Laurel Run, Virginia, US

Game road to Maury River

Usual Difficulty	IV-V (for normal flows)
Length	1.5 Miles
Avg. Gradient	413 fpm
Max Gradient	413 fpm

River Description

Laurel Run is the creek that drops into the Goshen Pass section of the Maury River just below the picnic grounds. It comes into the Maury on river-right above "Corner" rapid. This is probably the smallest runnable creek in the area. Aptly named, Laurel Run is blanketed with a thick coating of mountain laurel. In fact it's hard to take a vertical paddle stroke on the creek because of all the overhanging laurel limbs. The creek is a blast though; kind of a novelty run, but worth doing if you're around the Pass at high water. The drops are quite tight and pretty continuous. Midway down there is a small sliding falls called Lace Falls.


Photo of Gordon Dalton by Wendy Knick

This creek reminds me of West Virginia's Sovern Run, or a less-aerobic version of Colorado's Source of Boulder Creek. Look out for trees fallen in the creek and don't flip over.

Directions: Laurel Run joins the Maury River about half-way through Goshen Pass. Visit the Goshen Pass page for more directions and maps. Route 39 is the beautiful road that parallels the Maury through the Pass. There is a forest road off of Rt. 39 that is gated except during hunting season; this road closely parallels Laurel Run for over 1.5 miles. Either hike or drive up this road to access Laurel Run.