Preserve and Explore: Mountain Lake Lodge Conservancy

The Mountain Lake Conservancy's mission is to further Mary's desire to forge bonds between people and nature in Mountain Lake's unique environment. The conservancy provides a holistic stage through educational and recreational activities that make your experience a memorable one. Our natural settings, accommodations, activities and programs are developed and integrated to support this mission. 

The approximately 2,600 acre Mountain Lake property is located in a saddle between Salt Pond and Doe Mountains is an ideal place for outdoor recreation. Our property is open to the public so not just lodge guests are able to enjoy its special character. Being open to the public also creates more year round use.

The unique setting of our property provides users with a variety of terrain, forests and beautiful vistas of the surrounding region. Currently, the outdoor recreation opportunities on our property include hiking, mountain biking, trail running, cross-country skiing, show shoeing, geocaching, an aerial adventure course, and wildlife viewing.

Our property is naturally forested with a mix of upland hardwoods and pine. There is little evidence of harvesting in the past 70 years, and the average age of the mature trees present is greater than 90 years old. Species composition varies according to site conditions, but most of the forest is an upland hardwood species mix of oaks and maples. Our property's forest conservation resources are as critical, if not more so, than the defining feature of Mountain Lake itself. 

The section places the conservation value of our property in a state and regional context and describes its basic ecological characteristics. The bulk of the property ranks as having outstanding and very high ecological integrity based on the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's (DCR) Virginia Natural Landscaping Assessment (VNLA) (DCR, 2007) 

The Natural Heritage program is a comprehensive effort to save Virginia's native plant and animal life and the ecosystems upon which they depend through inventory, conservation information provision, protection, and stewardship. Natural Heritage Resources (NHR) are defined as the habitat of rare, threatened, or endangered plant and animal species, rare or state significant natural communities or geologic sites, and similar features or scientific interest. 

The Mountain Lake Conservancy and Lodge property has historically been and is currently the site of a lot of scientific research. A significant factor to this research being sited on the property is the wealth of natural and conservation resources described throughout this plan. 

Water is a critical conservation resource for the Mountain Lake Conservancy and Lodge property. Water is important both on and off the property. It is critical to the Property's ecosystems and character, but also important because water that originates on the property serves a variety of downstream uses. 

Bird populations on Salt Pond Mountain and the Mountain Lake Lodge property are closely associated with topographical and altitudinal variation. They have been studied here and in other parts of the Mountain Lake region for over a century by many observers. The range in elevation of approximately 600 meters between the summit and base of Mountain Lake allows for much diversity in flora and fauna communities and bird populations. 

Discover the colorful history of our 2,600 acre nature preserve - a playground for families, romantics and adventurers seeking a peaceful escape in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Our story dates back to 1751, through the filming of the film "Dirty Dancing" to the recent rebirth of the Mountain Lake Lodge.

Our mission is carried out through collaborative work with local businesses, non-profit groups, universities and government agencies.