Scarlet Oak Trailhead Dispersed Camping

These four dispersed areas are probably better classified as one large zone along the mostly dirt road serving all four of these OHV trailheads. Each spot marked here on Campendium has a bathroom, and on Labor Day proper, 2023, there was one crew of OHVers at each spot except the last, White Oak, which is where we ended up staying.

They’re actually labeled, in order from the main road, Sycamore, Elm, Red Oak and White Oak.

This place is specifically and intentionally made for dirt bikes, quads and side by sides, so if peace and quiet is your thing, you may want to search elsewhere for such a particular type of “thing.”

In addition, there was some type of contraption, a sputtering, cranking and wheezing thing that I can only imagine was an elderly Iron Giant trying to soothe himself to sleep one last time before he finally passed on to the great junkyard beyond, somewhere in the forest behind White Oak. So, noisy.

Each of the four trailheads is equipped with a pit toilet, none of which we used. Some were overrun with garbage bags, though it wasn’t clear there was any type of garbage collection being done as of late. You can camp there according to the forest service website, though blocking too much of the lots would probably get you a few glares from the OHV crowd which they were intended for.

Trash strewn about was at a minimum.

Otherwise, a handful of additional spots on the side of the road, including at least one that was creek front, can be had.

Little to no Verizon service, but what it’s lacking in cell is more than made up for by quiet nights (after the dirt bike headlights fade away) amongst the oaks and hickories.