The Thunder Ridge Wilderness is a area located near Natural Bridge, Virginia, which is protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, it helps to preserve a variety of natural life forms and contributes to a diversity of plant and animal gene pools. Over half of the ecosystems in the United States exist within designated wilderness. Dominated by Thunder Ridge with steep slopes towering above Arnold Valley, the interior is incredibly rugged, remote and rarely visited. The top of the ridge contains flowers blooming late into summer, long past blooms in the hot valley below. Trillium, may apple, pink lady slipper, Indian cucumber root and columbine flourish in the shade of black cherry trees, northern red oak and hickories. The area is part of the Glenwood Cluster.
There are several overlooks of the wilderness from parking areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway:
A view over the wilderness can be reached from the Thunder Ridge Parking area, Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 74.7. A short trail from the parking lot leads to an overlook with views to the west over Arnold Valley.
The Apple Orchard Mountain Overlook at milepost 76.5 is the highest parkway elevation in Virginia with views of the wilderness and the valley below
Natural history
With very different environments, the area sustains a great variety of trees found in a diversity of habitats. Coves support tulip poplar, oak and hemlock, some very large; the crest of Apple Orchard Mountain has a mix of hardwoods such as red and white oak as well as common persimmon, red spruce and hemlock; and the harsh environment of the dry western slopes support pitch pine, Virginia pine and chestnut oak. The moist forests provide good habitat for salamanders. The world’s greatest diversity of salamanders is found in the southeastern United States. More than 55 species are located in Virginia, with over 15 in the Thunder Ridge wilderness or adjacent public and private lands.
Topography
The area is dominated by Thunder Ridge with steep slopes on the northern side, and elevations ranging from 1320 feet in the lowlands of the northwest to 4200 feet on Apple Orchard Mountain. The peaks are part of the Pedlar Formation, composed ofigneousgranite and metamorphicgneiss with a mineral content which weathers to give a soil supporting a lush growth of plants. The area has the tallest trees and the finest groups of laurel and rhododendron in the region.
Cultural history
Just south of the wilderness area on Apple Orchard Mountain, Apple Orchard Camp offered overnight accommodations in the early 1900s. In 1924 the camp became Camp Kewanzee, a summer camp for boys and girls. During the Cold War a nearby area was developed as a radar-based tracking station, and in the 1960s a large computer complex was built to process data for transmission to Fort Lee, Virginia. The military base was closed in 1975 leaving a single radar dome and other facilities. The dome, a prominent feature on the tallest mountain along the parkway in Virginia, can be seen from a long distance. In 1928 during a violent storm, a balloon, participating in an international balloon race, crashed in the night onto Thunder Hill. Major injuries were sustained, especially during the climb down the mountain.
Nearby Wildlands
Nearby wilderness areas and wildlands recognized as one of Virginia's "Mountain Treasures" by the Wilderness Society are:
