George Washington National Forest - Elizabeth Furnace

Elizabeth Furnace is located about an hour west of Washington DC, making it an easily accessible weekend destination. The trails have numerous panoramic views of the Shenandoah Valley from Signal Knob, but all of this beauty comes with the price of extremely steep and rocky single track.

For the beginner to intermediate mountain biker, Elizabeth Furnace is probably better experienced on foot as the rocky and steep single track might be a bit much.  For those who have the legs, lungs and technical skills to handle miles of rock gardens, Elizabeth Furnace will provide some of the best technical downhill in the area with lots of pucker factor thrown in for good measure.  Regardless of how you choose to experience Elizabeth Furnace, make sure you pack snacks and water for your trip.

For those looking to extend their Elizabeth Furnace experience, there are camping options available at the Elizabeth Furnace Campground which provides year round camping, though facilities are limited in the off-season.  See the Forest Service website https://www.fs.usda.gov/gwj for more information.