2016 Centennial Trail - Ocala National Forest

[little blue 300]

Well, its been another three months since I was up here and I'm sorry to say that nothing has been done. The trails are rough and bumpy, small trees down all over the place on the west side. A friend of ours went with us and he has a bad back and almost couldn't make it the whole way around cause of the rough trails. If you're going to charge us money to ride here, then some trail maintenance should be done in the summer as well as the winter.

Big Scrub Campground is closed until further notice. Wait a minute, I didn't get any notice that it was closed till I got there and the gate was locked. I would have been mad if I would have drove my RV down that very bumpy eight miles on FR13, only to be turned around with a locked gate.

I used to really like to ride here, but this year June and I will not be buying a yearly pass unless they start dragging the trails. Kris must have deserted us as he has not given us an update in many months. Yes, I am a little pissed off right now Kris. The rain is here so the fires should be less, so bring back the bulldozer and at least finish the few miles on the east side. I've said enough !

Larry

[little blue 300]

I called John last night and he said a lot of trees were down from the storm, but they have been cut out of the way for the most part. You may still have some branches to deal with.

They have not dragged the trails yet, so they are a little bumpy.

Kris was called up with the military and is on active duty till sometime in January.

Big Scrub Campground is closed. No camping there.

That's all I know for now.

Larry

[little blue 300]

Just got off the phone with John, and he said the trails at Centennial are open, but the Big Scrub Campground is still closed. I guess that so many people were getting stuck in there, that they are going to re do the roads with clay, etc. He did not know when they were to do this, but probably not till December at the earliest. Every Thanksgiving that place filled up, but I guess not this year. Larry

[mrbones]

Thanks for the updates, Larry.

[little blue 300]

You're most welcomed !

[little blue 300]

June and I rode the Centennial Trail last Friday and nothing has changed. That last hurricane knocked down a lot of trees, but they all have been cut up out of the way. We got a new Polaris RZR 900 and even though it's only 50 inches wide, we were hitting shrubs on both sides going down the west side of the trail. If you have a larger side by side, I wouldn't go down the west side unless you don't mind a lot of scratches.

We used to ride the north trails up by Salt Springs, but started coming down to the Centennial when we found out that they were dragging the trails every week during the winter months, but those days are gone. If a 50 inch vehicle can't make it down the trail without rubbing shrubs, then maybe it's time to go back to the north trails. Another reason we like Centennial was because we could camp at Big Scrub Campground, but it's closed and nobody at this time can tell me when it will reopen.

This used to be our favorite trail, but now it sucks. Sorry for the bad review !

Larry

[little blue 300]

Just an update  !!!

June and I rode the north trails yesterday and they are in worst shape than the Centennial Trail. We probably only hit a quarter of the trails up there, but we went on the ones that used to be the smoothest, but now they are in very bad shape. We did pass a dragging crew and were the first ones to ride on the newly dragged trail, but it was still very rough. Later when heading back we hit the same trail again and they had dragged it again going the other way and it was much better, but still a little rough.

I know what you're saying, but these trails are really rough ! Most of the time we were only going 10 MPH and we had areas that 6 to 8 MPH were almost too fast. We were being bounced  all over the place and really didn't have any fun. Please remember, we have bought yearly passes for the last four years and have rode the crap out of these trails. If we didn't ride at least 100 miles each visit, then we didn't feel like we got our money's worth. I don't even need to take a map with me any more and that's saying a lot for the north trails ! I used to get lost up there even with a map. If you knew how nice the trails used to be, then you would know why we complain now.

The highlight of our day was when we were heading back in, we came up on three big bears that were playing on the trail. It was a mother with her two babies, but now they are really big ! Usually you only get a second or two to see them before they run into the woods, but this time we got to watch them for at least a minute. At first we were wondering if they were ever going to get off of the trail and I was getting ready to put it into reverse cause they didn't seem afraid of us at all, but they did finally go into the woods.

If they drag the trails, they could be as good as they used to be. When Big Scrub Campground opens up again, June and I will go there and camp and ride, but no more yearly passes for us until they bulldoze the trails a little wider and do a lot of dragging.

Larry

[stacktester]

Hate to hear that. Are they still closed down from the storm?

[little blue 300]

All of the trails are open, just bumpy. Delancy Campground up at the north trails is open, but Big Scrub Campground on the Centennial Trail is closed.

Don't let me ruin it for you. I just like the trails a little smoother like they used to be.

Larry

[little blue 300]

I called John at Big Scrub Campground tonight to see when Big Scrub is going to reopen and he seems to think that they are not going to even start the roads in there till the end of January. I asked if we could camp there at our own risk, but was told "no".

[little blue 300]

After 16 months, June and I finally made it back to the Centennial Trail this past week. The trails aren't too bad if you're on an ATV, but side by sides would be rubbing brush esp. on the west side of the trail. The bad thing is all of the up and down bumps in the trail and some of them are really deep. Years ago they used to drag the trails every week during the winter months, but I don't think anybody has drug them in over a year. Some people came in at Big Scrub Campground and had large side by sides and they took the bottom trail. I told my wife that they won't be here for long and when we got back, they were packed up and gone. The trail is really bad right as you leave the campground. If the trails were drug a few times each way, I think a lot of these bumps could be eliminated.

A group of ATV's were staying there and went to ride the trails one evening and the manager of the campground told them that there was no night riding on the trails. As soon as he went in they took off anyway and rode during the night. People always wonder why we keep loosing riding places.

If Kris is still around and he reads this, please have somebody drag the trails and get rid of the bumps.

Thanks, Larry & June

[mrbones]

Thanks for the update. How crowded are the campgrounds in Ocala recently?

[little blue 300]

Big Scrub had about six groups there last week. Since June and I only go during the week, that's the most that we have ever encountered. The manager said that was because of bike week and spring break. That's the only campground that we ever go to up there.

[stacktester]

Glad to see some atv talk on here again. Thanks for the update little blue.

[little blue 300]

Glad to see some atv talk on here again. Thanks for the update little blue.

You're welcome !

[little blue 300]

June and I went back up to Big Scrub Campground last week and rode the Centennial trail. The bad news is that there will never be any more improvements on the trails, because Kris is no longer with the Forest Dept, at least up there. What we were told is that he tried to get too much done and the government people don't like that. Don't know if that's true--just what we were told. I now feel bad for all of the times I complained. He really was the one person that was looking out for us. Thanks Kris  !!!

[TRIPOLAR]

I have never ridden those trails.  One of these days I think I need to give it a try.
I tend to favor the wet over the dry.
No work involved blowing the dust off.  I like the hours cleaning.

[Keeter]

I'm planning a trip there mid May.  Anyone else riding or would ride then?

[Starbuc71]

Well, it’s been almost 4 years since I’ve posted here and almost 4 years since I rode this trail. Since then I bought a 50inch Can Am sxs and have not headed to Ocala with it yet. Very sad to hear the trails are worse than before. I guess it’s considered state land and basically only upkept by the atv traffic.  No sense complaining here since not many people come here anymore and the state never cared

[stacktester]

Good to see you back around Dave. We need to catch up on the trail soon.

[Starbuc71]

Good to see you back around Dave. We need to catch up on the trail soon.

Hey you. It must be at least 5 years since I saw you.  Would love to meet you up at the trail one Sunday and catch up. Gave up camping at the fort. It out priced us. Let me know when you head to the centennial trail

[little blue 300]

June and I made it back to the Centennial Trail this week and camped at Big Scrub. The good news is the campground is open, but the bad news is they raised the price from $12.00 a night to $20.00 a night. Nothing has been added, but I guess some SOB thought that we weren't paying enough. If you have a senior pass as we do, it's $10.00 a night, up from $6.00.

The trails really suck from what they used to be like three or four years ago. The good news is that they now have a drag team and just started to drag the trails on Wednesday when we got there. The bad news is that on their first day, they only dragged 1.6 miles of the lower trail and yesterday they went up towards the middle trail and did a whopping 1.3 miles. Maybe, if we are lucky, by next April when they go home, they might get it all done once.

The trails need trimming really bad in some places. When we take our Polaris RGR 900 Trail side by side, we never go up the west side of the trail cause we keep hitting bushes and getting scratches. This week we took our Can Am 2 up bike and went up that side and its gotten even worst than it was before. There was a tree blocking the trail and we turned around but met two dirt bikes and one of those small atvs that goes like hell. We told them about the tree, but these young guys don't let small things like that stop them and kept going. We turned around and found out that they lifted the tree up high enough to get under it. When they saw us coming back, they waited and did the same for us. Very nice guys !!!

Please remember that these comments come from a 72 year old guy with a 71 year old wife and we have different views than younger people, just like the tree blocking the trail. I would think that dirt bikes would just love the trails like they are, but side by sides would not unless they don't mind the scratches. It's a nice place to ride, but the trails need a lot of work. I also heard that another snowbird that just got there is going to do some trimming on the trails, but they really need a machine to trim them. One man and his wife will only be able to do a small area. The bad news is now that Kris the ranger is gone, we have nobody that really cares.  Larry

[mrbones]

Thank you for the Ocala update. Much appreciated!

[kcladnier]

Any progress on making the Centennial Trails ONE WAY?  So dangerous!   So easy to fix?  Must someone die before this is fixed?  I have seen the argument posed that "if they made it one way, then everybody would go a lot faster on the blind turns and sooner or later, some idiot would be going the wrong way and a very bad accident would happen."  I say that there is going to be a very bad accident either way.  Let's at least have some rules so that the person breaking the rules and their insurance company can be held accountable for supporting any quadriplegics they create.  Or at the very least remove that person form society so they are not endangering the rest of us.