Ohio beginner trails

[tCub]

So, went to Southington Offroad Park early this morning and.... wow what a blast! Highly recommend! If you’ve never been (off roading) there’s a lot to do, even w/ stock, although it’s not too obvious which trails are which and what their difficulty is. Just take it easy, watch other people and if it looks like too much, it probably is. I ran into a few hairy situations and had to turn around a couple times, but overall, with no previous experience (but tons of research prior), I had a great time. Some really nice people there too.

If you’re a pro, you probably already know about this place, but if not - go there! Lots of really challenging looking obstacles and trails.

Also, it’s $35 for driver/Jeep then $10 per passenger for a day pass with weekend passes available too (forgot the price). They do take cards if you don’t have cash on hand.

Sponsored

 

[aug0211]

So, went to Southington Offroad Park early this morning and.... wow what a blast! Highly recommend! If you’ve never been (off roading) there’s a lot to do, even w/ stock, although it’s not too obvious which trails are which and what their difficulty is. Just take it easy, watch other people and if it looks like too much, it probably is. I ran into a few hairy situations and had to turn around a couple times, but overall, with no previous experience (but tons of research prior), I had a great time. Some really nice people there too.

If you’re a pro, you probably already know about this place, but if not - go there! Lots of really challenging looking obstacles and trails.

Also, it’s $35 for driver/Jeep then $10 per passenger for a day pass with weekend passes available too (forgot the price). They do take cards if you don’t have cash on hand.

Thank you! Interested in this!

Any good camping sites nearby to make a weekend out of it?

Any photos of the park/your experience?

 

[tCub]

Yeah! So I’m uploading the few photos I had. Basically showing off two different trails and then some of the incrdible scenery (at least to me, being from Cleveland..). Photos: Some fairly deep water that was a blast to drive through, a couple fun hills I went down a number of times, and a great wooded area that had nice variety of terrain and obstacles.

There’s actually a few really good YouTube videos showing off the trails and many photos in reviews and such. I would have gotten more photos/video but 1) there were many times it would be a bad idea to have my partner exit the Jeep to get a photo and 2) the rest of the time, we were having such a blast we didn’t even think about it!

I also brought my Gear 360 camera and found the soft top latch is a perfect spot to mount it, but.... I didn’t have a nut to secure the bolt correctly. I’ll be better prepared next time!

As for camping, yes! You can actually camp in the park. So grab your Jeep and gear, set up camp in one of the designated areas and I guess hit the trails whenever you want! They’ve got spots for RVs too.

Really cool place. Can’t wait to return first weekend of August (the next time the park will be open).

 

[vhfan5150]

Southington looks really cool, but holy 4 hour drive Batman! But I am gonna drive 3 hours to the newbie ride that the All Terrain Outfitters Trail Team is putting on in early September at the Badlands in Indiana.

 

[vhfan5150]

Went with the All Terrain Outfitters Trail Team (Thanks @ATO4x4 for this wonderful time) this weekend to Badlands. Had a blast and learned a bunch from them. Amazing group to go with and learn from. Didn’t get a lot of pics to upload, but here’s a couple:

 

[Hydroboy35th]

Will be following this thread.

 

[tCub]

I know this thread has been somewhat light on responses but wanted to check in and say two things

1. If anyone wants to join me at Southington Offroad Park for a day of fun, I’ll be there on Saturday April 6th (sometime in the morning, time TBD). I’ve been several times so I know my way around (for the most part) and I have lots of recovery gear if needed!
2. On May 18th, I’ll be at NEO Jamboree in Jefferson, OH. They have early bird tickets on sale now (so I got mine at a discount). I plan on participating in beginner level trail runs and if anyone wants to buddy up, lemme know - at the least, I just want to let Ohio folks know it’s coming up and sounds like a great time and place to have some Jeep fun! (It’s also on topless day!)

http://www.southingtonoffroad.com/

https://lcor.ticketleap.com/2019-neo-jam-spring/

 

[Command Line RC]

@tCub I could possibly do April 6th for SOR. I've been there twice now myself. I'll let you know next week if I'll for sure be there.

Have you ever been to a NEO Jamboree yet?

 

[tCub]

@tCub I could possibly do April 6th for SOR. I've been there twice now myself. I'll let you know next week if I'll for sure be there.

Have you ever been to a NEO Jamboree yet?

Sounds good! I’ve gotten lucky and randomly joined people while there and find it’s always better (safer too) to wheel with others!

I haven’t actually been to NEO Jamboree before. I got the Jeep last May - my first Jeep - and really only went to Southington each month. This year I’m looking at doing more and going to more places. Jefferson, OH is just over an hour from Cleveland and sounds like they have neat stuff there so very appealing. Some obstacle courses and guided trail runs sound great.

There’s another Jeep thing happening July 4th weekend, hosted by MOJO, so it’s in southern Ohio. I’ll likely attend that too. I think they might have obstacle courses but not sure about trail rides.

http://ohiojeepfest.com/

 

[Command Line RC]

Sounds good! I’ve gotten lucky and randomly joined people while there and find it’s always better (safer too) to wheel with others!

I haven’t actually been to NEO Jamboree before. I got the Jeep last May - my first Jeep - and really only went to Southington each month. This year I’m looking at doing more and going to more places. Jefferson, OH is just over an hour from Cleveland and sounds like they have neat stuff there so very appealing. Some obstacle courses and guided trail runs sound great.

There’s another Jeep thing happening July 4th weekend, hosted by MOJO, so it’s in southern Ohio. I’ll likely attend that too. I think they might have obstacle courses but not sure about trail rides.

http://ohiojeepfest.com/

Be careful at the NEO Jamboree. They have ATV's and dirt bikes that just fly around corners at times. Almost hit a dirtbike, I was coming over a hill and they were flying up it trying to ramp it. I would rather see only jeeps there but people love their toys.

 

[Hydroboy35th]

@tCub how are the trails at southington? Am I going to be taking a mud bath or banging off rocks at every turn? I don’t stuff but my Jeep is my daily and I don’t want to destroy it.

 

[Command Line RC]

@tCub how are the trails at southington? Am I going to be taking a mud bath or banging off rocks at every turn? I don’t stuff but my Jeep is my daily and I don’t want to destroy it.

They have beginner trails all the way up to "WTF did I get myself into" trails.

If you go down a trail and realize maybe you don't want to do it. You can turn around in some instances which make it nice. Depending on what time of year you go, for example, spring and summer....if you go down some trails bushes may scratch your ride up. I would say, if it's your first time, go with a buddy that knows he's way around and if you have a CB talk to the cabin folks when you first role in...hand them your waiver which you should just fill out online so it's ready and talk to them about what channel you should be on. If I remember right NE4X4 is on channel 7, if you get stuck by yourself you can always ask someone to help.

 

[tCub]

They have beginner trails all the way up to "WTF did I get myself into" trails.

If you go down a trail and realize maybe you don't want to do it. You can turn around in some instances which make it nice. Depending on what time of year you go, for example, spring and summer....if you go down some trails bushes may scratch your ride up. I would say, if it's your first time, go with a buddy that knows he's way around and if you have a CB talk to the cabin folks when you first role in...hand them your waiver which you should just fill out online so it's ready and talk to them about what channel you should be on. If I remember right NE4X4 is on channel 7, if you get stuck by yourself you can always ask someone to help.

Thanks a bunch for the heads up at NEO. I read that they let ATVs cruise around. I’ll keep an eye out.

Your response about Southington’s trails is spot on too.

My first trip there I drove through some thick brush and got a nice pinstripe. I immediately said f-it... it’s a Jeep. Of course your trip doesn’t need to be that destructive but just know it could happen. I’ve also scraped on skid plates and cross members before so I’d say you either don’t care about that (and will use them what they’re designed for) or you have enough luck and skill to avoid a small scrape here and there. If you’re in a rubicon or have lifted sport, that may help mitigate the possibility of a small under belly scrape.

Also didn’t know about their CB. I just installed an antenna and radio so that’s nice!

 

[gofastguy]

Following

 

[irishtim7]

Hi All,

Just wanted to check in and mention I'm from Cleveland as well. I'd like to get out to Southington soon also. Would love to meet and wheel with some of you. I'm most likely putting my lift on next weekend since this whole weekend looks like typical NEO shit weather. The 6th is out for me but anytime after that. Kind of sucks they are only open 1 weekend per month. I'll be itching to test out the new lift so maybe May 11th or 12th.

Sponsored