ATTN: Ocala riders

[Tripyn]

Just an FYI folks.......

My buddy and I were riding out at 445 in Ocala this Sunday and the rangers were flagging everyone down that was on an ATV.  there were  handing out maps for the new "marked trails" and informing us that  we are NO LONGER allowed off the new marked trails and everything is closed except for Big Scrub and of couse the new marked trails.  They also said the equipment is on order to groom the trails and that bathrooms and a parking lot were in the works for the wandering wiregrass trails.  They will have a two-three week grace period and then tickets will be issued.  This means no more parking "just off 573"-no more riding on the other side of 445 or 19.  I told them I would pass this along so no one ends up getting a caught with their pants down with a ticket.  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I new this would come soon after the implementation of the new trail system.

[Chris505]

what do the consider BIG SCRUB....
They will not be handing out any tickets until the sytem is done ""second Phase""". ..

445 and the power lines is supposed to be a trail head. are you talking about the northside of 445 and east of 19?

[1FasterBlaster]

I rode in Englewood this weekend.Ocala is starting to sound like more of a hassle than a riding place!!It makes me want to go out and shoot woodpeckers and Owls!!LOL

[Chris505]

where is englewood???
is it public??

[Tripyn]

Chris, they were not clear on what "Big Scrub" was or were the boundries are-honestly I was more interested in what they were saying about 445 and wandering wiregrass.  As far as 445 goes I am talking about the side where the trail head is-you are no longer allowed on the other side of 445 or the powelines on with side of 19.  The two rangers that were there did not say anything about the second phase not being complete-in their mind the trail system is done.  The older lady kept making comments about some paperwork being signed and now it was time for enforcement, it looked she was enjoying to much to me! 

I am only passing on what they told me, we would have stopped at the ranger station for clarifaction but it looked like it was closed.

[jujulo700R]

I rode in Englewood this weekend.Ocala is starting to sound like more of a hassle than a riding place!!It makes me want to go out and shoot woodpeckers and Owls!!LOL

I feel like you do as well reading about this. Man that stinks. How long do you think it will be before they completely close it to ATVs? Only time will tell. 

[YFZRob]

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 

[dudek38]

and that is fine, because the county/state wants they're money. it almost doesnt matter what you register, as long as you got the green. i think thats a beautiful way to beat the system.
the only thing that stops us from riding is money.money, money,money.
believe me, if the state found a way to make atv spots lucrative, we would be out there right now tearin it up.
i really like the idea of plating our rides. if you try hard enough, its possible to plate your atv. but are you allowed to take registered on the riding trails?

[novadave]

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 

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.

[FlyingDog]

I talked to rangers this week while riding on the north side. He said to keep an eye on the website for "new" trail updates. As they add new trails, they will be posted. I was with a group of 14 ATV's and we had a great time riding. A lot of sections of trails were whooped out, but there were some nice flat straight sections where you could really open it up. We parked off of 97 right where the red, blue, and green (green for motorcycles only) trails come together.

Something to note: They told us that you can only park in the designated parking areas where there is a "P" shown on the map.
Here is a link to the map:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/local-resources/images/maps/oca/ohv/OHV_rec_opp_mapjpg.pdf

So...new trails are coming, just a matter of when.

Rob

[YFZRob]

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.