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It's not hard to figure out why everyone visiting the Laurel Fork Special Management Area is smiling. A hiker I ran into over the July 4th weekend summed it up perfectly: "Beautiful, just beautiful".
While hikers and backpackers deal with the summer crowds in Shenandoah National Park, this little gem of an area located in Highland County on the Virginia/West Virginia border remains remarkably uncrowded and peaceful. Perhaps it has something to do with location. Tucked away in a secluded corner of George Washington National Forest roughly 12 miles south of Spruce Knob (highest point in West Virginia), the Management Area is far from major metropolitan areas. Just far enough to keep it quiet and peaceful, and known to just a handful of backpackers and hunters willing to make the four-hour drive from D.C.
This is Virginia high country. A few steps across the state line puts you in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, whose motto is "Birthplace of Rivers". Rivers to the west of the county ultimately flow into the Gulf of Mexico, while rivers to the east flow into the Atlantic. Sitting atop this "Eastern Continental Divide" is Laurel Fork, a spectacularly beautiful area nestled deep in the Potomac Highlands.
For Washingtonians weary of the hustle and heat of the city, the cool, fern-filled valleys and birch lined streams lie waiting to sooth the eyes, ears and soul. I've been visiting the Laurel Fork for over twenty years, and every trip rejuvenates and restores. I keep coming back again and again.
The 11,656 acre Laurel Fork Special Management Area is a U.S. Forest Service property "almost" classified as a Wilderness. At the end of the 1990s, it also came very close to being a potential natural gas field for a West Virginia corporation. Thanks to the efforts of the Virginia Wilderness Committee, the Nature Conservancy and Forest Supervisor Will Damon, an arrangement was worked out bringing permanent sub-surface protection to Laurel Fork. The area allows for exceptional recreation opportunities through hunting, fishing, and backpacking along the 28.5 miles of hiking trails.
I decided to do a classic circuit of my own design over the July 4th weekend. The route would include the Locust Spring Trail, the Laurel Fork River, the Bearwallow Trail, then a cross country bushwack through the open meadows of the headwaters. A short walk along FS 55 would allow me to hook up to the Locust Spring Spur Trail and back to the car. The bushwacking was designed to cut out excessive road-walking on the return loop and take in the pastoral, spruce-ringed meadows at the top of Bearwallow.
I started my trip at the Locust Spring picnic area, a grassy meadow with a three-sided shelter tucked in the back. The Locust Spring Trail took off from the right corner of the meadow along an old railroad grade. (For those that want to learn more about the railroad grades that seem to follow every mountain hollow in the Virginia and West Virginia mountains, visit our story on logging the virgin forests of West Virginia).
The close growth of spruce and hardwood along the trail soon gave way to a beautiful grassy lane with flowering mountain laurel, open woods, and tall spruce trees standing guard on each side. Within two miles, the spruce gave way to extensive stands of papery-skinned yellow birch framing the dancing waters of Locust Run. A quick mile later, I was standing on the banks of Laurel Run.
Laurel Run is not large as rivers go in the State of Virginia, but I found that even during this early summer period, it was necessary to switch from hiking boots to wading boots to make some of the stream crossings. As is true of other trails in the Management Area, the Laurel Fork Trail follows an old railroad grade in a gentle, almost level incline along the river. The trail alternates between close stands of rhododendron and open, grassy parks lined with ferns. One must exercise caution along the river since it also good habitat for some of Virginia's venomous snakes, such as Copperheads and Timber Rattlers. Some of these grow quite large in the Management Area.
Despite concern over snakes, with caution hikers are treated to peaceful, almost idyllic setting. The river flows steadily between the rhododendron and yellow birch over flat, layered rocks that hint at an earlier age when this region was part of a tropical marsh or inland sea. As I headed towards the Bearwallow trail, the sunlight sent long shafts of sunlight through the trees creating a golden lane through the grass and ferns. More than once I threw down my pack to take it all in. Cars, computers, and commuting were becoming a distant memory.
In a few spots, the going was challenging where the river had cut into the stream banks and washed away the railroad grade. It was a reminder that nature is capable of healing many wounds, despite the earlier devastation wrought by man when the forest was cleared of every standing tree. Over time, all man's creations eventually fade back into the land. It almost seemed that the Laurel Fork was trying to erase the insult it had endured almost a century earlier.
Evening camp was situated on a small rise next to Laurel Run at the base of the Bearwallow Trail. The sign for the trail was missing, but it was clear from the map that I was in the right spot. Tomorrow I would backpack up the Bearwallow to the fields and beaver ponds of the headwaters.
As daytime changed to evening, the no-see-ums emerged in profusion. Despite a light coating of insect repellent, I found it necessary to slip on rain pants to protect my exposed skin. As night advanced, a deer snorted in annoyance that I had set up my camp near one it its browsing routes. I spent the evening reading Darwin Lambert's The Earth-Man story, a book that I had picked up the previous week in Shenandoah National Park.
Morning was deliciously cool - typical of this high region of George Washington National Forest. The morning chills were chased away with hot coffee as the sun climbed behind Middle Mountain ridge. By 9:30am, I was headed up the short, steep incline to another railroad grade following Bearwallow Run in a straight line up the hollow. The predominant tree along the lower reaches was hemlock, and the ground was carpeted with ferns and flowering Wood Sorrel. The hollow was deep, dark and cool. I felt exhilarated by fresh mountain air and cool piney breezes floating down the chasm as the sun warmed the mountains.
It wasn't long before the deeply shaded hollow burst into the open meadows of the upper Bearwallow. I followed the trail uphill as the railroad grade disappeared in another washout area. When the trail shortly turned into the woods to follow a side branch of Bearwallow, I dropped down to the main stream and fought my way through the weeds in the meadow to the other side. Now it was time for some off-trail bushwacking.
I followed the right edge of the meadow for almost a mile as it curved around to the north. Staying just on the edge of the thick weeds, the going was not difficult since the woods were reasonably open. The route also appeared to be popular with the local deer population, and it was possible to follow small, makeshift game trails as I continued upstream enjoying the views across the open meadow. Soon the woods opened to grassy expanses and widely spaced trees.
As I neared the top of the meadow, the woods closed in at a series of three small beaver ponds. From my previous travels, I knew that if I followed the beaver ponds in a straight line, I'd pick up a railroad grade that would take me to the top of the ridge just to the north. As I neared the top of the ridge, I crossed an old logging road, a remnant from an earlier time when the area was actively logged. Crossing the ridge, I dropped down the other side and shortly found myself on another railroad grade. Turning left, it was short walk out to FS 55.
I'm not a big fan of backpacking along Forest Service roads, but a reasonable circuit in Laurel Fork can only be accomplished with some road walking. As roads go, FS 55 is a little better than most. For some of its length, it's deeply shaded, and traffic is very light.
Within a mile, I found myself at the marked trailhead of Slabcamp Run. The Locust Spring Spur Trail starts about ten feet off the road and drops quickly into the stream valley. The Spur trail picked up another railroad grade lined with ferns and flowering mountain laurel. I ran into a dayhiker (also smiling) who commented on the beautiful weekend weather and beauty of the region. I continued down the easy grade, enjoying the cool temperatures and green leaves.
In less than a mile, I dropped down to a lower railroad grade and soon found myself at the intersection of the Locust Spring Spur Trail and Locust Spring Trail. Upstream not far from this spot was the car, and sadly the end of my weekend trip. To extend my enjoyment a bit longer, I decided to take a connector trail over Buck Knob ridge and drop down to the large beaver ponds located at the top of the Buck Run trail. The Buck Run beaver ponds are the largest and prettiest in the Management Area, ringed with nearly pure stands of spruce. In the right spot, you can also enjoy a view of the distant mountains.
With regret, I headed up the dirt road to the Locust Spring Picnic Area and my car. But I felt rejuvenated. Laurel Fork cleanses. A weekend bathed in green and birch with the wind and water as your friends can produce some dramatic changes in perspective.
The Laurel Fork Special Management Area will always be a special backcountry area for me. It represents the finest the Potomac Highlands has to offer - clear streams, clean mountain air, and exceptional scenery. It's location high in the mountains means the walking grades are gentle, and it's location far from population centers keeps the crowds away. All the ingredients for an outstanding backcountry experience.
As I packed my equipment in the car, U.S. Forest Ranger Kevin McNally drove up in his jeep. As I shared my weekend with Ranger McNally, he couldn't help but smile. "I know how you feel. Laurel Fork is one of my favorite areas too".
Getting there:
For directions and a map, please jump to the PATC write-up on the Laurel Fork Special Management Area.
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