Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve

Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve is a 936-acre (3.79 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The oldest state-managed natural area in Virginia, it was first acquired in 1954 to help protect views of the gorge along the Maury River. The site contains stands of chestnut oak, pine-oak-heath woodland, rocky scrub communities, regionally rare plants such as freshwater cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and habitat for the Appalachian jewelwing, a locally rare damselfly. The site was dedicated as a preserve in 2001. Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The preserve is open to the public; however, as it is contiguous with the Goshen and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a WMA access permit is required for parking.