Been lurking the forum for about year since I picked up my 2017 JKUS. I really appreciate all of the knowledge shared here, and look forward to hopefully meeting some Houston area Jeepers. Any recommendations on trails to hit in the South Texas area (I'm assuming Austin or SA areas would be closest) would be appreciated.

 

Welcome to JKF. Thanks for taking the time to join! You're kinda a ways away from most the organized parks if that is what you're looking for. Hidden Falls Adventure Park is ~3.5 hrs from (generic) Houston area to the northwest, and Barnwell Mountain by Gilmer is ~4 hrs to your north. Both offer primitive overnight camping, if you're into that, and make for a nice weekend trip. I'd say the landscape at Gilmer is a bit better and offers more low-level trails than HF does if you're just starting out. I've met a wheeling group from the Katy area at Hidden Falls on a trip and they were really nice, and I've met others from the Houston area out in Gilmer before so I know 1) people make those treks, and 2) there are plenty of folks in the Houston area that have an interest in wheeling. You might look around at groups in that area if that sort of thing is up your alley.

 

Welcome from GA!

 

Welcome to JKF!

 

Welcome from a guy in the Wild Rose province to a guy in the Yellow Rose state.

 

Thanks resharp! I've definitely looked into Hidden Falls, but Gilmer is new to me so that's good to know it's probably the better option for a beginner. I don't mind making the trek to either since getting there is usually half the fun anyway. Not really a club/group kinda guy, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to suck it up and be a bit more social to at least have an ear to the trails so I'm not tackling things alone. Thanks again for the welcome, and I hope to one day add some value to the community!

 

I hear ya on the club thing not being your gig. I'm like that as well. if you're ever up in this DFW area we have a little park in Bridgeport, TX (Northwest OHV) that is nice to have nearby. It's certainly not worth a drive from Houston but more of an "if you're in this area" thing. I've met a handful of really good friends over the years just rolling into a park by myself and meeting a few folks either up front or on a trail. There's no shame in finding a small group with a similar build and asking if you can tag along. That is one thing about these organized parks vs. random trails out and about.....there's always people around. Barnwell Mountain by Gilmer has a lot of nice easy wooded trails through trees for beginners and plenty of moderate and aggressive things too. Most of the harder things offer a bypass (usually not super easy still) or are something you can turn around and go back the other way. There's not a whole lot of things that you are going to be completely trapped at and screwed if you can't do it. As with anyplace, things tend to get more aggressive over the years. Last time I was there we found a few things that 40's and big HP couldn't get up, but that were things we all used to do years ago on 35s just fine.

Hidden Falls is definitely more mesquite scrub brush and looser limestone type terrain for a lot of it.

Hot Springs Offroad Park in AR is a nice option if you're ever out in that area. Obviously a decent bit further of a trip but a nice park on the outskirts of Hot Springs.

K2/Katemcy and Wolve Caves are other parks you might hear, but they are more big open rock areas that wouldn't be up your alley.

 

Off topic a little - but is there not a lot of public land you can go on? In Canada (at present anyway) we just find a road leading off the highway and go there. There are limitations closing in where one needs trail maps though to ensure one is on an open trail. British Columbia is the most free province for simply just turning left or right and going for it.

 

Gosh, I wish it was that exciting down here. Down there in the southeast corner of the state where the OP is there are some national forests, but they're not super exciting from what I've seen in my limited exposure. Primarily fireroad type of thing and general exploring.

Here's a link to the vehicle use maps for the forest service if OP cares -
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas...telprdb5300457

From time to time I get a little disgruntled with what I have around me cuz the same ole things get old, but then I think of other areas that have nothing. I also get a nice mix of Colorado wheeling too which is completely different than anything around here. The organized parks are nice, but there sure is more of a thrill just roaming free in nature. A lot of times just the fact you have no service and need to be self-sufficient makes even an easy trail in the boonies of colorado, or similar, more exciting. Roaming fireroads in Oklahoma or Arkansas seems to be a bit more intriguing than southeast Texas, but I guess sometimes ya got what ya got. As far as free, open land, we are certainly more limited in our state.

 

Sadly Sixty we don't have a lot of areas like that. A lot of the land down here is privately owned even if it doesn't look like it, and it's a good way to end up on the wrong side of someone's attitude. I've been lost a few times back in the day before GPS was cheaply available, and let's just say some of the conversations I've had weren't the most pleasant...lol.

Thanks again Resharp...didn't know about the forest service sites, so I may check out what I can up in Sam Houston soon since that's less than 2 hours from me. I'll def be hitting up Hot Springs on my next trip to Little Rock since I have friends and family up there, but that'll prob be next year. Not in the DFW area too frequently, but you just gave me more incentive to visit my friends in that area.