Approximately 1 million acres (1,600 sq mi; 400,000 ha) of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 139,461 acres (218 sq mi; 56,438 ha)[2] have been designated as wilderness areas, which prohibits future development.

[6][7] Locations of old growth include Peters Mountain, Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area, Rich Hole Wilderness, Flannery Ridge, Pick Breeches Ridge, and Laurel Fork Gorge, Pickem Mountain, and Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.

White-tailed deer, bobcat, bald eagles, weasel, otter, and marten are also known to inhabit the Forests.

The Appalachian Trail extends for 330 miles (530 km) from the southern end of Shenandoah National Park through the forest and along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The forest is within a two-hour drive for over ten million people and thus receives large numbers of visitors, especially in the region closest to Shenandoah National Park.

The George Washington National Forest is a popular destination for trail runners.

Thirdly, note that the state of Kentucky actually has very little area, with its two counties bringing up the tail end of Jefferson National Forest.

In 1999 the Wilderness Society conducted a review of lands in the Jefferson National Forest to look for large, intact areas that satisfy a need for backcountry recreation, ecological study, biodiversity, and the preservation of cultural history from early America.

[16] In 2012 The New River Group of the Sierra Club commissioned a study to review the status of these areas.

The 303-mile pipeline would transport natural gas through the Jefferson National Forest and cross the Appalachian Trail.