US 250 passes to the north of Jack Mountain and follows Crab Creek through a gap in Doe Hill to McDowell, where the highway crosses the Bullpasture River. The highway continues across Bullpasture Mountain and crosses the Calfpasture River, the other chief tributary of the James River. After passing through Shaws Ridge, US 250 goes through the hamlet of Head Waters and has a curvaceous crossing of Shenandoah Mountain, where the highway enters Augusta County. At the Augusta County border, a parking area leads to Fort Edward Johnson, which was a series of fortifications built by the Confederate Army in 1862. The highway continues as Hankey Mountain Highway, which heads southeast to West Augusta in the valley of the Calfpasture River and continues east along Jennings Branch through Jennings Gap in Little North Mountain to enter the Shenandoah Valley. US 250 heads southeast along the creek through Lone Fountain and Churchville, Virginia. In the latter village, the highway runs concurrently with Virginia State Route 42 (SR 42), which heads north as Scenic Highway and south as Buffalo Gap Highway.