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Wolf Ford Horse Camp is a reservation only campground located in the Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest, near the town of Brevard. The campground is designed and intended for equestrian use. This campground provides access to a comprehensive network of multiple use trails, as well as creeks, streams, and waterfalls, which the Pisgah is known for. In addition to its many waterfalls, Pisgah Ranger District is famous for its scenic vistas and the Cradle of Forestry, which is located only a short 4 mile drive from the campground itself.
Wolf Ford Horse Camp is located 3.2 miles down Yellow Gap Road, gravel Forest Service Road 1206, therein providing a serene escape from the main visiting traffic on Highway 276. Consequently, this campground provides the perfect launching point to explore many different destinations in the Forest, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, 276 Corridor, and countless other waterfalls accessed off of the district's many gravel Forest Service roads.
After you make your reservations online, we highly reccomend a stop to our visitor center located right off Route 276 near the forest entrance for help in creating your itinerary. The visitor center provides a wide variety of resources and local experts happy to answer any of your questions.
Pisgah Ranger District contains over 100 miles of equestrian use trails. Beyond trails, there are also plenty of Forest Service roads that enable miles more of recreational use. Wolf Ford provides the perfect access point for many of these trails and roads, enabling a variety of lengths and difficulty levels.
The forest provides a perfect blend of natural and cultural history, best seen through the Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway and a trip to the Cradle of Forestry, the first school of forestry in America. In addition, the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway affords hundreds of miles worth of scenic views, including long mountain vistas, roadside waterfalls, and pastoral farmland.
Finally, all National Forests in North Carolina property is considered North Carolina gamelands. See the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for rules and restrictions.
This campground is remote with pit toilets. No water or electricity is available.
This campground is located near the confluence of many creeks, as well as the South Fork of the Mills River. Additionally, the area is home to a wide variety of bird species and animal species ranging from chipmunks to black bears. Finally, the campground affords plenty of shade with large trees including maples, oaks, poplars, birches, and pines, that create a patchwork quilt of beauty in the fall season.
Wolf Ford Horse Campround is within a short distance of the Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah Inn & Restaurant on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina Wildlife Education Center and Fish Hatchery, Dupont State Forest, and the town of Brevard just down the mountain from this strategic location. Within Brevard one can enjoy blocks of shops and restaurants on Main Street, or seek out guides for fishing, riding, hiking, or floating expeditions in and around Pisgah National Forest.
If Yellow Gap Road (FSR 1206) is administratively closed, all reservations will be refunded.
**From the North:**
At the intersection of 280/64 West, turn onto 276 North.
-Go 11.7 miles.
Turn Right onto Yellow Gap Road (Forest Service Road 1206) - an unpaved, gravel road.
-Go 3.3 miles.
Turn Right onto South Mills River Road (Forest Service Road 475) - an unpaved, gravel road.
Wolf Ford Horse Camp will be immediately on your left.
**From the South:**
Turn onto 276 South.
-Go 18 miles.
Turn Left onto Yellow Gap Road (Forest Service Road 1206) - an unpaved, gravel road.
-Go 3.3 miles.
Turn Right onto South Mills River Road (Forest Service Road 475) - an unpaved, gravel road.
Wolf Ford Horse Camp will be immediately on your left.
I’ve never camped anywhere where people are so wildly inconsiderate and rude. EVERY campsite with dogs had them off leash, running into other people’s sites and being disruptive. OUR OWN LEASHED DOG was charged at and subsequently injured.
This isn’t your farm - you chose to camp at a forest campground and you should abide by the simple safety rules that are set in place. Keep your flea-infested animals on a leash and on your site.
Otherwise, small campground with minimal privacy. Outhouse was very well maintained during our stay. Campsite (#5) was very overgrown and covered in poison ivy - weeds were so tall it rendered most of the campsite unusable. This site was not a very flat/level site, just as an FYI. It was okay for our rooftop tent.
No check-in/ranger station. This place feels like a total chaotic free-for-all.
Most people staying here are just inconsiderate in general - riding horses right through other’s campsites, letting horses and dogs run loose and not doing anything when dogs are out chasing vehicles and other dogs, very rude to people camping sans horses. Would never camp here again.
We had a pretty pleasant stay, that being said, we were mountain biking and not here with horses. I do see the lack of water being an issue if you have a horse. Otherwise the sites were nice and suited well for us. We had 3 cars parked and still had plenty of room.
BEWARE:
South Mill River multi use trail is not very well marked or used after the branch off to trail number 147. Trail is overgrown with trees down in multiple places across the trail. Very treacherous river crossings at some points and very steep, slippery slopes. RIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK, DANGEROUS TRAIL. We were gone from the campground almost 9 hours because of the terrain, and returned well after dark.
Horse cove gap trail should be marked as advanced. Campground itself isn’t bad, recommend both front and hind shoes on horses.
Horse Riders beware: camp is primitive but nice, no water source. Trails are poorly marked and poorly kept. South Mill River trail is DANGEROUS. Multiple deep, swift River crossings AND water crossings added due to downed trees - there are no markings where you need to ford and make your own path back to the trail, finding places to do so are treacherous. Most of the trail is overgrown. Horse Cove Gap is DIFFICULT, not moderate. Sure-footed horses are a must as its exceptionally narrow, rooted and rocky.
Brandy Creek from Yellow Gap rd is poorly marked, we could not find it.
While the scenery was gorgeous, this area is not well suited for horses. Caters to mountain bikes. I'm not even sure why they bother to offer a designated equine campground when the trails are so dangerous. Had I been inexperienced, South Mill River was a recipe for serious injury. Trail should be closed until repaired.
Do NOT follow your GPS. Make sure to use the directions from the reservation site. Campground is tight & has no water (took 105 gallons & it was more than enough for my 2 horses) but we had a great time, our group was the only horse campers the rest were non horse patrons. The trail was difficult to find, not marked well, but didn’t see anything dangerous/treacherous not even the river crossing was bad on the trail we rode, so don’t let that scare you away because these reviews had me nervous, a truck could drive half of what we rode, but don’t know which trail we rode either since there’s no signage. Would have liked to seen the other trails other posters are speaking of. Agree with others, lots of mtn bike traffic, there was a 200+ bike race when we went and our horses were bike broke by the end of the weekend. Most were polite & of course yielded to us. Scenery was beautiful, wish we knew our way around so we could have checked out the trails better. I agree the forest service needs to do a better job of marking the trails and NCDOT needs to put a SIGN on the road heading up the mtn on the east side, that’s says NO TRAILERS because it was INSANE and once you’re in it there’s no turning back for like 8miles of sharp curves, one lane road & bridges, better hope you’re a solid driver. All in all it was worth the trip, just map your route to camp, & get a trail map app or something before you go. Phone signal was shotty but typical of being in the mountains.
