Length	Difficulty	Streams	Views	Solitude	Camping
13.0 mls
Hiking Time: Elev. Gain: Links: Resources:	2 Day Backpack, 8 Hours Total 1,650 ft George Washington National Forest Printable Topo Hike Map (PDF) Seneca Rocks Weather Forecast Graphic Precip/Temp Forecast Current Weather Radar Loop (Java) Garmin (GDB), GPS eXchange (GPX) (What's this?) 3D View of Route!
From:	e.g.. 12000 Government Center Parkway 22035 or Fairfax VA From WV28 turn onto FR106 for 0.4 miles at the sign for   Locust Springs Picnic Area, Turn left onto FR60 for 0.3 miles,   Turn right onto FR142 for 0.2 miles and park at the   Locust Springs Picnic Area.

With some of the most diverse scenery in the Virginia's; including beaver dams, old growth forest, wetlands, and the magical Laurel Fork, this has to be one of the most beautiful hikes that doesn't have any views. Secluded on the border of Virginia and West Virginia at 4,000ft, the Laurel Fork area can be a break from those hot summer days at lower altitudes.

Trail Notes: All the trails in the Laurel Fork area are blue blazed. In conjunction with the USDA Forest Service HikingUpward.com reblazed the Locust Spring Run, Locust Spring Run Spur, and Slabcamp Run trails in June 2007.

From the right bottom of the picnic area start down the the Locust Spring Run Trail as it heads through old growth forest for 1.2 miles before arriving at the Buck Run Connecter Trail. Turn right, cross the run, then immediately turn left downhill remaining on the blue blazed Locust Spring Run Trail. Cross over the run two more times before crossing a small side stream and passing an old wooden trail sign in 0.3 miles. In another 0.2 miles cross the run again and arrive at the intersection of the Locust Spring Run Spur Trail.

Turn right very steeply uphill on the Locust Spring Run Spur Trail for 100 yards, then stay right as the trail follows an old forestry road. Pass a beaver dam downhill on the right in 1.1 miles, and in another 0.1 miles turn left uphill following the blues blazes. In 0.1 miles arrive at the ridge, and intersection of the Slabcamp Run Trail and FS106.

Turn left on gravel FS106 and follow it for 2.0 miles to the four way intersection of FS57 and FS58. Stay left on FS106 for another 0.1 miles to the junction of the Bearwallow Run Trail and a forestry gate. Turn left downhill on the Bearwallow Run Trail and in 2.0 miles be alert as the Bearwallow Run Trail turns left downhill staying closer to the stream. Continue along the trail for another 0.7 miles where it ends at the intersection of the Laurel Fork Trail and Laurel Fork.

Note: The Laurel Fork Trail is hard to follow in places and there are few blue blazes.

Turn left on the Laurel Fork Trail and immediately cross Bearwallow Run. Turn left uphill for 25 yards where the trail turns back to the right. Continue along the the trail as it follows the left bank of Laurel Fork and passes a small camping area in 1.0 miles. From this point the trail becomes harder to follow before you have to ford Laurel Fork in another 1.2 miles. There will be a large area of rhododendron on the opposite bank, and no blazes marking the crossing point as of July 2006. The crossing point long/lat is: N38 33.165 W79 36.816

After fording Laurel Fork turn left on the trail through a Rhododendron tunnel for 0.1 miles, cross a small stream, then reach the intersection of the Christian Run Trail. Continue straight on the Laurel Fork Trail for another 0.5 miles, and passing a rocky section along the river bank before arriving at the intersection of the Slabcamp Run Trail.

Turn right staying on the Laurel Fork Trail and in 200 yards there is a large campsite. 250 yards past the campsite ford Laurel Fork for the last time, and in another 0.1 miles cross Locust Spring Run before arriving at the intersection of the Locust Spring Run Trail and another large camping area.

Continue straight on the Buck Run Trail as it climbs through the valley. Cross the run in 1.5 miles, then cross back in another 200 yards where someone has set three logs together as a makeshift footbridge. Turn left after crossing the run where a rock cairn marks the trail. The trail makes several switchbacks as it climbs the mountain.

After the last switchback stay right where the trail now follows an old FS road. In 0.9 miles from the last switchback pass a wetland area on the right, then continue through a red pine stand before reaching the intersection of the Buck Run Connector Trail. Turn right on the Buck Run Trail and in 0.4 miles arrive at FR142. Turn left for the remaining 30 yards to the Locust Spring Picnic area and hike start point.

We three began our hike at FR106 on the Bearwallow Run Tr., hiking down to the Laurel Fork; this was downhill and easy, but we really had to be on the lookout for the blazes toward the latter part of this trail. The trail sign at the  Laurel Fork Trail was excellent as were the signs at the other two traiheads this trip. Hiking north on the Laurel Fork with bright sunlight was magnificent. We had never seen so many rhododendron only wish they could have been in bloom. We took lunch sitting on rocks in the riverbed watching the Laurel Fork with its tiny rapids and riffles. No humans were seen all day and we felt like we owned the place-God's creation in all it's glory. There are some really dicy spots along the Laurel Fork before reaching Slabcamp Run where we had to scramble on rocks at the edge of the riverbed which reminded us of caving. The evergreens especially the spruces were spectacular all day. We crossed the Laurel Fork at its first real bend not long before Christian Run came in from the right, and crossed again at the Slabcamp Run trailhead( water was just below my knees). Slamcamp was uphill, with many crossings of the small run, and many blowdowns across the trail. We saw two beautiful whitetail deer. Slamcamp is generally well marked w/ fresh  blue blazes except near the north end where sometimes they tend to be hidden. This wilderness is no place for beginners or persons who are not at a  good fitness level. It is a great place for those wanting a secluded hike with good variety.

The trip out is a long drive from most other hikes on this site but it's very scenic.  The directions were good and the turn off Rt 28 was easy enough to find.  The picnic area has an old pump and a decent latrine that was unlocked.  The pump was non-functional so it was a good thing that we brought water for the first night.  There are also some old grills and picnic tables.  The trail head was easy enough to locate just off the picnic area.  You can see the hiker icon on the old sign post.  As we moved out we found one of the new laminated plastic signs on a new post face-down in the duff next to the old trail sign.  There were some fresh blue blazes along the trail through the evergreen forest as we started out but these faded before we arrived at the next intersection.  The old trail sign was somewhat more informative than the new sign in that it had directional arrows.  We continued down the stream valley and came to the next intersection where the trail takes a jog to the right and uphill.  The plastic sign had an arrow crudely carved into it indicating that the trail went to the right but the arrow also had some carving on top of it.   There was no wooden sign in sight.  There were no blazes confirming that the trail turned so our crew debated whether to follow the arrow or not.  We chose not to turn but probably should have as we learned later.  So we continued to follow the blazes we could find along the stream and an old rail bed downhill in the hope that we'd find something more reliable.  That didn't happen and we ended up at the campsite where Locust Spring Run intersects Laurel Fork which was our ulitmate destination.  At that point we took a GPS shot to confirm our location and checked both the old wooden trail sign and the new plastic one.  We'd missed the turn alright.  The campsite was clean, beautiful, and surrounded by wild rhododendrons.  Again, the plastic sign at the campsite had no directional arrows and the old wooden one was more informative.  The plastic sign at the intersection with the Buck Run Trail about 200 yards downstream from the campsite didn't have any arrows either but at this point we'd gotten the flick.  Blazes in the area were old and faded and the old wooden sign there was more informative.  We'd planned a longer hike but the weather had turned from snow showers to steady rain in the 40 degree range so we chose to bag it.   We had scouted the area across and downstream where there were some additional campsites but they were not as nice as the one we were in.  There is a crossing at the campsite and stream was less than knee deep - but very cold.  The hike out over an old rail bed the next day was pretty easy.  Good thing we didn't have to cross Laurel Fork as it had poured rain all night and the stream was up making a crossing dicy.  Again, blazes on the way out were in need of refreshing.  When we got to the second stream coming in from our left, the blazes were a problem.  We sent out scouts to check different routes and finally found where the trail continued up a steep hill on the left with switchbacks.  So when we go back we'll know not to cross the second stream and to look for the switchbacks uphill to the left.  We followed the switchback trail to the old road along the ridge through a dark stand of old evergreens and back to the picnic area.  The lesson learned is to have compass headings ready on our map to check the trail signs and have GPS waypoints as a backup.

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