare Virginia spiraea plant. The Russell Fork River is eligible for designation as a Wild and Scenic River.

At the eastern end of the area is a spectacular rock formation called the Towers. The Little Laurel Branch area includes a biologically and geologically important boulder field littered with massive rocks from a former cliffline. This national forest area is surrounded on three sides by the remote, 4,600-acre Breaks Interstate Park, which sits astride the Virginia-Kentucky border. The park, known as "The Grand Canyon of the South" because of its 5-mile-long, .25-mile-deep gorge, attracts more than a third of a million visitors annually.

Approximate Size: 740 acres
Location: Dickenson County next to Breaks Interstate. Park, Clinch Ranger District
Topo: Elkhorn City