Scenic Offroad Drives

Well got out and drove some of these roads today.
Went from Adako to Maple Sally to hwy90/Edgemont to National Forest road (later turns into Roseboro rd) then a right turn onto fs192/Old House Gap road. Then back down Edgemont to Globe road in Cragg. Good Day up in the mountains and nice weather too.

Old House Gap was real rough with rocks and deep washed out ruts and frozen mud holes. I was surprised Old House Gap Rd isn't more well traveled by the stock to light modded group. It's not real long but some good sized rock obstacles and deep washes are fun in a relatively stock vehicle. You can tell it doesn't get traveled much at all. Hardly any tracks on the ground and the trail is covered with leaves and such. Good thing is the trail is marked with white painted dots at all the turn-offs so you don't venture off onto private property (even though there are signs stating such) since only some are gated. Also if you go in from Roseboro Rd it is pretty much all up hill so it makes it more interesting. Just for reference I drive a 96 lx450/Land Cruiser with 2.5" lift and 32" tires, so nothing special and it was a fun time.
Some nice waterfalls on these roads and I saw a bunch of wild turkeys too lol. Check it out sometime if you get the chance its a nice ride.
 
bmasencup said:
I used to ride in the south mountains here in morganton. We used to go across on roper hollow rd to enola rd. I know the state bought a lot of the area the road went through and blocked it off, but does anyone know if you can still get to golden valley from there? There were some awesome side trails on that route too. I have not been there in like 10 years or more, so I do not know what is still open.
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When I was in high school Old CC road was still open my friends would talk about it all the time. I think it was closed down before I graduated or sometime shortly there after. Sounds like the same area you are talking about. Last time we went up to Old CC rd. 1998? a lady at the old Good Ol Boys store said not to get caught off the road or they would take your vehicle. Haven't been back since then and it looks gated at the top on google maps.
 
Well went with the wife to Gorges State Park today and hiked up Rainbow Falls Trail to check out all the waterfalls. Very nice place lots cool waterfalls and swim holes.
On the way out we drove up Chestnut Mountain Rd. This road starts out as a gravel two track road that goes up the mountain. On the far side it has some really steep descents. When you get to the end of this road take a right and head down the mtn a couple of miles and you'll come to this bridge crossing. After this bridge crossing the trail starts to get real rough! The wife and I went up the other side about two miles before we turned around (time was running out and Gorges closes at 9) to come back down.
While airing back up at the Rainbow Falls parking lot a Park Ranger stopped by on a atv.
I asked him about the trail on the other side. He said the trail goes all the way past the South Carolina line and is open to all types of traffic, "If the gates are open go for it". He said that the trail is gated by Duke Power on the other end and you would have to back track the way you came in. He asked if we made it to the top of the mountain, while pointing to a very high ridge. I said we didn't get that far as we were afraid we would get locked in the park. He stated that the park's gates will raise up after hours to let you out but you can't get back in. He then said that near the top it gets rough enough that a winch maybe needed since it's washed out and isn't really maintained very well.
Ill be going back sometime soon to try and make it all the way to the locked gates and I'll record it with my action cam. Anyway this is a REALLY great trail for you expo guys that want to trail ride. There are some nice looking camp sites on the river and also on the Rainbow Falls trail.
 
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Ok heres a question..... How many of these trails(roads) do you think could be traversed in a Jeep Liberty Jet on street tires. It is a 4WD and I would love to drive some of these roads with the wife and our son. It has about the same clearance as a stock Cherokee, but b/c of the wheel and tire package, not as much articulation as a trail rated version. Heres a pic.....

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I feel that I could drive Sampson (aka Richlands Rd) with no problem, but not much rougher than that...
 
RobMcBee said:
Ok heres a question..... How many of these trails(roads) do you think could be traversed in a Jeep Liberty Jet on street tires. It is a 4WD and I would love to drive some of these roads with the wife and our son. It has about the same clearance as a stock Cherokee, but b/c of the wheel and tire package, not as much articulation as a trail rated version. Heres a pic.....

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I feel that I could drive Sampson (aka Richlands Rd) with no problem, but not much rougher than that...
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I wouldn't want to drive Richland's in that with that wheel/tire combo. NC105 or Globe Rd (or most any of the forestry roads in the NC 90 area) you'd be fine.
 
Yeah, I haven't taken it to RR but I feel it'd do ok. We did it in our bone stock Cherokee and never put it in 4wd till we got to the mud holes. Thanks for the input. Think I may hit the NC105 one weekend soon.
 
ABadJeeper said:
Might have to check out Gorges. Sounds like a nice day trip and the in laws aren't far from there
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I'm about an hour drive and I definitely want to check it out.
 
Yeah I wouldn't take that to Richlands I'd be worried about messing up the rims. That little tire isn't going to soak up any of the rock/roots and transfer all that energy into the wheel/ steering.
As far as Gorges what I saw wasn't as rough as Richlands but worse that Hurricane Creek. But it may get worse from the way the Ranger talked. Like I said I haven't been through it all yet. Still a nice place to camp, hike, swim, fish and explore.
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I daily drive a Liberty and have been on Richland's Rd in a bone stock grand Cherokee. I would NOT take my Liberty on Richland. Its been across 105 and up the fire roads through Collettsville.
 
cc road at south mountain goes to the church and there is a hunt camp there.Still is a nice drive with some great views
 
Yeah last year or early this year can't remember I went up Roper Hollow rd (used to cross over to old cc rd). It was deer season and the gates were open.
I went all the way up until the gravel stopped and went a little further. It got rough and washed out real bad. I stopped to take a piss and looked
up at a tree and it had a sign that said no vehicle traffic or something. I turned around and headed back down, the sad thing is you couldn't tell that you
weren't allowed there at all. If I didn't stop I wouldn't have seen the sign since it was about 15ft up the side of a tree face into the woods. Wasn't facing the road at all. Someone could get into real trouble up there and not even know they were breaking the law.
 
Dont worry I am NOT taking my Liberty to RR.....Just said I feel that it was capable enough to make it if I wanted to. I just wanted to use RR as a reference as to how rough some of these others may be. I have two other Jeeps for that. They're just not as comfortable on long trips. Like the original post said, just looking for mild, off the beaten path, weekend day trips that I can take my wife and 2 year old son on. Once he is a lil older we'll take on the rougher stuff.
 
The first part would be fine for it and at the end of the first part is a nice hill descent. Then on the way out you get to climb it which is cool but not hard at all since it has large gravel on it. It's still steep though, enough my wife was asking if we would make it lol.
If you're not worried about scratches from branches and bushes etc you could probably make it down to the bridge crossing dragging your rear bumper in some of the creek crossings maybe, maybe not. I'm not familiar with the liberty.
You should take your family out there if not for these roads, but to see the waterfalls/ hiking trails. It really is a beautiful place to see and get away for a bit.
 
My family(me, the wife and kids, 18, 9 and 7) go to the Outer Banks every year. There are a lot of "off the beaten trail" areas all up and down the OBX. We all love the northern Carova area. Lots of trails that go for miles and miles up near the far NE part of NC. We have seen deer, bear, red wolves, alligators, snakes, turkeys and the always popular NC wild horses that mysteriously find ways to survive in the wild in areas with what appears to be limited vegetation. All of the drives are tame for the most part(water crossings can get deep, especially after heavy rain). We did the whole thing(probably a lot that we didn't see) in a day, 7:30am-5ish pm in a crew cab F350. Make sure you air down your tires, driving in sand gives its own unique traction challenges.
 
Went to Dupont State forest today. We hiked around for a bit then decided to take a drive. While we were out I found this lil road. Very mild but rutted out in a few spots, perfect for a family ride.

Turn onto Dupont Rd then onto Sky Valley Rd. This is where we started. Follow Sky Valley then turn right onto Pinnacle Mountain Rd. This follows the backside of the park and has several hiking trails leading off of it. It ends at Reasonover Rd. At the end of Reasonover, turn right on Cascade Lake Rd. This will lead you back to the park entrance.

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...... the most action this lil Liberty will ever see... LOL
 
Reviving an old thread since fall is coming. Im looking at taking my wife and kids for a nice day drive. Thinking about going up old 105 and hitting the caverns, then coming back down thru Mortimer.
 
For anybody wanting to get out into the HWY 90/ Collettsville/ Gragg/ Mortimer/ Roseboro area...

Maple Grove Church Rd will satisfy your needs for a real nice BFE road in North Carolina. I think this is the FR 187 that was previously mentioned on page 1.

I've driven the entire Grandfather Ranger District, and by far that road takes the cake for the definition of "back road". It took me about 1.5 hours to get through the 20 miles or so. Access from HWY 90 and you'll get dumped out on Adako Rd.
 
Rebumping this from the dead. I ran Old House Gap Rd today in the XJ. It’s pretty dern rough in certain sections now. If folks are looking for a good trail, I would recommend this for light/mild rigs that can still drive to a trail. I would also recommend lockers and mud tires if it’s been raining.

Somebody commented on this trail 6 years ago; it’s probably a bit much for stock vehicles now with all these record rains we’ve gotten.
 
336wheeler said:
Rebumping this from the dead. I ran Old House Gap Rd today in the XJ. It’s pretty dern rough in certain sections now. If folks are looking for a good trail, I would recommend this for light/mild rigs that can still drive to a trail. I would also recommend lockers and mud tires if it’s been raining.

Somebody commented on this trail 6 years ago; it’s probably a bit much for stock vehicles now with all these record rains we’ve gotten.
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I grew up riding across this road all the time back in the day. Drove a 2nd gen rx7 across it in high school, and a scooter across it a few years ago. I havent been down that way in about a year, but I am really suprised they would let the road get that bad.
 
336wheeler said:
Rebumping this from the dead. I ran Old House Gap Rd today in the XJ. It’s pretty dern rough in certain sections now. If folks are looking for a good trail, I would recommend this for light/mild rigs that can still drive to a trail. I would also recommend lockers and mud tires if it’s been raining.

Somebody commented on this trail 6 years ago; it’s probably a bit much for stock vehicles now with all these record rains we’ve gotten.
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Yeah I ran it back when my cherokee was stock in 2017 and didnt have a problem then ran it after my lift a few months later and it had gotten bad especially one section with a giant washout about a mile or so in from roseborro. Then right after the small rocky part it was slick and rutted out.

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yeah my wife and i tried to run old house gap road about 2 weeks ago and the washed out muddy section made me turn around in my stock explorer. if it was dead dry i think we could go around on the high side. how was it further on up the trail? we went in at gregs prong right at the bridge. maple grove church grove rd filled the need.
 
Yeah I had the body of the XJ leaned into the dirt coming through the big deep rut. It was way too slick to try the high side. There are maybe 3-4 sections that actually require low range along the whole trail if you’re locked and have mud tires, but they’re good sections with no bypasses. I went from the Edgemont end down to the Timber Ridge trail head, downhill. It was closer to the trailhead and coming back up Roseboro to Linville is less tiring than the long ass way in from Pilot Ridge/Edgemont.
 
You all have definitely intrigued me, looks like I will be riding down that way toward the end of the week to check it out....
 
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