NEED INFO ON BIG SCRUBB!!

[MIRACLEMAN]

     I need to know whatever can be told. First of all, I will be coming down 75 from north florida,Where to next? Also, what is the camping like? Does it cost any thing, is there electric,showers,water? Is it a good place to bring my family? Like I said, any input is good.
    I just went to croom, and we loved it. Is it better, bigger?

                                                    Miracleman

[J.D.]

40 east to 19 south 9 mi or so big scrub sign go right .

[Toomey]

It's a tad more downgraded compared to croom faciltys.  The riding at Croom is more challenging and fun.  But Ocala's size will dwarf Croom.

[Chillinthemost]

Just curious, why do you come to Fla. to ride? I thought Ga. had more and better places to ride. From what I see and read Fla. seems to be the least off road friendly state there is. I have been wanting to come up to Ga. and ride Durhamtown.

[flahondafam]

Whatever you do, make sure if you go to BIG SCRUB to lock your S*** up very well!!!! Trust me. Other then the theives it is not a bad place to ride... If you camp there, there is no water or electric. You can have a generator but only until 10pm. Good luck

[eric]

    I need to know whatever can be told. First of all, I will be coming down 75 from north florida,Where to next? Also, what is the camping like? Does it cost any thing, is there electric,showers,water? Is it a good place to bring my family? Like I said, any input is good.
    I just went to croom, and we loved it. Is it better, bigger?

                                                    Miracleman

To get to Scrub get off hwy I-75 onto hwy 40 heading east. Its probably gonna be about 25 miles on hwy 40 but stay on that road. Coming from that way you should go past Silver Springs and Silver River State Park. Stay on hwy 40 heading east. You should pass rd 314A but keep going for a few more minutes. On your right side you should eventually see a brown metal sign with white letters that say "Big Scrub" turn right here. This is forest rd 588. If you miss that sign you will eventually pass through hwy 19. If you do and just turn around and go back maybe 10 minutes and look again for the the "Big Scrub" sign . Make that turn onto the paved road and go down that road which turns into hard packed dirt for maybe 10 minutes or so and you will come to an intersection and you cant miss the campground on the right side. You will also see powerlines right across from the campground on the left side where you can park for free. I personally like Scrub a lot but you have to look to find some of the fun spots away from the campground. If you need any more help message me and I can give you my # if you get lost- eric

[eric]

shot from under powerlines across from Big Scrub campground

[eric]

unloading under lines @ Scrub

[eric]

Big Scrub campground far right side of pic. You can see the cars lined up under the lines against the road.

[jjamesbar]

if you follow erics directions a good way to look out for forest road 588 is that its just east of the fire tower on hwy 40. there is a good trail right behind the fire tower that runs 7 miles east in the direction of farrells prairie.

jeff

[Vegas]

Riders may want to consider staying at Lake Dorr Cabin which is a short 5 minute ride from Big Scrub. I just spent a week there, and it was awesome. Great riding, the price is about 900 bucks for the week (Friday through Friday) it sleeps 10 people, and it's right on a lake with a private dock and boat ramp, (perfect for jet skis). I highly recommend it.  

Check out:http://www.camprrm.com/Dorr.htm

They usually do the cabin by lottery, but you can call and ask if they have open weeks.

[MIRACLEMAN]

       All of your replys have been great! I knew I came to this damn sight for a reason! Really, thanks.
   How about rules? Are there any? If so, what are they, and how strict are they about inforcing them? For example, someone said you have to shut your gen down at 10PM. Is this the case, or does that only pertain to the gens that sound like a freight train? And prices or fees... Is there a charge to get in, or for a sticker like croom? And how much is camping for a motor home compared to just a tent?
    I know, a thousand questions at once, sorry. I just like to try to be prepared. Like I said thanks for all the replys, I look forward to more.  Happy trails!
                                                       Miracleman

[Vegas]

There is a campground host at the Big Scrub area, and he seems pretty easygoing.

Quite hour is from 10pm to 6am so they ask that you turn the loud music off and kill the generators, but my experience is that if you keep the music to a minimum and if your generator is relatively quiet, and no one complains..you can let it run all night.

Definitely bring a chainsaw and a toe rope so you can gather firewood. (Obviously you are only allowed to cut up downed trees)

Rest room and shower facilities at Big Scrub are minimal so keep that in mind.

Do all your grocery shopping before you get there, the closest DECENT grocery store that I know of is in Mt. Dora (about a 25 minute drive).

Myself, I wear a helmet and full riding gear, (Just because I tend to ride like a maniac) but I see people up there riding with shirtless and without helmets, which tells me the rangers aren't too hard on enforcing safety issues.

The only real rule I know of is that you can't ride on Numbered roads.

If you go on a weekend, there will be plenty of other people there riding, but if you go during the week, you can have the entire place to yourself at times which is kinda cool.

The fee for camping was like 8 bucks if I remember correctly, but we were in a tent. I'm not sure if they charge more for motor homes.

Check this site.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/recreation/index_oca.shtml

* If you're not going to get there till late on a Friday, you may want to call ahead and reserve a spot! Because it gets packed on the weekends.


Peace out
Vegas

[Robb]

This place is not for utility bikes. I was there this weekend, and i dont think I have ever seen a more boring place to ride, nothing but whoops everywhere, dry as a desert, and barely any mud. Im sure its fun as heck for you sport riders. And the trails just go on forever and ever and its all whoops.

[Vegas]

There's definitely a lot of whoops along the power line areas...but they have some good sand pits, and once you get back away from the main roads on the trails....it can run smooth for miles and miles.

Also, as far as the mud...if you go back on some trails you'll see very small ponds, perhaps 10 to 15 feet across and a few feet deep. I'm not sure how deep they are but you can sling mud around the outskirts.

As for going through them, I'm not sure about that and wether or not that would fall into the range of "responsible riding", you'd have to check with some of the rangers.

But believe me, I've come across 4 or 5 ponds like that.

I ride a 450R, but I could see how a utility bike might not have that much fun, plus it must be hell on the azz for whoops.

[Robb]

I ride a 450R, but I could see how a utility bike might not have that much fun, plus it must be hell on the azz for whoops.

Yeah we found a few little mud holes, and that was really nasty clay mud, that is hard to clean. And i hear you arent really allowed to play in them much.
Yeah im sore from yesterday, and so is the bike, got a real workout on those whoops.

[Vegas]

I don't know who runs the ATV area at Big Scrub, but you would think they could run a grader down one side of the whooped out power line are once a month.

Maybe even dig out a mudhole for some of you mudders out there.

It would probably be of minimal cost.

I know they grade the roads as evidenced by those areas that go back 20 yards and dead end.

I wonder who would be the person to contact.

Sounds like the start of a letter writting campaign!

[Robb]

The power line area is probably the most boring for us utility guys, the whooped up trails were the worst part, and theres no fixing those.

[Vegas]

Can you say "Mini Bobcat"?

I'm sure we'd wind up in jail with all our quads impounded if we tried that without permission.

But you would think since they allow riding out there, they'd at least listen to the idea of grooming some of the trails or
creating new fresh ones.

I would like to see some manicured jumps out there.
Maybe a tabletop  or two.

That deforested area right across from the camp ground is ripe for an MX track.

Just an idea.

[MIRACLEMAN]

    Hey vegas, thanks for the info, great help. I will try to let all of you know when I am going, and maybe I can put some faces to the names and machines.
    My gen is pretty quite, I hope quite enough. Come warmer weather, I like my a/c! My wife said something about going this weekend, and I know the nights are still comfortable so I supose I'll live. I am originaly from Maine, so heat and I don't bond well!
    Robb, you mentioned the riding being pretty bland. Have you been to croom, and if so compare the two for me. I have been told scrubb is much bigger, so I know that. However, the different types of terrain at croom, I thought were pretty good. I like climbing anything, is there anything for hills or ridges?
    Thanks again for the help, happy trails

                                                   Miracleman  

[NextGenATV]

Big Scrub is great considering how little territory there is to ride these days. The whoops are murder though. The trails are good. We did about 25 miles of riding without riding on the same trail twice. The numbered roads are not marked all that well and you may find yourself on one by mistake. My rule of thumb there is if it looks like a road, it probably is! Just stay off the road to one side or the other.

As far as a letter writing campaign....I don't recommend it. The "powers that be" there  seem to be getting annoyed by the ATV community and I sure would not want to ruffle any feathers.....The whole riding area could just dissappear.....please  tread lightly.....maybe a letter praising them for the great riding area.....

PS- Lookout for the JEEP(4wd type) traffic!!! Some of those guys are NUTS. They like to see if their jeeps can do 90mph+ on the dirt roads. If anyone ruins it for us, it will be them. I saw a kid on his motorcycle get hit by one a few weeks ago. The kid was stopped at the intersection of a trail and the dirt road and the extremely fast going 4WD clipped his front wheel. The 4WD did NOT stop! Fortunatley, the kid was not injured, but his bike was really screwed up!

[donnie_darko]

This is really good info thanks to everyone for posting.....