Ocala Forest Numbered OHV Trails

[stacktester]

Looking at the proposal that is coming up on ONF. It looks like so far it's only Delancey area for now then it looks like other places will be marked later. I don't think Big Scrub will be closed because 1. the rate to park is 6 bucks now and it's cash for the forestry. That's just an opinion, not to be confused with truth. I talked to ranger at Scrub and he said they are going to renovate the camp and make it smooth and numbered spots. New bathrooms and showers are coming as well. What I don't understand is this. We are not hurting those fire break and logging trails in the forest. Those areas can be graded out in one pass of a boxblade. My thing is just charge us 50 bucks like Croom does and quit messin with us. If somebody tears something up like wetlands or litters then load em up and send em home. Something like a zero tolerance will keep people in line. I'm not talking about riding on a numbered road or on the wrong side of a steel pole on the powerlines but for the stuff like deliberately tearing up something sends the rider home. I have no problem with rules or a small fee to ride on what we have now at ONF but let's meet with these folks, find out what they want and let's all move forward and have a place to enjoy our hobby. I read one thread where a guy said boaters are not outlawed, horses aren't outlawed and neither should OHV's. I have seen a lot at ONF like the swimming hole trashed with broken glass, trash and some of the wetlands tore to hell and back. I see the reason why the forestry service is pissed, but the bad thing is the trash and bad stuff going on is being done by a small percentage of the riders that come out there. Maybe I'm reading too deep in this but I like ONF and I want to continue enjoying it. An organized group to liason between the riders and forestry service would be good. Right now we all hear one thing from this ranger and 5 minutes later we hear something different from another. I think we should seriously consider a meeting at Scrub CG and talk about some organization. Hell invite the rangers and forestry service while we're at it. Isn't there a lady in charge of ONF that is located not far from there? At any rate let's do it quick before we lose our spot. One last thing. I rode at Osceola Monday and they have the atv trails in place now. It's not a bad thing out there. You can get a map and the intersections are marked well so you know where u are. This was only south of I-10 now, so don't know about northside. Hope we get this out of the way soon so we can have happier threads.

[needforspeed]

Your right we should get organized.. Big Scrub area will be a whole lot less trails.. The majority of the trails are going to be up in the Delancy area. Also if you read the Record of Decision only a numbered amount of people will be allowed on the trails, i have a feeling it will be just like Croom. As far as inviting the forest service personal, I don't think so, at least not now. They know what you are up to I found out they monitor the sites.

Now who will step up the the plate and start the whole thing. There is a whole lot more than just organizing people to a club.

 

[Ida_Mann]

I would like to say that I will organize it,,,but for now with this new job I am quickly finding out that it is practically impossible to schedule anything other than sleep.

I was told yesterday that I was needed to work Saturday and be here at 10:45,,,just found out a couple minutes ago that I need to be here at 9am.

who knows, the day is not over yet.

Id@

[Prairie Master]

As of 2 weeks ago there was nothing in delancey as far as new trail system going to go again sunday to see , also big scrub's trail system according tothe ranger station is going to start in about 2 years

[needforspeed]

I am going to be a Delancy on Sunday. Take the map off the forest website and follow the trails, see if they are marked etc..

[stacktester]

Sounds good need for speed. I have never gone up to Delancy because I usually want to camp and not sure if you can ride out of the camp. If the forestry service is making marked trails maybe we have a chance that we will get to ride out there. We all know it only takes one knucklehead to ruin this for all of us. We gotta be our own police and watch out for this resource. I think whatever we can do to help the rangers and volunteers will benefit us in the long run. I have seen the rangers getting smart with a few people, but it's usually because they are doing something wrong and the ranger is pissed. I've had several rangers stop me to let me know to stay on the inside of powerlines and to not ride in the waterholes on the powerlines. I respect them and say no problem and they get back in the truck and drive off. I saw a guy New Years drive off and spray the ranger with sand right in front of scrub. I looked at my friends and said that's the @--hole that will end our fun doing that crap. The best thing we can do is respect these people and be on their side. One thing I was thinking on this organized group thing is to form a club for example: Big Scrub Riders. Maybe the members can do a monthly day out there to clean up and put a little back in instead of taking it all out. I've got 3 Scotch Drags that can be pulled with a 4 wheeler. These things would be really good to use on trails to level them out and give them a nice look. We can take turns pulling them while we ride. For anybody who's never seen a scotch drag it is a mat with 4" tines that turn the ground over and it looks like a rake just went over it. If anybody is interested in doing this let me know. I love riding out there and I think if we showed the forestry we give a crap they might just let us keep riding with no problems.

[needforspeed]

Yes, you can ride out of delancy, from both the front and the back. The front goes to rodman pit.

[Numkut]

So I take it we won't be able to ride to Blue Sink anymore??? 

[stacktester]

Like many have said on here, it's better to have numbered trails than no trails at all. If the forestry does as good as job at Big Scrub when that time comes as they did at Osceola we will still have fun. I just hope the powerline stays open so we can go to the lake and other trail heads. I rode again off 90 in Osceola today. The trails were pretty wet but marked well. We saw a large group of riders form at U.S. 90 and 215. Parking was good for them and a trail head is right there. I was pretty surprised to see how well the trails were marked. If you go to a ranger station they will give you a map of the OHV trails. It's not to scale but if you keep it with you, you will know exactly where you are.

[Prairie Master]

Just got back from Delancey, and yes the new trails signs are going up, Talked to some rangers they were telling me big scrub was going to go away with no trails to it , You can camp there but they're will be no trail access from it  the are closing the area within 2 miles of it, Also they were talking about an atv driver license,vehicle registrations, limits on atv cc in the forest, agressive tires, and speed limits. We all need to pay real attention to whats going on before its all gone.

[stacktester]

Man I hope scrub doesn't go away. The area near scrub is so good for riding. I don't understand about why Delancy is the focus so far. It seems more riders go to scrub than any other. Why not do what is going to be done now so we know where we stand. I bought a toy hauler a couple years ago and it would be impossible to haul out of scrub and have a place to sleep. This stinks because we are just like other people with hobbies. What's different about us? I mean golf courses use water like crazy and pollute from fertilizers. Boats hurt Manatee's and pollute water. I could go on and on. Those old trails aren't being hurt by us. The forestry clear cuts and it takes years to look right again. I don't understand it. I think the big thing is we hear so much from the rangers, on here and other sources. Just give us the news for pete's sake. Are we or aren't we gonna have a place to ride. I mean the forests are all doing trails so that makes me think we are going to have a place. Maybe we should all see our quads and start raising flowers or something lol. I plan on attending the meeting in Ocala. Let's just find out now what we're up against. If we're gonna lose it then tell us now so we can find new places and maybe get the state to help us. We all deserve to ride and enjoy our forests.

[Prairie Master]

found this :

http://florida.sierraclub.org/ssj/orv.htm

[jwscroll]

I was at scrub this weekend, the mobile ghetto was there too and they are thr type of rider I can do without. Scrub is still open and they are building new facilities at it. As far as I could tell the biggest threat to our riding land is the people that refuse to follow the rules. Thanks.

[Prairie Master]

According to the ranger they're adding electricity but its not for atv riders they're closing all trail acess to scrub within a 2 mile area

[stacktester]

Hey Prairie,

I saw the link to the Sierra Club. I can't help but agree with some things on that list. I disagree with a lot too, don't get me wrong. You got a lot of yahoo's out there that think the law of the land doesn't pertain to them. I myself enjoy trailriding and just looking around at the forest. That's me though. I don't like people who just tear stuff up and litter. As soon as the Sierra Club or any environmental group see's this every single 4 wheeler and mx bike looks like the bad guy when that is far from true. I take my family to Ocala about once a month and on several ocassions we pick up trash on the trails and leave our campsite clean. I've seen these places where a steel gate or hog wire fence is up and behind it is people riding anyway. Those are the one's who ruin it for us. What the link said about stiffer fines is okay with me when it comes to stupidity like that. There are some things like riding on a numbered road you can't help sometimes to find a new trail, but going off and just tearing land up is wrong. I have been going to Ocala for 3 years and the only time I was stopped by a ranger was when they told people to ride on the woods side of the powerline on 573 I believe it is. As said many times in these forums, it's better to have something rather than nothing and that goes for 1 side of the powerline. There are not a lot of places to enjoy what we do and I for 1 don't mind seeing some structure being put in place. We have to put something back in so we can continue to enjoy our natural resources. I hope I'm not sounding like an opponent. I am far from that. I just realize we have a good thing here and don't want to lose it. Ride safe.

[Mars]

I was there this weekend also.
I spoke to the BS host a bit. He told me it was not "on paper" but there will be a temp close at BS after the LD area is ready. They will mark trails on the south end and re-open in about a year.

LDW campground is a dump. BS has nothing to offer to the tree hugers/hikers or weekend campers. It would not make sense to close BS after they build new bathrooms and showers.

[Prairie Master]

I was there this weekend also.
I spoke to the BS host a bit. He told me it was not "on paper" but there will be a temp close at BS after the LD area is ready. They will mark trails on the south end and re-open in about a year.

LDW campground is a dump. BS has nothing to offer to the tree hugers/hikers or weekend campers. It would not make sense to close BS after they build new bathrooms and showers.

When the goverment spends money it never makes since, I've seen the goverment re-furbish US bases then leave them a year later

[needforspeed]

Two things - if the government is closing all these army bases, why can't we use them. Maybe that is something we should bring to the attention of our OHV people in florida.

Do you think if they close BS for a year, do you really think they will reopen it???

I was there this weekend also.
I spoke to the BS host a bit. He told me it was not "on paper" but there will be a temp close at BS after the LD area is ready. They will mark trails on the south end and re-open in about a year.

LDW campground is a dump. BS has nothing to offer to the tree hugers/hikers or weekend campers. It would not make sense to close BS after they build new bathrooms and showers.

When the goverment spends money it never makes since, I've seen the goverment re-furbish US bases then leave them a year later

[jasoncj7]

Big Scrub is part of the "Yellow Section" in the Record of Decision that will be addressed by another ADP.  Delancy area is part of the current ADP which is why it has the attention of signage at the moment.  Pretty sure only posts are going up, no signs on the posts yet pending appeal of the Plan.

Interesting link Prairie Master.

[ATVXtreme]

I think you should read the thread on Save your riding area.

What is ADP, and will big scrub close??

Big Scrub is part of the "Yellow Section" in the Record of Decision that will be addressed by another ADP.  Delancy area is part of the current ADP which is why it has the attention of signage at the moment.  Pretty sure only posts are going up, no signs on the posts yet pending appeal of the Plan.

Interesting link Prairie Master.

[Prairie Master]

Hey Prairie,

I saw the link to the Sierra Club. I can't help but agree with some things on that list. I disagree with a lot too, don't get me wrong. You got a lot of yahoo's out there that think the law of the land doesn't pertain to them. I myself enjoy trailriding and just looking around at the forest. That's me though. I don't like people who just tear stuff up and litter. As soon as the Sierra Club or any environmental group see's this every single 4 wheeler and mx bike looks like the bad guy when that is far from true. I take my family to Ocala about once a month and on several ocassions we pick up trash on the trails and leave our campsite clean. I've seen these places where a steel gate or hog wire fence is up and behind it is people riding anyway. Those are the one's who ruin it for us. What the link said about stiffer fines is okay with me when it comes to stupidity like that. There are some things like riding on a numbered road you can't help sometimes to find a new trail, but going off and just tearing land up is wrong. I have been going to Ocala for 3 years and the only time I was stopped by a ranger was when they told people to ride on the woods side of the powerline on 573 I believe it is. As said many times in these forums, it's better to have something rather than nothing and that goes for 1 side of the powerline. There are not a lot of places to enjoy what we do and I for 1 don't mind seeing some structure being put in place. We have to put something back in so we can continue to enjoy our natural resources. I hope I'm not sounding like an opponent. I am far from that. I just realize we have a good thing here and don't want to lose it. Ride safe.

As you do I also do they same type of riding & agree it should have some structure to it , but the sierria club and clubs like it are trying to get rid of everyone... I wonder when the last time they went to the forest.   Its hard for people who mean well and respect the forest when you have all these idiots go where there not suppose to fly through the trails at top speeds and leave all there trash everywhere. The sierra clubs and clubs like them aren't going to remember the family following rules and keeping the forest clean only the idiot causing problems. Ride responsible take out what you bring into the forest and Slow down around blind corners.