Yesterday I went to check out the 18 mile long ORV trail at Green Ridge State Forest near Hancock, Maryland. I didn't get any takers on my thread in the Events forum, so I ended up going solo. My wife ended up having to work all day and my brother was out of town, so I was literally by myself. Oh well, still had a good time! 
Here's a map of the area:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/pdfs/greenridge_ORVmap.pdf
I live in Baltimore, which approximately an hour and forty minutes away (without traffic). I left at about 9:30am. Stopped at Clear Springs (about 15 miles west of Hagerstown) for some breakfast and was at exit 62 on I-68 at about 11:30 am. As soon as you get off the exit you're dumped onto gravel roads that aren't marked very clearly. I had printed out the map I linked to above. I didn't have too much trouble finding my way until the last turn. There's a stop sign but I got confused as to which road I was on and ended up going the wrong way. I didn't know anything was wrong until I crossed campsite 79. That's where I took the first couple of pictures (the ones where the top is still all the way up and the Jeep is least dirty ).
I turned around and found a couple of guys on ATV's and decided to just follow them in and didn't have any more problems. I passed a guy in a red TJ and a guy in a white XJ who were leaving on my way in. Got to the parking lot at the trailhead and there were a handful of tow vehicles parked around. The trail makes a big 18 mile long loop, and from the parking lot you can go clockwise or counterclockwise on the loop.
I initially decided to go clockwise, but about 100 yards into the trail there was a sign that said "ORV/Motorcycle ONE WAY" pointing counterclockwise. I got confused and turned around and went the other way. Found out later (as you can see by the picture of the sign I took) that licensed vehicles (i.e. Jeeps/trucks) can go either way, only motorcycles/ATVs are limited to one way.
Anyway, so I turned around and went back to the parking lot and headed off counterclockwise. I had read reviews and saw some short videos about the trail and it had been described as very easy and nothing special. I wasn't expecting much but was hoping that although we havent had a lot of rain lately there'd still be some mud holes to play in. This part of the trail was excellent, lots of off-camber spots, some moderate rocks and some decent mud holes. It's true that a stock Wrangler could probably handle this trail with no issues, but depending on how wet it is you could get in some hairy spots with street or all-terrain tires. With MTR's you should be fine. I ended up running in 4-low, not because I needed it but because it was easier to control my speed (less clutch work).
So about a mile and a half in, I passed a guy in a Chevy pickup going the other way who told me that about another mile and a half in there was a large tree down that was blocking the trail and they had to turn around. I decided to keep going to see it for myself. I eventually made it to the tree and he was right, there was no way around it. So I turned around and started to head back. Right after I turned around I passed an older Toyota pickup and I passed along the information that they were going to have to turn around. Didn't see anybody else ecept for a guy in a brand new looking JK who I passed right as I was making it back to the parking lot.
I got back to the parking lot at about 1:00. I was looking at the map and trying to decide what to do, seeing as how I wouldn't be able to complete the loop. There's a road that cuts through the trail about halfway through the loop, so I decided to go clockwise until I got to this road (depending on how long it took to get there). Starting from the parking lot, there's some interesting (but not too difficult) climbs, and then you get on top of the mountain (where the scenic photos were taken). Once you get on top there are a couple of slightly rocky areas, but it's mostly flat with just a couple of small mud pits - not the most exciting four wheelin', but the views make up for it. The one picture is an old abandoned shack that was up there with an old school bus parked behind it. That was just a couple hundred yards from the clearing with the power lines. I don't think the pictures did justice to how high up it was and how steep it was down both sides of the trail. When I pulled into that clearing with the power lines, I snapped the two photos you see, and then the battery on my camera died so I couldn't get any more.
Not too far past the power lines you start to make a descent and then you cross the road. By the time I got to the road it was about 2:45, so I decided to go ahead and call it a day since my wife was getting off work at 4, and I wanted to leave part of the trail unexplored to give me reason to want to come back soon.
All in all it was a lot of fun and while it's definitely not as extreme as say Rausch Creek or the old Paragon park, it only cost me about $30 in gas and the views were amazing.
Here's a map of the area:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/pdfs/greenridge_ORVmap.pdf
I live in Baltimore, which approximately an hour and forty minutes away (without traffic). I left at about 9:30am. Stopped at Clear Springs (about 15 miles west of Hagerstown) for some breakfast and was at exit 62 on I-68 at about 11:30 am. As soon as you get off the exit you're dumped onto gravel roads that aren't marked very clearly. I had printed out the map I linked to above. I didn't have too much trouble finding my way until the last turn. There's a stop sign but I got confused as to which road I was on and ended up going the wrong way. I didn't know anything was wrong until I crossed campsite 79. That's where I took the first couple of pictures (the ones where the top is still all the way up and the Jeep is least dirty
). I turned around and found a couple of guys on ATV's and decided to just follow them in and didn't have any more problems. I passed a guy in a red TJ and a guy in a white XJ who were leaving on my way in. Got to the parking lot at the trailhead and there were a handful of tow vehicles parked around. The trail makes a big 18 mile long loop, and from the parking lot you can go clockwise or counterclockwise on the loop.
I initially decided to go clockwise, but about 100 yards into the trail there was a sign that said "ORV/Motorcycle ONE WAY" pointing counterclockwise. I got confused and turned around and went the other way. Found out later (as you can see by the picture of the sign I took) that licensed vehicles (i.e. Jeeps/trucks) can go either way, only motorcycles/ATVs are limited to one way.
Anyway, so I turned around and went back to the parking lot and headed off counterclockwise. I had read reviews and saw some short videos about the trail and it had been described as very easy and nothing special. I wasn't expecting much but was hoping that although we havent had a lot of rain lately there'd still be some mud holes to play in. This part of the trail was excellent, lots of off-camber spots, some moderate rocks and some decent mud holes. It's true that a stock Wrangler could probably handle this trail with no issues, but depending on how wet it is you could get in some hairy spots with street or all-terrain tires. With MTR's you should be fine. I ended up running in 4-low, not because I needed it but because it was easier to control my speed (less clutch work).
So about a mile and a half in, I passed a guy in a Chevy pickup going the other way who told me that about another mile and a half in there was a large tree down that was blocking the trail and they had to turn around. I decided to keep going to see it for myself. I eventually made it to the tree and he was right, there was no way around it. So I turned around and started to head back. Right after I turned around I passed an older Toyota pickup and I passed along the information that they were going to have to turn around. Didn't see anybody else ecept for a guy in a brand new looking JK who I passed right as I was making it back to the parking lot.
I got back to the parking lot at about 1:00. I was looking at the map and trying to decide what to do, seeing as how I wouldn't be able to complete the loop. There's a road that cuts through the trail about halfway through the loop, so I decided to go clockwise until I got to this road (depending on how long it took to get there). Starting from the parking lot, there's some interesting (but not too difficult) climbs, and then you get on top of the mountain (where the scenic photos were taken). Once you get on top there are a couple of slightly rocky areas, but it's mostly flat with just a couple of small mud pits - not the most exciting four wheelin', but the views make up for it. The one picture is an old abandoned shack that was up there with an old school bus parked behind it. That was just a couple hundred yards from the clearing with the power lines. I don't think the pictures did justice to how high up it was and how steep it was down both sides of the trail. When I pulled into that clearing with the power lines, I snapped the two photos you see, and then the battery on my camera died so I couldn't get any more.
Not too far past the power lines you start to make a descent and then you cross the road. By the time I got to the road it was about 2:45, so I decided to go ahead and call it a day since my wife was getting off work at 4, and I wanted to leave part of the trail unexplored to give me reason to want to come back soon
. All in all it was a lot of fun and while it's definitely not as extreme as say Rausch Creek or the old Paragon park, it only cost me about $30 in gas and the views were amazing.
