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No, the water is only at Big Scrub....there isn't water available at Delancy.  I'm hoping to head out this weekend to Delancy, but rain chances are high.  I'm banking on no tent campers (gotta be crazy this time of year) or at least any near me so I can keep the genny running overnight like just about everyone else who wants A/C.

East of 19 has no trails open.  Yes they are giving out tickets there.

East of 19, but west of 445, correct?  We have that awesome whooped out 16.7 mile Wandering Wiregrass trail to enjoy to the east of 445.  Some of my favorite trails in the whole forrest were between 445/Powerlines and Paisley.  I normally would get in 50-60 miles of trails in 1/2 day...now we are blessed with that awesome 16.7 mile loop....I can go around in circles 4 times now for entertainment...oh, and hope I don't hit someone who's coming the other way on a damn rhino or pick-up truck!!  Sorry.....I can't resist bitching.

So what's up with the HUNDREDS of hunters roaming around in their trucks on trails that are NOT numbered roads, and are no longer open to OHV use??  The area to the south of 445 at the powerlines is loaded with hundreds of miles of trails which has now been restricted to all of a 16.7 mile loop, yet I see hunters all over the place on unmarked trails. 

This is unacceptable!  As long as there are tons of hunters roaming around on unmarked trails, there's no reason these should be closed to licensed motorcycles. It seems like a lot of the trail designation signs in this area that were installed nearly a year ago were taken down after the Wandering Wiregrass trail was estabilished...almost like the enviro freaks saw how much of the forrest was still open and put the hammer down. 

Hammerhead2...thanks for the link!!  It definitely does bring back memories.  I don't know how old that photo is, but you can still see a lot of the trails that were created in different areas, as well as the overgrown brazilian peppers that almost closed some of the roads.  What a shame  .  That's one of those places that us ATVer's would dream about purchasing if we ever win the lottery  .  Make good use of that land.  I almost considered buying a cheap second home near by in Palm Bay, and would have if that area was designated into a riding spot.  Those homes all around that area cannot be that expensive.

I love the place for being so close to where I live,,,,hows about we have a cleanup ride there?

just a thought and maybe it would show the press that we are serious about keeping legal riding areas?

Id@

I second that....assuming I'm free the date you want to plan it, I'm in.

Hello YFZRob,

A couple buddies and myself are new w utility 4x4's. We are looking for good places to ride.

What to you recommend?

5A is the wettest place I know of to ride in the CFL area.  Right now it's not the best wet area, but the only place you can really find mud and ride in it legally.  Ocala is super strict now about mud.  With such a mild hurricane season, we're not getting much in the way of rewetting 5A to the way it traditionally has been.

Anyone know what's actually happening on the "compound" land in Palm Bay?  That was a wonderful place to ride, and I'm still pissed to this day that it's closed.  It was open for fun for decades, and now it's probably out there rotting?  Or am I wrong?  Is it being used for something?? 

This is the type of location that the state needs to jump on and turn into a public riding spot.  There isn't a public riding spot anywhere close to Palm Bay, so it would provide close access to thousands of OHV'ers on the East coast.  But hey, FL hasn't done anything except restrict our riding since 2002 when titles started being issued.  I'm sure the few subdivided lot land owners in Palm Bay out there would love to unload their land.  Most lots I saw for sale out there years ago were $10k...peanuts.  No one wants that land, so the land owners would be greateful if the state were to buy them off them and actually use that land for something productive.

Thanks for the update!  That's good news, and hopefully will stay that way for a LONG time.  I can't imagine any development being done out there anytime soon....there is NOTHING around there for miles, so I'd like to think we have several years still out there.  Just as long as we obey the no pavement riding and keep things safe and clean, we should be good.

5A isn't my idea of a fun sport quad or bike place, but with it so dry, it's everything but a utility place to ride.  I got onto the utility craze after going out there on my wife's Rincon.....that was in March.  From April on, it's been too dry to have a whole lot of 4WD fun out there.

Ive been to the wiregrass trail and there are no side trails just the one marked trail and it takes me about 30 minutes to complete on my yfz . It is not nearly long enough for the amount of people that will be on it, plus its 2 ways which is very dangerous. I beleive that these trail system were designed 2 ways so when people start getting hurt on them the state can say that atvs are dangerous an outlaw them from the forest.

I was just out there this weekend, and you're correct.  They recently took down a whole lot of brown signs designating other trails as multi-use.  I think they had some sort of change in the system after they started it.  Before the designated wandering wiregrass trail was established, there were a lot more trail designation signs...every intersection had one.  They need designations out there for the hunters.  If the hundreds of other trails that intersect with wandering wiregrass trail are open, they need to be marked.  Hunters were driving anywhere and everywhere they wanted to, so I followed suit.  With my plated KTM, I can go anywhere they go...and if that's not correct, an officer will need to do some explaining why hunters are on unmarked trails. 

Besides that, there were plenty of riders not just going down wandering wiregrass....the entire north side of the powerlines has no "trail system" but people were riding everywhere and there was zero objection.  I am hoping this trail system is just a way to shut up the tree huggers who think our trails destroy wildlife and the forrest.

Lets keep this thread going with any updates people get from officers and volunteers out there.

I was wondering when this was going to happen.  My wife and I camped out at Lake Delancy a few weekends ago.  The campground attendant gave us a new "trail map" and it included the wandering wiregrass 16.7 mile loop, along with all of the new delancy/rodman trails.  I was in disbelief that the thousands of acres between 445/powerlines and paisley was being restricted to 16 miles of ONE trail.  What BS!!  They have got the be joking.  I still don't believe this is the only trail you're allowed to ride on.  Maybe they mean this is going to be the only "groomed" fully marked trail "loop".  Since all of the trails outside of Lake Delancy and Rodman are loops as well, it could just be suggested trails.  The one thing I noticed on the map, it shows a good portion "mixed use" and a good portion "ATV & Motorcycle only".  So, when you're on this trail, and you see side trails that are marked "mixed use", which DO exist....I've seen tons of them, you should be able to go down those.  Only numbered roads and entirely unmarked trails at intersections should be off limits otherwise, which also exist.  I see more trail intersections with "mixed use" signs than I ever thought there'd be, so until I get stopped, I am going to continue using these trails that show an actual ATV and dirt bike on the damn sign (along with a jeep).  I need to get out to this wiregrass trail soon and give it a ride just to see how many side trails off of it will be open to us.  I only see this trail as a marked "trail system" for those who don't have a GPS and want a designated trail to follow.  As long as you're on marked trails that exist elsewhere, I see no problems deviating from the trail.

The more restrictive the forrest gets, the more thankful I am that I sold my YFZ and RM250 to get a KTM 525EXC that I plated.  With a plated bike, you can ride at night, ride on ANY numbered road, and ANY ATV/motorcycle trail, so except for completely unmarked trails, hiking only, or horseback only trails, the forrest is more open to you than any other vehcile  :R

They have started the marked trail system in a great majority of the forest.  Up at Delancy, the system is almost complete, but honestly, quads and bikes are the least affected (at least in that area).  The trails are either going to be A) closed (very few actually were), B) Dirt bike only, C) ATV and Dirt bike, D) Multi-purpose, meaning hunters in trucks, us on ATVs and dirt bikes.  However, I did learn that if a trail wasn't marked, it's to be assumed as "closed", which is BS.  If they want to close a trail, it needs to be marked.  I'm going to be furious if I get ticketed for going down an obvious TRAIL that was unmarked.  I cannot see how they can mark EVERY trail in the forest.....there has to be a few thousand miles worth of trails out there!  The volunteer that I spoke with said that if this new trail system (alternative D by the way) does not work, then the forest will most likely be CLOSED for OHV use!!!  With all the morons out the on quads, we'll probably be very close to facing this.  The govt isn't going to hire new staff just to keep remarking trails and handing out tickets, so it'll end up falling apart in my opinion.  I can see the punk kid now plowing down the little plastic signs or pulling them out of the ground and tossing them. 

The environmentalist freaks have already won by restricting us to set of designated trails, but they'll ultimately win when this new plan fails to work and OHV use is ended in the forest.

Sorry for the rant....just bitter already about the closures.  The d**n environmentalists need to focus on stopping clear cutting....a 6 ft wide trail has virtually no impact compared to 50 acres of clear cutting.

I like hard rock.  The "roller coaster" is awesome for any bike or quad, as is the tabletop track and sand track.  The main MX track is pretty aggressive for a non-MX quad, or someone who's not crazy into jumps.  It's an interesting place, and one of my favorite private spots (compared to other MX parks like Sand Mountain, Bartow MX, Bithlo MX, ect).  It's worth a trip out to have some fun.  They also have hare scramble trails that are pretty wet....I avoided them for that reason.

Which main trail are you talking about?  The one that actually goes out of the campground and around the lake?  Or the one that shoots out north across FR 75?  When I was there just a couple weekens ago it wasn't groomed in either spot, but the whoops weren't too bad.  The trail system that they are working on also doesn't look too bad.  It looks like the majority of the trails will be pretty open still, so I'm not too dissapointed with the looks of this new system thus far.

No, do not worry about that.  They just go by general Florida guidelines for ATVs which was written probably 20 years ago when ATVs didn't exceed 48" in width or 500 lbs in weight.  ANY ATV can get in as long as it's not a side by side model.

This is why S/E gets a bad name.  You people don't have a clue what it is out there. And by the way, it's for landowners only. 

I think it's pretty obvious it's for land owners only.  I'm sure there are some people on here who ride out there with or without land owners (which isn't related to my post), but I don't understand the problem in asking about the land.  Also, I'm not sure how that gives S/E a bad name?  $4k for land is a joke anyway....I was considering buying a larger dry lot because it's so cheap.   I'll just assume your negative reply was towards someone else's post.  Honestly, if you're a land owner, it looks like you're giving it a bad name.

My wife and I attempted to go camping there this weekend only to find out after driving 90 miles that the campground was completely full at 2 pm on Friday!!!  How many damn ATV'ers have no work in the middle of the week enough to fill the campground???  Anyway, I love seeing our sales tax and title fee dollars at work.....really supplying the demand for campsites...NOT.  The ranger said the campgrounds have been full every Friday through Monday since THANKSGIVING!  I love our glorious state!  Luckily, they DID NOT get my permit fee....I did a U-turn and drove another 65 miles to Ocala and camped at Lake Delancy.....100% better than croom except for no water or electricity.  $6.00 and significantly better trails.  Looks like I won't be returning to Croom anytime soon.

Yes, helmets ARE required for anyone on an ATV.

well, every time ive gone, ive never seen them turn away just the vin # and money, and i see alot of people get in with just that, last time i was there, the ranger just said that they perfer verification(ie. bill of sale) showing that it is your bike, but he said that the vin and money is fine if u cant find a way to prove its yours

Ah, cool.  So brining the MSO should be plenty.  Thank you! 

What registration are you referring to?  There isn't one issued on the quads, so was it your truck/cars?

I have searched this to death and couldn't find a clear answer.  As of late, is Croom still wanting to see titles in order to get a decal?  The Withlacoochee state website on Croom says NOTHING about requring a title, which should be good enough of an argument to get you in without one.  I just bought a Rincon 680 out of state and have zero desire to pay sales tax to a state that does nothing for us OHV users (something promised when titles started being issued).  I paid plenty of sales tax on my other bikes, but I don't want to do it on my wife's rinny. 

It seems like the determining factor is the ranger running the entrance gate?  I can bring my MSO if they want to prove the bike's not stolen.  I just don't want to drive 85 miles to be turned around.

Thanks!

WHAT ABOUT THE AREA IN INTERNATIONAL DR NEAR 417

That is the "sea world" area.  It's called the sea world riding spot because that's the closest major land mark to it.  The area is the north east corner of I-drive and 417, which spans a good 3-4 miles down I-Drive.

That's just crazy.  If you own a dry lot that you can get to from the gate with your truck, you should be able to set up a campsite and leave it safely there.  I'm sure that's possible in River Ranch.....it's not hard to get a little more strict about gate control. 

Well, if the continue to do so, and maybe change the locks at the gate, I'll consider buying some land.  The concept is PERFECT, but not when it's abused.

Yes....abandoning vehicles and dumping trash is a major problem in areas like this.  They all have these issues.....(the now closed) sea world area always had stuff illegally dumped and cars trashed out there, as well as the (also now closed) "Compound" out in Palm Bay.  With the sea world area and the compound closed, it's really beginning to look bad.  The "compound" had been a play area for all sorts of activities for a good 15+ years, same with Sea World/I-drive spot.  Just throw in a few a55 clowns and it eventually destroys it for the respectful majority.

Great post!!  I am in the exact same boat.  Although I have not ridden out there, I have the cash in my pocket burning a hole waiting to be spent on a dry plot.  My only reservation is the problems you mentioned.  It seems like River Ranch is too strict, and Suburban Estates is too relaxed.  Can't we get a middle ground?  Holopaw is closer to me than River Ranch, so it's the better buy for me....I just want a SAFE place to take my family, and not one abused by non-land owners who don't belong there.  There are PLENTY of lots available from a variety of sellers, so people need to stop freeloading.  $3-10k is NOT a lot of money, and it's an investment as long as the land doesn't turn to schit.