 Review the Laurel Run hike here! Average Review Rating:
| By:
KML
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Saturday, July 03, 2010 |
What we liked: The views, the clear directions provided by HikingUpward for following the trail, and the workout. My wife, her dog (toy/miniature poodle), and I had a great time, saw a deer, heard a turkey, and startled a hawk. The views were very nice. The walk along the top ridge is particularly pleasant. Each woodland walk between knolls seems a little unique. In one the floor is shrouded in ferns, another has wildflowers and blackberries. The ridgetop hike was quite enjoyable. Another favorite thing: The only other people we saw once turning off Wolf Gap road were a group in an SUV driving by where (gravel) state road 691 intersects with the trail.
What we didn't: The directions for getting there provided by Google were not perfect, at least, not with me at the helm. There are several miles of gravel road to get to the "parking area" at the first gate (it was locked). There is no parking area. There is a road, a private drive with a gate, a rocked off private drive, and lots of "No Trespassing" signs. We parked in the rocked off driveway, assuming everything would be fine. It was. If multiple cars needed to park, the side of the road would constitute the "parking area".
Other things: Because we had to park at the first gate, this was an eight mile hike. The first 1.1 miles is along a very well maintained gravel road. As other commenters have noted, I am not sure why the gate was locked, but the 1.1 miles is almost flat and certainly easy. The hike up to the ridge is a good workout. It is not too onerous, but did take us nearly three hours to cover the 3.5 miles. We stopped for photos, snacks, and water (for the dog) along the way, so it could certainly be done more quickly. The hike down from the ridge is quite steep. It is steep enough that it is hard not to jog. Even in July, dead leaves cover loose rocks, so be careful going down. A twisted ankle is a real possibility if you aren't careful.
Last thing: I would not have recommended it for kids. I see other hikers have taken kids as young as 8. I would only do that if you are fairly experienced and you know your child is up to a pretty tough workout. The 8 mile round trip took us about 6 hours, with a stop for lunch, and most of that time is spent on a rigorous ascent or steep descent.
I do recommend the hike, but if, like me, you are somewhat new to hiking this area, don't expect a clearly marked "parking area". And be aware that the trail head is down several gravel roads, not all of which (FR 252, for instance) are clearly marked.
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| By:
Gators
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 29, 2010 |
Laurel Run is a very nice hike, made better by the lack of foot traffic and excellent views. The gate was open allowing us to park at the trail head, though this may have been unique for the Memorial Day weekend. Other than some campers at sites off of Farm Road 252 coming towards the trail head, we saw one car at the start of the route and no one on the mountain. The trail is very clearly marked, though you need to be on the look out for the scenic overlooks. It is fairly obvious where they are going to be, and the better of the overlooks is marked with a clear trail on your left of about 20 yards to a nice rocky promontory. We completed the 6.5 miles or so at a leisurely pace of about 3 hours.
My guess is this would be fine for children. The initial mile or so on the yellow hash portion of the route is a bit rigorous, but once you make the left onto the orange-hashed part of the trail, the walk if quite scenic and takes you through a range of nice, unique sections of forest.
With some more hikes under our belt for comparison, we might bump this up to a four star rating.
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| By:
Ben and Grace
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Date of Hike: Saturday, November 07, 2009 |
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On the way there, it's important to note that Wolf Gap road veers to the right after a couple of miles (there is a sign, but for some reason we missed it). Also, from Sam Clark Road/State Route 789, State Route 691 goes two directions. You can either make a sharp right uphill or you can continue to go straight. The correct route to get to the trail is to follow 691 straight. Do not turn right at the sign, do not go up the hill. Do not pass "Go" and collect $200.
Other than getting there, the hike was gorgeous! It was a perfect day and although the leaves had all fallen, it was still a breathtaking sight at Wil's Point Overlook. We thoroughly enjoyed being out in the fresh air.
We did not see any wildlife other than some hawks, and small birds. We also found one tick after the hike.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 |
My family enjoyed the hike very much. We hiked it backwards, and this was no problem since the trail marks on the trees are clear on both sides of most trees. I think the ascent was a little bit steeper our way, but there's not much difference. You can hike it in either direction using the instructions provided here. Be cautious about the loose, rocky parts of the trail. Most of the way is solid footing, but some parts are rough.
Blueberry and blackberry bushes were growing along much of the trail and my wife kept busy identifying the flora. We didn't see any bears, but we saw certain signs of them. We also started an owl up near the top.
The little side trail near the highest point supposedly leads to a specially good prospect. It is marked by a small cairn of rocks but was overgrown and hard to get to. We thought there were other points along the trail that provided equally good views of the valley. My favorite part of any mountain hike is the fresh, clear air you get when you are up above everything. This hike provided that along much of the top ridge.
Overall a very nice day hike.
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| By:
Southern Preacher
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Date of Hike: Saturday, June 27, 2009 |
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Hiked this trail this past weekend with the wife and eight-year old son. The road gate was locked, which meant we had to hike the first mile or so up the road. Somebody had painted over the ROAD CLOSED sign the following: Why is this road always closed? I have to admit that I wondered why as well. The road seemed to be in great shape. I'm not sure why it's closed. The views from the ridge were, of course, spectacular. When we returned back to the main road we turned right and headed further up the road for about a half mile or so. There are a couple of small meadows on the left that were filled with wildflowers. On the way down the road we saw a small bear on the left side of the road. I managed to snap one photograph of it before it saw us and booked it up the mountain. Overall, I enjoyed the hike to the ridge. However, I would have enjoyed it much more if we had been able to drive up the road to the trail head and spend more time hiking along the ridge. Although there were two cars parked down below, we didn't see a soul during hike. Very quite and very peaceful.
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