Mov'n to Houston, Hows the Off Roading?

[woodchuck]

What are the riding places like near Houston? Anyone?

Hello

I will be movin to Houston from Chicagoland in late June. What is riding like at Sam Houston National Forest? Tight trails? Flat/hilly? Sandy? Muddy? Any other places to ride?


I Will be working downtown. Looking to live in Spring, Kingwood, the Heights, Silver Lake or possibly the Woodlands. Any comment on where to live or not to live would be appreciated.

Regards,
Don
99GG EC300 , 94 KDX

 

[dead]

woodchuck, check out www.texasoffroad.net

I'll be moving down to Austin from Dayton, OH in August and the site has been very helpful in finding riding areas

 

[Timr]

Check out the Trail Riders of Houston: http://www.trh-cycle.org/

I used to live in Houston as a kid, and learned how to ride there. We rode most of the trails in the Sam Houston National forest on a regular basis. I did my first enduro there too before we left.

Good luck.

Tim

 

[woodchuck]

thanks for the feedback

 

[mxjosh]

Don,

There is a fantastic riding group in the Kingwood/Friendswood/Houston area. They are the Motoman393 Band of Brothers that help with the Garrett M. Berg races.

This group can be found at www.allthingsmoto.com

A friend of mine posted this information on our site:

Here is a list of places that I currently know of in the North Texas Area to ride a dirtbike. If I have ridden there then I will add my own review of the place.

MX Tracks:
Mosier Valley 817-540--815 www.gncmx.com
A sandy technical track that is about 1.5 miles long. It gets very chopped out after only 1 or 2 practice sessions. I personally do not care for this track as it just feels plain dangerous to ride ou there.
Lake Whitney 254-694-8088 www.lakewhitneymx.com
Village Creek MX 817-572-7713 www.villagecreekmx.com
Oak Hill MX 817-296-6742 NO website
A VERY sandy track with mostly tabletop jumps and focused on cornering ability than how high you can jump. If the sand wasn't 8 feet deep it would be a great track but it is complety unrideable for anyone but the best riders after 2 or 3 practice sessions.
Swan Cycle Park 903-882-4215 www.omenpromotions.com
Weathorfor MX 817-341-7223 www.weathorfordmxpark.com
A technical track with supercross style dirt. Very tight with lots of jumps straight out of the corners. Lots of fun to ride for advanced riders, beginners like me have trouble with some of the quick jumps out of the corners.
Badlands MX 972-742-2228 www.badlandsmx.com
Nocona MX 940-825-3639 www.noconamx.com
I LOVE this track. High speed, fun jumps, just lots of fun to ride. VERY safe track for a beginning rider. Advanced riders will have lots of fun blasting the huge sandy berms as well.
Burleson MX 817 295-1760 No website
Rode this one for the first time the other day. Lots of fun to ride, lots of good berms to blast, plenty of fun jumps as well. The dirt is excellent and would compare to the dirt at Nocona.

Trail Riding Parks
Rocky Ridge Ranch 940-466-3762
This was my first place to ever ride a motorcycle. Lately it has become crowded with tons of ATVer's but nevertheless still fun to ride. Plenty of good trails to get lost on.
Twin Hills Cycle Ranch 940-683-4959
Lots of good trails here too. LOTS of places for TRIALS riders to play. My only complaint is that the owner is kind of a jerk and likes to come around tell people where to park and how to ride THEIR motorcycles.
Lake Murray 405-223-4044
I rode here once and wasn't all too impressed. I was only able to find one trail in the whole riding area.
Red River Cycle Trails AKA Muenster Trails 940-665-4202
I LOVE this place as well. If you like sand and miles of endless trails then you will love this place as well. Also there is a lot of stuff here for TRIALS riders as well.
Rip-Char Trails 817-304-2889 http://www.rip-char.com




For directions to any of these places just put the name of the park in www.google.com and you will come up with tons of hits. If anyone has any to add feel free. If you want to add a review of a riding area go right ahead. This is not meant to be a definitive guide for where to ride. I'm sure there are more tracks/trails that I didn't list. And remember: ALWAYS CALL BEFORE YOU HAUL.

 

[NRB]

We moved from the Woodlands last year up to Pennsylvania, the Sam Houston National forest has about 60 miles of trails from three trail heads. The cost is three dollars per truck set up on an honor system. The trails consist of dirt and sand with some long whoop sections that will turn your legs to rubber. The trails are also two-way so watch for on coming traffic. The good thing is that there are very few atv's. Another place to ride is Shiloh Ridge, mostly atv's and the rules are not enforced but they have a few small hill climbs and a few trails. There is a place by Lake Livingston called Blue Lake Adventures that had increased the number of trails the last time we went. Houston also has several tracks that are listed on the web sites that were previously mentioned. The good thing about Texas is that you can ride year round but be sure to wear a camel back because the heat and humidity can wear you out.

 

[John Harris]

Come to NE Texas and ride TMTC's Barnwell Mtn. Area.near Gilmer, TX (about 4 hours from Houston)--1700 acres of jeep roads and trails. Not much mud ever, but lots of rocks and hills. Open on weekends all year round, but closed for a few special events like the Lone Star GNCC held there in late Jan this year. Small annual plus day/weekend fee.

 

[woodchuck]

Thanks guys

I just purchased a townhome in the Midtown area of Houston. (Short commute to work). I may dump the GG EC300 and KDX in favor of simplifingy to one bike possibly a DRZ. If Texas riding near Houston is more open and sandy than here in Illinios, hopefully a DRZ will work for an occasional run in town , camping trips and trail riding. Thanks for all the information.

Regards,
Don