Ride Report - Western Maryland
#1
09-03-2008, 02:26 PM
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Lovettsville, VA
Posts: 91
Ride Report - Western Maryland
First ride report - hope I don't sound like a moron...
Western Maryland has 3 state forests and 6 ORV trails. My son, 13, and I packed up the KLX250S and his Honda CRF150F on Friday and hit the road for a 3-day trip.
Our first stop was Green Ridge State Forest (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/outdoorad...greenridge.asp). This 18 mile loop trail is a few miles back a windy dirt road that was pretty slick and muddy in spots due to the inch or so of rain we got the day before. The trail is open to motorcycles, ATVs, and 4wd vehicles. Minimum age is 12. Permits are required for non-licensed vehicles ($15 for the year). We opted to drive down Green Ridge Road to the mid-trail parking (off of Mertens Rd). Parking was tight, but adequate, and few people seem to want to drive the extra 9-10 miles to park here.
Map: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/outdoorad...dge_ORVmap.pdf
This was our first experience trail riding. There were lots of puddles, rocks, and tree roots to keep things interesting. Many of the turns on East Valley Rd (the western half of the loop) are banked, making them a blast to whip through...but watch out for the boulders on the uphill side of the turns. Stafford Rd (east side of the loop) follows the ridge and is pretty rocky in most places.
There is additional parking at the overlook where Mertens Rd runs into Stafford Rd. Not too crowded here, either.
Total ride time was about 2 hours to cover the 18 miles. An experienced rider could do it in much less.
Next stop was Savage River State Forest, where there are two trails: Meadow Mountain and Poplar Lick.
Poplar Lick is a 6 mile scenic dirt road that follows a stream through the woods. Very flat with "numerous water crossings", about half of which were bridges. Very tame...almost boring.
Meadow Mountain is an 11 mile trail, 8 of which is for snow mobiles only. We rode the 3 mile motorcycle section in about 15 minutes...both ways. Not much of a challenge.
On our return trip on Sunday we rode Green Ridge again, this time parking off of 15 Mile Creed Road, the closest parking area. Very crowded with limited space. Next time we'll drive the extra distance to Mertens Rd. The numerous puddles from Friday were much smaller (or dried up). Still a good ride, and we were much faster this time. A bit crowded, being a Sunday, but we didn't get run over, though we did pass quite a few bikes, ATVs, and pick-em up trucks.
No pics this trip. Had serious reservations about taking my Nikon D70 out on the trail. Next time I'll take along my old Olympus point-and-shoot. There are also 3 trails in Potomac-Garrett State Forest we didn't get to this time out.
Also interested in recommendations for trailers. We used a borrowed Midwestern Industries 3-rail trailer. I'm considering one for myself (about $1000) or a Kendon (about $2000). Needs to carry 3 dirt bikes.
Western Maryland has 3 state forests and 6 ORV trails. My son, 13, and I packed up the KLX250S and his Honda CRF150F on Friday and hit the road for a 3-day trip.
Our first stop was Green Ridge State Forest (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/outdoorad...greenridge.asp). This 18 mile loop trail is a few miles back a windy dirt road that was pretty slick and muddy in spots due to the inch or so of rain we got the day before. The trail is open to motorcycles, ATVs, and 4wd vehicles. Minimum age is 12. Permits are required for non-licensed vehicles ($15 for the year). We opted to drive down Green Ridge Road to the mid-trail parking (off of Mertens Rd). Parking was tight, but adequate, and few people seem to want to drive the extra 9-10 miles to park here.
Map: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/outdoorad...dge_ORVmap.pdf
This was our first experience trail riding. There were lots of puddles, rocks, and tree roots to keep things interesting. Many of the turns on East Valley Rd (the western half of the loop) are banked, making them a blast to whip through...but watch out for the boulders on the uphill side of the turns. Stafford Rd (east side of the loop) follows the ridge and is pretty rocky in most places.
There is additional parking at the overlook where Mertens Rd runs into Stafford Rd. Not too crowded here, either.
Total ride time was about 2 hours to cover the 18 miles. An experienced rider could do it in much less.
Next stop was Savage River State Forest, where there are two trails: Meadow Mountain and Poplar Lick.
Poplar Lick is a 6 mile scenic dirt road that follows a stream through the woods. Very flat with "numerous water crossings", about half of which were bridges. Very tame...almost boring.
Meadow Mountain is an 11 mile trail, 8 of which is for snow mobiles only. We rode the 3 mile motorcycle section in about 15 minutes...both ways. Not much of a challenge.
On our return trip on Sunday we rode Green Ridge again, this time parking off of 15 Mile Creed Road, the closest parking area. Very crowded with limited space. Next time we'll drive the extra distance to Mertens Rd. The numerous puddles from Friday were much smaller (or dried up). Still a good ride, and we were much faster this time. A bit crowded, being a Sunday, but we didn't get run over, though we did pass quite a few bikes, ATVs, and pick-em up trucks.
No pics this trip. Had serious reservations about taking my Nikon D70 out on the trail. Next time I'll take along my old Olympus point-and-shoot. There are also 3 trails in Potomac-Garrett State Forest we didn't get to this time out.
Also interested in recommendations for trailers. We used a borrowed Midwestern Industries 3-rail trailer. I'm considering one for myself (about $1000) or a Kendon (about $2000). Needs to carry 3 dirt bikes.
#4
09-04-2008, 03:21 PM
Sounds like you had a great time. Greenridge is intense. Me and my son have ridden there 4 times this season and a bunch of times last season and it never get's old. I usually ride my KDX and my son rides a CRF150F when we go but a couple of weeks I took the KLX and it performed extremely well. Interestingly enough I went around a corner of the ORV trail a couple weeks ago and saw a big snake on the trail. As I coasted by it I heard a loud 'rattle' it turned out to be a Timber Rattlesnake. Didn't know there were an rattlesnakes on the east coast. Not trying to hi-jack the thread but here's a few leftover pics of the place.
#5
09-04-2008, 11:16 PM
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Lovettsville, VA
Posts: 91
Sweet pics. Looks like the view from the overlook.
Yeah, timber rattlers are all over Western Maryland.
We'll have to hook up some time for a ride out at Green Ridge. I'm hoping to do another trip before the end of September (overnighter in one of the campsites on the trail)
Yeah, timber rattlers are all over Western Maryland.
We'll have to hook up some time for a ride out at Green Ridge. I'm hoping to do another trip before the end of September (overnighter in one of the campsites on the trail)
#6
09-05-2008, 06:51 PM
Sweet pics. Looks like the view from the overlook.
Yeah, timber rattlers are all over Western Maryland.
We'll have to hook up some time for a ride out at Green Ridge. I'm hoping to do another trip before the end of September (overnighter in one of the campsites on the trail)
Yeah, timber rattlers are all over Western Maryland.
We'll have to hook up some time for a ride out at Green Ridge. I'm hoping to do another trip before the end of September (overnighter in one of the campsites on the trail)
Mike
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