Wild Oak Trail

Wild Oak Trail is a National Recreation Trail designated in 1979, running as a loop in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests area of Virginia. It’s part of Forest Trail #716 and blazes are white.

The full route is about 26–28 miles (commonly listed around 27–28 miles) with roughly 6,600–7,000 feet of elevation gain, including steep climbing and steep descents that make it feel strenuous even when you’re comfortable with long days.

The route uses connected trail segments and forest roads, with a loop pattern that starts and returns to the North River headwaters area; it also passes by Camp Todd and includes a North River crossing near that area.

There are three access points from developed roads that can be used to hike shorter segments, but the through-loop is the main long-distance effort.

Hikers can expect no drinking water along the trail; water must be collected from natural sources and purified before use.

The trail’s mapped elevation runs from about 1,600 feet at North River Gap up to about 4,350 feet at Little Bald Knob, so plan for big altitude swings over multiple ridge tops.

Open year-round, the trail is also described as having water and navigation challenges typical of backcountry routes, and it sees multiple user types including mountain biking and horseback riding.

More information: Wikipedia, Visitor information, Backpacking Wild Oak Trail: Steep Ascents and River Crossings