King and Elk Mountain Loop

General Route Info
This is a great run. 10.76 miles long with 3940 feet total elevation gain over rocky, rooty, steep twisty trail!. Along the way you crest over Elk Mtn at 2788 ft and Kings Mtn at 3226 ft. You'll cover some neat terrain and at the higher elevations you have a reasonable chance of spotting elk.

There are a couple of sections which are kind of steep (and there is a caution sign on the trail). Because of this I would not do this hike if there is snow or it is icy. Also, while I took the wonder dog, cooper on this hike you might think twice about taking your dog. There were a number of spots where I had to push him up from behind.

Maps and Mileage

Section	Elevation	Split	Total
Elk Campgrnd to Elk Mtn	~800 to 2788	1.4 miles	1.4 miles
Elk Mtn to King Mtn	2788 to ~2500 to 3226	3.4 miles	4.8 miles
King Mtn to Wilson Trail	3226 to 680	2.46 miles	7.26 miles
Wilson River Trail	680 to 1100 to ~800	3.5 miles	10.76 miles

Specific Route Info

Most of this run is along the ridge line between Elk and King Mtn. The trail is up at close to 3000 ft. I'd recommend doing the loop CCW. The section up Elk Mtn is quite steep and I'd rather trudge up this than try and run down it.

After summiting Elk you drop down the back side on one of the steep sections. Follow the trail along the ridge and it turns into a logging road. Take a left at the trail junction and head to Kings Mtn.

I'd bring a fair amount of water for this run. There is no place to get water on the route and it will take at least 4 hours to do the loop (8 to 10 hours for the typical hiker).

NOTE: This page contains running information for experienced ultra runners. Experience ultra runners are people who have already completed 50K, 50Mile or longer ultramarathons. The advice on this page is not directed towards hikers or typical 10k recreational runners. No guarantee is made about the accuracy of maps or information on this page. This page is only intended as a starting point for your own research on places to run. Always check route information yourself and be prepared.