Lee Ranger District

Recreational Activities - Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area

Elizabeth Furnace is open, but will remain on reduced services all summer. The reduced fees are $10.00 per night.

This 1830s restored   log cabin reminds us of the iron-industry community that once was prevalent in this  area.  Iron was mined, purified in the furnace, and then the product, pig iron, was transported over the Massanutten Mountain to the South Fork of the Shenandoah River for forging in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. The road used to transport this iron is still used today by hikers climbing to the top of the Massanutten Mountain.  The cabin is open for your enjoyment on weekends.

Today, Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area provides an excellent setting for picnicking, camping, hiking and fishing. 

There are 33 campsites, each with a fire ring and picnic table.  The family camp has warm showers and flush toilets. This is a first come first serve area (no reservations accepted). This inviting area awaits you!

Elizabeth Furnace Campsite Map

For more information on our developed campsites visit our camping page. 

Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area Brochure

 

COME AND ENJOY !!!

Click on images to see enlarged version.

Click to enlarge map of trails near Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area.

Hikes in the Area:

Signal Knob- a 10.6 mile circuit hike

0.0         From Signal Knob Parking area on the west side of SR678, locate yellow-blazed trail at north end of parking lot. (Orange blazes will be added to this trail in 2002.)

0.2          Pass Forest Service stone cabin.

1.5         Overlook, toward Buzzard Rock, looking east.
Begin two miles of very rocky trail.

2.2         Overlook of Fort Valley, looking south.

3.4          Pass by a white-blazed trail on your left.

4.4          Pass by a TV transmitter site. Follow blazes.

4.5         Signal Knob. Overlook, toward Winchester and the West Virginia border on the ridge of Great North Mountain.
Leave the overlook on orange-blazed trail, and descend on the gravel-surfaced road, orange-blazed.

5.8          Turn left onto blue-blazed trail. Cross creek and ascend.

6.6          Pass by a white-blazed trail on your left (on ridge of the mountain). Begin descent. Ignore pink- and white-blazed trails on your right.

10.1       Turn left onto orange-blazed trail (where blue-blazed trail turns right, along with orange-blazed trail).

10.4       (If you are camped at the Group Camp, watch for an unblazed trail on your right. This takes you a short distance to Fort Valley Road directly opposite the entrance to the Group Camp.)

10.6         Parking area.

Photos taken at Elizabeth Furnace