Cove Mountain is a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction.

[1] The wild area includes a seven-mile section of the Appalachian Trail with four miles following along Cove Mountain ridge.

The area is located in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia about 4 miles east of Buchanan, Virginia, between the James River on the north, Va 43 on the west, the Blue Ridge Parkway on the south and McFalls Creek Rd (Va 618) on the east.

The Appalachian Mountains were extensively timbered in the early twentieth century leaving logging roads that are becoming overgrown but still passable.,[6] Old logging roads and railroad grades can be located by consulting the historical topographic maps available from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The Cove Mountain wild area is covered by USGS topographic maps Arnold Valley, Buchannan and Montvale.

The great diversity is related to the many ridges and valleys which form isolated communities in which species evolve separately from one another.

To escape the glaciers, northern species retreated south to find refuge in the southern Appalachians.

[3] Invasive plants, such as tree of heaven, Paulownia and autumn olive, are a problem in open areas with roads.

The rule provided some degree of protection by reducing the negative environmental impact of road construction and thus promoting the conservation of roadless areas.