Channels State Forest OHV

Channels State Forest is a Virginia Department of Forestry-managed 2,900-acre state forest in Scott County in the extreme southwestern corner of Virginia, the narrow panhandle of Virginia that pushes between Tennessee and Kentucky toward the tri-state intersection near Kingsport. The forest takes its name from the Channels, the remarkable natural rock formations and channeled water features carved by Guest Creek and its tributaries through the sandstone bedrock of Clinch Mountain on the forest's eastern boundary. The OHV trail system threads through the forest's ridge and hollow terrain, providing ATV and off-highway motorcycle access to the Scott County hill country that serves the Kingsport TN, Bristol VA/TN, and Gate City local markets. The terrain is southwestern Virginia Appalachian: the steep-sided ridges and narrow hollow drains that characterize the Valley and Ridge physiographic province where Scott County sits, mixed hardwood forest of oak, hickory, and Virginia pine on the drier ridge slopes, and the richer cove hardwood communities in the hollow bottoms protected from the steepest sun exposure. Channels SF's OHV system is part of the broader southwestern Virginia OHV corridor that includes the Clinch Ranger District of the Jefferson National Forest to the north and the Spearhead Trails network running through the adjacent counties. Virginia OHV registration is required for all machines on designated routes. The DOF Clinch Ranger District office at Dungannon (276-386-9929) manages current trail status and seasonal closures for the forest.