© DCR-DNH, Gary P. Fleming

Difficult Creek Natural Area Preserve

The vegetation of Virginia today is much different from what was found in pre-settlement times. In the early 18th Century, the southern Piedmont province of Virginia contained a “Grande savane” where seasonal drought, grazing, and fire modulated community composition. The Difficult Creek Natural Area Preserve in Halifax County was once a prairie savanna with a rich herbaceous community and a canopy of scattered pines and hardwoods.

The ecological significance of this 819-acre preserve was first noted by botanists who discovered several rare plants growing along a roadside and beneath a wide powerline clearing near Difficult Creek. Those open areas had become a refuge for sun-loving prairie grasses and forbs displaced by planted loblolly pine stands planted in recent times. These rare plants, which are unusual for the Piedmont, are also a reflection of the basic, clay-rich soils present in the area. Difficult Creek Natural Area Preserve is now managed with prescribed fire and loblolly pine removal to restore the historic savanna ecosystem and its constituent rare species.

VISITATION:
This preserve is open for public visitation. Vehicular access restricted to State Secondary Route 719; foot travel is welcome on fire lanes within the Preserve. Over two miles of hiking can be had on the fire access lanes within the preserve.

Part or all of the preserve may be periodically closed for resource protection or prescribed burning activities. Please call before visiting.