| Spice Run Wilderness | |
|---|---|
 TheGreenbrier River (shown here downstream atAnthony) forms the western boundary of the wilderness. | |
  Location of Spice Run Wilderness in West Virginia | |
| Location | West Virginia, United States |
| Coordinates | 38°02′35″N80°13′59″W / 38.04306°N 80.23306°W /38.04306; -80.23306 |
| Area | 6,030 acres (24.4 km2)[2] |
| Elevation | 1,965 ft (599 m)[3] |
| Established | 2009[4] |
| Operator | Monongahela National Forest |
| Website | Monongahela National Forest Wilderness Areas |
Spice Run Wilderness (SRW) is aU.S. Wilderness area within theMonongahela National Forest ofWest Virginia in the United States. The remote area has no passenger car access.
Users of SRW must enter it via theGreenbrier River (easily fordable at low-normal flows upstream of Spice Run), or by hiking in from the adjacentCalvin Price State Forest, or by driving a high-clearance vehicle to the southeastern corner of the Wilderness along Greenbrier County Route 16.[5]
Spice Run was named after a native shrub,Lindera benzoin — known as "spicebush" or "spicewood". TheSpice Run Lumber Company created a loggingboom town that harvested stands of timber to float down theGreenbrier River for thesawmills. So great were these log runs, that the waterways were choked.
In 2009, Spice Run was designated aWilderness along with several other areas ofMonongahela National Forest.[4]
Aside from Spice Run, theDavy Run andKincaid Run watersheds are within the Spice Run Wilderness. All three are nativebrook trout tributaries to theGreenbrier River. Besidesfishing,camping,hiking,botany andbird watching are popular activities. There are at least 230 species of birds to watch. Nine animals are on the Federal list forendangered species orthreatened species such as thenorthern flying squirrel.[citation needed]
Across theGreenbrier River rests theGreenbrier River Trail, maintained by theWest Virginia Division of Natural Resources along the formerChesapeake and Ohio RailwayGreenbrier Subdivision. This portion still shows traces of the old lumber-mill on the banks where the flow of logs was controlled. Of the original community of Spice Run, only one house remains standing.