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Virginia trails · Fore Mountain

Fore Mountain

A 14.5-mile out-and-back in Virginia, with 1,811 ft of climbing. Reaches Fore Mountain. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
14.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,811 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
30%
Steepest mile
+686 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
4.6 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Bikes
yes
Horses
yes
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

1,217 – 3,023 ft1234567891011121314

The climbing leans toward the final third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 9.7 and mile 14.5. It gives back about 1,979 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Fore Mountain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Fore Mountain access. About 4 min drive (2 mi) from Covington. 37.77834, -79.96375 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:00 a.m., the sun rises at 7:27 a.m. and sets at 6:44 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:10 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 29.0-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 34 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

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