Turkey Bay - Land Between the Lakes

Took a short weekend trip to LBL The beginning of the month. First nights we’ve gotten to spend in the Opus since buying it from Xgrid in April. Didn’t get to take it off-road, but minus the heat the first night, enjoyed our time in it. Done a loop through Turkey Bay to earn our first Badge of Honor. Had A great time, and can’t wait to go back and explore some of the tracks we didn’t hit this time. And….the buffalo move when the buffalo want to move…..

It is a great place to wheel and camp. I am surprised that it for them most part travels under the radar for the Youtube crowd.

wibornz said:

It is a great place to wheel and camp. I am surprised that it for them most part travels under the radar for the Youtube crowd.

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The amount of trails in one spot is crazy. Albeit many of them look more like ATV/SxS that I wouldn’t venture down in my Jeep. We did 6.5 miles in a couple of hours, and there was probably close to that we didn’t get to this trip. Next trip planned is to Overland the Red in October to ride some of the DBBB.

A little later in the season, but the Elk were in Rut when we went through the preserve. Pretty entertaining seeing those boys trying to get some, lol.

That whole LBL are is pretty nice. Plenty of exploring to do. Took my then new Wrangler off road for the first time there on LBL.

Used to ride dirt bikes with the boys at Turkey Bay. Last time I rode there was 2017 and noticed all the single track is now atv.

I grew up and went to college near there, so i spent alot of time in LBL, mostly hiking and mountainbiking. Ive never jeeped through there.

TCFD40 said:

Took a short weekend trip to LBL The beginning of the month. First nights we’ve gotten to spend in the Opus since buying it from Xgrid in April. Didn’t get to take it off-road, but minus the heat the first night, enjoyed our time in it. Done a loop through Turkey Bay to earn our first Badge of Honor. Had A great time, and can’t wait to go back and explore some of the tracks we didn’t hit this time. And….the buffalo move when the buffalo want to move…..

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This thread is very timely, with a kid in college nearby I was looking at a trip there sometime this fall. Did you have a favorite trail? I’ll probably do a solo trip - I saw somewhere that most of the red trails are sxs trails and too narrow for Jeeps. Did you see any other trails to avoid wheeling alone?

Check this post for some ideas for exploring LBL.

https://adventuringwrangler.wordpress.com/2024/07/21/lbl-adventure/

One route could not be completed due to a downed tree. Another was flooded. Still plenty to do in the whole area.

I have been twice and will most likely go this winter. I had OnX on an iPad Mini that helped find trails large/wide enough for 3 Jeeps, one Cherokee and a Subaru (HAHA!). They give you a map when you check in. We ended up going around the outside near the lake as the water levels are down in the winter.

I know it ain't no hard core rock crawlin', but I was perfectly happy in my $75K Jeep that I needed to drive home. Son drove his Willy's and that was his first ever 4x4 experience.

Great way to spend a nice day and in the winter time it wasn't too crowded. You can pretty much tell when a trail is just for the SxS's or dirt bikes.

The first time we went there were a bunch of boys on dirt bikes and the dad was following behind them in his Jeep - pretty cool. I have found everyone to be respectful and patient.

(And yes the Subaru got stuck, mainly because of the low clearance, but its a 4 wheel drive). (He actually got stuck in a water crossing, thankfully it didn't get in the engine bay, but was RIGHT at the door jam. My brother yanked him out with is Cherokee).

(You might already know this, but if you use an iPad or iPad mini, you need one with the cellular chip - not for cell service per se, but only that version has the GPS chip.)

Nice area. I went with Indy Overlanders, a FB group, and we did some really mild stuff. If the hard stuff there is all mud…not sure about that lol.

I hate pulling out 30lbs of mud from everywhere…after I already sprayed everything for an hour after doing Mountain Springs Rd on the DBBB.

NEO Jeep said:

This thread is very timely, with a kid in college nearby I was looking at a trip there sometime this fall. Did you have a favorite trail? I’ll probably do a solo trip - I saw somewhere that most of the red trails are sxs trails and too narrow for Jeeps. Did you see any other trails to avoid wheeling alone?

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We started out on the Bay Overlook trail. From there I just followed trails with OnX to get back to the Rock Garden, and then back out. Was a total of 6.5 miles in 2 hrs. Bay Overlook was a good trail, but I feel like the Silo trail, which we didn’t get to, will be another fun one. I just made it a point to stick to the trails OnX had marked for Jeep or bigger vehicles. All of which ranged from A 3 (green) to a 5 (blue)in difficulty. Wouldn’t hesitate to do any of them solo.

Odyssey USA said:

Nice area. I went with Indy Overlanders, a FB group, and we did some really mild stuff. If the hard stuff there is all mud…not sure about that lol.

I hate pulling out 30lbs of mud from everywhere…after I already sprayed everything for an hour after doing Mountain Springs Rd on the DBBB.

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Very dry when we were there. A few muddy areas, but nothing too thick or messy. Some of the spots could definitely get that way with a wetter season.

TCFD40 said:

Took a short weekend trip to LBL The beginning of the month. First nights we’ve gotten to spend in the Opus since buying it from Xgrid in April. Didn’t get to take it off-road, but minus the heat the first night, enjoyed our time in it. Done a loop through Turkey Bay to earn our first Badge of Honor. Had A great time, and can’t wait to go back and explore some of the tracks we didn’t hit this time. And….the buffalo move when the buffalo want to move…..

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Your post is awesome timing, as my wife and I are coming up to Kentucky/West Virginia/Tennessee in October for a couple weeks' vacation. Thanks for the tip on a spot to swing through and earn a Badge!

ObiMatt87 said:

Your post is awesome timing, as my wife and I are coming up to Kentucky/West Virginia/Tennessee in October for a couple weeks' vacation. Thanks for the tip on a spot to swing through and earn a Badge!

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Not sure when you’re traveling through, but check out the Overland the Red event. I believe it’s October 16-19. Weekend of camping and trail riding the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB). Not badge of honor trails, but some of the best KY has.

TCFD40 said:

Not sure when you’re traveling through, but check out the Overland the Red event. I believe it’s October 16-19. Weekend of camping and trail riding the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB). Not badge of honor trails, but some of the best KY has.

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Just looked at the DBBB site. That looks awesome! Thanks for the tip. Had been looking at Hollerwood Offroad Adventure Park as a possibility as well, but I like the DBBB idea. Appreciate it!