Off road trails near Cincinnati?

[nesman7]

My 2021 Rubicon has shipped and is supposed to arrive in 2-3 weeks at the dealer (silly slow trians). Does anyone have recommendations for off rail trials in the Midwest? Looking at Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky or the southern half of Ohio specifically, but will take some trips to West Virginia and Tennessee this fall as well.

Hopefully moving to a more adventurous city in the future but until then trying to make the best of the flatter states.

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[Ohio Hiker]

haha, I do that every week day!

I got mine back in April and I haven't made it to any trails but I've been trying to find some. The closest badge of honor trail is Redbird ORV trails in Indiana. I've seen a lot of Ohio Jeepers in the forums talk about Southington, but that is between Cleveland and Youngstown. If you just want to do some easy wheeling on gravel you can drive over to Shawnee State Forest (Adams Co, Portsmouth area) and cruise on some of the forest service roads.

 

[nesman7]

I got mine back in April and I haven't made it to any trails but I've been trying to find some. The closest badge of honor trail is Redbird ORV trails in Indiana. I've seen a lot of Ohio Jeepers in the forums talk about Southington, but that is between Cleveland and Youngstown. If you just want to do some easy wheeling on gravel you can drive over to Shawnee State Forest (Adams Co, Portsmouth area) and cruise on some of the forest service roads.

Thanks for the recommendations. I have read about the Southington meet ups, but its a decent drive up there. I was thinking of checking out the Badge of Honor trails this fall too sometime before it gets cold. Don't seem like too far of a drive for a badge. Hoping there are some other good trails within an hour or two. But I may have to move to Denver to get the full use of the Jeep.

 

[cOtter]

haha, I do that every week day!

I got mine back in April and I haven't made it to any trails but I've been trying to find some. The closest badge of honor trail is Redbird ORV trails in Indiana. I've seen a lot of Ohio Jeepers in the forums talk about Southington, but that is between Cleveland and Youngstown. If you just want to do some easy wheeling on gravel you can drive over to Shawnee State Forest (Adams Co, Portsmouth area) and cruise on some of the forest service roads.

Hey Kevin, from the looks of your info it appears that you have visited the good folks at Cades Cove Jeep Outpost. We were down in the Smokies in July and August.

 

[Ohio Hiker]

Hey Kevin, from the looks of your info it appears that you have visited the good folks at Cades Cove Jeep Outpost. We were down in the Smokies in July and August.

I wish I could've made it down for the Jeep Invasion this year but my son who lives out of state was back in town for a wedding that weekend and I didn't want to miss that visit. I was last down in the Smokies for a quick over-nighter back in November. I'm definitely 'jonesing' to go back down to the Promised Land!

 

[Abend]

Closest places are Dirty Turtle Off-Road Park in Bedford, KY, Hollerwood near Slade, KY, and the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway, which is a loop of about 100 miles of mostly unpaved and un-maintained county roads near Slade, KY. There's also the aforementioned Redbird SRA, which can range from tame in dry conditions to downright crazy in rain. A guy in our group came over a sharp rise on the trail and landed nearly up to his windows in mud and water on the other side, but we were there during a period of several days of heavy rain. I don't know of anything worthwhile in Ohio.

 

[Ohio Hiker]

Closest places are Dirty Turtle Off-Road Park in Bedford, KY, Hollerwood near Slade, KY, and the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway, which is a loop of about 100 miles of mostly unpaved and un-maintained county roads near Slade, KY. There's also the aforementioned Redbird SRA, which can range from tame in dry conditions to downright crazy in rain. A guy in our group came over a sharp rise on the trail and landed nearly up to his windows in mud and water on the other side, but we were there during a period of several days of heavy rain. I don't know of anything worthwhile in Ohio.

Yup
For me, if I'm going near Slade I'm not wheeling, I'm going hiking in RRG.

 

[vhfan5150]

As others have said, there's not much/nothing in southwest Ohio short of the forest roads in Adams Co. Best advice would be to hook up with a group, look up Trail Team Offroad Adventures or Highlift Offroad Expeditions on the Facebook. They do group rides fairly regularly. If you're heading to Tennessee, Windrock is amazing for off-roading and it's only about 4 hours away from Cincy. This summer we did a badge loop, getting the 3 at Windrock, then heading East to Uwharrie getting the one there, and then northward to Peters Mill to grab that one. Was a great trip but could've skipped Peters Mill and grabbed the new badge at Bearwallow in WV instead had we not have already planned everything out. You also may want to move this/check out the Great Lakes page on the local sections here.

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