Where To Go Off-Roading On The East Coast
West Coast trails seem to get the most praise in the wheeling community, but that doesn’t mean the East Coast doesn’t have plenty to offer. The biggest difference between East Coast and West Coast wheeling is that the East Coast generally has two types of off-road areas: private parks and National Forest. This means the wheeling destinations are more concentrated and not nearly as plentiful as the West Coast.
While open wheeling land isn’t common on the East Coast, that doesn’t mean that wheeling options are lacking. In fact, the East Coast is home to the largest privately owned off-road park in the U.S., Windrock Park, located in eastern Tennessee. The East Coast is also where you’ll find one of the most popular overlanding routes in the country, the Smoky Mountain 1000.
The major misconception among those who have not visited the East Coast is that the trails are much easier than those out West. This could not be further from the truth. This is partly due to the East having one thing you won’t typically find out West — mud. Even the easiest trails can become next to impassable when you mix in a little rain. Here, we’ll dive into some of the East Coast’s more popular wheeling destinations and look at why the right coast is well worth the adventure.
Hurricane Creek
East Coast events are rapidly growing in size and popularity. The Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion is one of the biggest Jeep events in the country and is held in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. With many popular trails, such as Hurricane Creek shown here, just outside of the event, it’s a great way to immerse yourself in the Jeep world while getting your tires dirty.
Windrock Park
Sitting on 73,000 acres in eastern Tennessee, Windrock Park has become a premier off-road destination. With over 500 miles of trails ranging from easy to extreme, you don’t have to have a full-blown rock crawler to enjoy the maze of trails on the mountainside.
National Forest
National Forest make up a good portion of the available off-road land in the East. Trails in these range from basic gravel service roads to more extreme rock crawling routes. These typically require a season or day pass, which can vary depending on the Forest.
Smokey Mountain 1000
If you fancy yourself an overlander, be sure to look up the Smoky Mountain 1000. This thousand-mile journey is a popular trek through the southeast and gets you on some of the best scenic and camping trails this region has to offer. There’s even a shorter SM500 route, which you can easily find GPX files for online.
Be Prepared For MUD
There’s no denying that much of the East Coast off-roading has a mud element to it. Love it or hate it, mud will bring up the intensity of the trail quickly. The soil type varies greatly from the panhandle to the northeast tip. A good set of mud-terrain tires will be your best defense. Something along the lines of a Nitto Mud Grappler (shown here) or the tried-and-true Trail Grappler is an excellent choice.
Private Off-Road Parks
From Rausch Creek (shown: Photo courtesy of Will Gentile) in Pennsylvania, to Good Evening Ranch in West Virginia, if you are searching for a more challenging place to go off-road, you’ll likely find it at a privately owned off-road park. These places can be more expensive to enter, but often have more amenities, such as on-site cabins and camping hookups.
Camping
While the mountain ranges and views might not be as expansive as out West, there’s plenty of scenic and historic areas to explore on the East Coast. The main difference from West to East Coast camping is that there are few primitive camping locations. Seasonal restrictions and closures impact the right side of the country much more than the left.
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- Thinking about a trip to Windrock Park? Watch this before you go!
