State doubles public land at Buffalo Mountain in $8.2M purchase

A major real estate transfer signed in recent weeks nearly doubles the amount of government land in the Buffalo Mountain area, creating new possibilities for land conservation and, eventually, recreation.

State officials on Sept. 15 purchased 2,211 acres southwest of the mountain in Floyd and Carroll counties for $8.2 million, according to real estate records. The purchase brings the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s land holdings in the Buffalo Mountain area to 4,332 acres, an agency release said.

This is the second expansion of recreational space at Buffalo Mountain in less than a year. In both expansions, representatives of Floyd County’s Lawson Company sold land to The Conservation Fund, a Virginia land conservation nonprofit, which then transferred it to the state.

The earlier transfer, in December 2025, added 975 acres.

As a result of the two purchases, the publicly owned land at Buffalo Mountain has grown nearly four-fold in less than 10 months.

Because of the purchase, state officials said, “a popular hiking summit and nearly 14 miles of native trout streams will be forever protected." The streams hold eastern brook trout and brown trout. The site also features a Southern Appalachian Rich Cove Forest. 

The new acreage isn’t yet open to the public while officials work to write a “management plan,” the release said. Goals for the area include preservation and public access, officials said. 

The state’s Natural Heritage Program — described as “a science-based conservation (effort) to protect Virginia's native plant and animal life and the ecosystems” — and Virginia State Park officials will jointly manage the property, according to a Conservation Fund release.

State representatives have chosen to classify the newly acquired acreage a state conservation area. Public land for recreation includes three main types. A state park often contains campgrounds, visitor centers, paved roads and other amenities, while a state conservation area generally offers minimal facilities, such as a gravel parking lot and unpaved trails. A natural area or preserve is like a conservation area, but with additional restrictions designed to protect plants and animals, such as rules that hikers stay on designated footpaths.

Although the newly bought land is not being officially added to the already established Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve, the 2,000-plus acres that the state bought four weeks ago will buffer the natural area in important ways, officials said. 

Bill McDaniel, a hiker, business owner and resident of the Buffalo Mountain area who grew up there, saw the expansion as positive. He said the Buffalo Mountain public areas need more trails.

“We have, let’s say 2,000 acres right now that’s part of a preserve, that’s taxpayer-funded land, and we have one trail,” he said. State officials describe it as actually three trails forming a loop about two miles long. Rules prohibit venturing off the footpath.

McDaniel said that he is willing to help create new trails. Buffalo Mountain and its environs are criss-crossed by old, unmaintained trails that in some cases date back to the horse and buggy days and which, more recently, have been by horse, dirt bike and ATV, he said. 

“I get it takes money,” he said. But once new trails are marked, “I guarantee you in Floyd County and the surrounding area, there are plenty of volunteers who would come and help maintain trails,” he said. “In 4,000 acres, surely we could have 25, 30 miles of trails.”