USDA Forest Service Closing Dolly Sods Roads for Winter Safety January 1

If taking in the winter beauty of Dolly Sods is your idea of a perfect Christmas outing, you may want to do it soon, because the Monongahela National Forest officials are preparing to implement the annual winter road closures in the Dolly Sods area. Gates on Forest Roads 19 and 75 leading to Dolly Sods will be closed beginning January 1, 2021.

These roads are closed to motor vehicle use from January to early April every year to provide for public safety due to highly variable road conditions in the winter months. Non-motorized use is permitted.

“These road closures are put in place to enhance visitor safety,” said Cheat-Potomac District Ranger Jon Morgan. “Forest visitors and emergency responders are put at unnecessary risk without the road closures.”

The Forest Service works with local landowners and residents affected by the road closures to ensure they have access to their property. Landowners and residents who need access behind the gates should contact the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District office in Petersburg for assistance.

Forest Road 19 and Forest Road 75 are scheduled to reopen by mid-April 2021. “We will monitor road conditions in March and April, and reopen the roads as soon as weather permits,” Morgan said.

For more information, contact the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District at 304-257-4488. Information about the status of roads and facilities is also available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/mnf/.