I went to the Cross Bar Ranch near Davis OK. on Saturday with my son Benjamin. We had a great time. It's a relatively new place, but it's got some really nice trails and terrain. Here's a quick summary.
It took me 2 hours from Wylie (NE of Dallas) to reach the park. The directions on their web site get you close, but actually getting to the parking area can be confusing on your first visit. They could use some additional signs to help you get to the right spot. The web directions state: "Exit 55 off I-35, then 1 mile west to Dolese Road and 3 miles south."
Here are some additional directions based on my visit: After you turn south on Dolese road, go until you reach a gate with a small portable building on the left side of the road. A sign for Cross Bar Ranch instructs you to call the park manager. My understanding is that he will usually meet you at the parking area (keep reading).
You continue on through the gate on a dirt road. After perhaps a mile you will pass a grassy area on the right with a picnic table and a porta-potty. This is the camping area. Continue on the dirt road through a gate past the camping area toward some radio towers. You will eventually see (after another mile more or less) a small sign pointing you to the parking area off to the left of the dirt road.
After signing the necessary forms and paying the manager, he'll give you a map that shows the two main loops you can ride; the south loop and the north loop. Both loops are one-way only. The south loop is 13 miles, with a mix of fast grassy trails and tighter rocky sections. Not much in the way of elevation changes. This section was OK, and would be good for less experienced riders.
Our favorite was the north loop. You pick up the start of the north loop near the parking area. The north loop is much more challenging than the south. It winds in, around, up and down large hills in a wooded area. The first mile or so is fairly tame, but then it starts to get interesting as it moves into the wooded hills.
There are many rocky sections, but it's not all rocky. There were also several stream crossings while following the trail. As it was all new terrain for us, we closely checked each stream before attempting to cross. With runoff from all the recent rain there were some deep spots, but we were able to avoid any submarine incidents.
We were there on Saturday, and there had been heavy rain Tuesday and Wednesday. There was some mud and slipping in the lower areas, but nothing too bad.
I believe the north loop is around 25 miles. The trail was cut to be dual-track (ATV) trails, but I think there are many of the more challenging areas of the north loop that will rarely see a quad. I just can't see many quad riders attempting many of the sections that we tackled.
Long rocky uphills and off-camber hillside trails made for some good variety. There are fast open sections, along with plenty of slower more technical sections. Some sections of the north loop bring you out on top of tall hills. It's a very beautiful sight, and you can see for miles around. It will be very nice in the spring and summer when it’s all green.
I think the north half of the park has great potential for single-track riders. It's very large (the entire park is over 6000 acres), and there is a lot of room to add in single-track connecting to/from the main loop that exists right now. If the park manager can get some new single track marked out, I would be interested in going up in the spring with my sons to spend half a day cutting trails, and the other half riding.
I've included a few pictures to give some idea of what the park looks like. Unfortunately the batteries on my camera died and I wasn't able to get better pictures that would show more of the trail.
I'm definitely up for another trip.
Seldon
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/556612569rwMfiA
It took me 2 hours from Wylie (NE of Dallas) to reach the park. The directions on their web site get you close, but actually getting to the parking area can be confusing on your first visit. They could use some additional signs to help you get to the right spot. The web directions state: "Exit 55 off I-35, then 1 mile west to Dolese Road and 3 miles south."
Here are some additional directions based on my visit: After you turn south on Dolese road, go until you reach a gate with a small portable building on the left side of the road. A sign for Cross Bar Ranch instructs you to call the park manager. My understanding is that he will usually meet you at the parking area (keep reading).
You continue on through the gate on a dirt road. After perhaps a mile you will pass a grassy area on the right with a picnic table and a porta-potty. This is the camping area. Continue on the dirt road through a gate past the camping area toward some radio towers. You will eventually see (after another mile more or less) a small sign pointing you to the parking area off to the left of the dirt road.
After signing the necessary forms and paying the manager, he'll give you a map that shows the two main loops you can ride; the south loop and the north loop. Both loops are one-way only. The south loop is 13 miles, with a mix of fast grassy trails and tighter rocky sections. Not much in the way of elevation changes. This section was OK, and would be good for less experienced riders.
Our favorite was the north loop. You pick up the start of the north loop near the parking area. The north loop is much more challenging than the south. It winds in, around, up and down large hills in a wooded area. The first mile or so is fairly tame, but then it starts to get interesting as it moves into the wooded hills.
There are many rocky sections, but it's not all rocky. There were also several stream crossings while following the trail. As it was all new terrain for us, we closely checked each stream before attempting to cross. With runoff from all the recent rain there were some deep spots, but we were able to avoid any submarine incidents.
We were there on Saturday, and there had been heavy rain Tuesday and Wednesday. There was some mud and slipping in the lower areas, but nothing too bad.
I believe the north loop is around 25 miles. The trail was cut to be dual-track (ATV) trails, but I think there are many of the more challenging areas of the north loop that will rarely see a quad. I just can't see many quad riders attempting many of the sections that we tackled.
Long rocky uphills and off-camber hillside trails made for some good variety. There are fast open sections, along with plenty of slower more technical sections. Some sections of the north loop bring you out on top of tall hills. It's a very beautiful sight, and you can see for miles around. It will be very nice in the spring and summer when it’s all green.
I think the north half of the park has great potential for single-track riders. It's very large (the entire park is over 6000 acres), and there is a lot of room to add in single-track connecting to/from the main loop that exists right now. If the park manager can get some new single track marked out, I would be interested in going up in the spring with my sons to spend half a day cutting trails, and the other half riding.
I've included a few pictures to give some idea of what the park looks like. Unfortunately the batteries on my camera died and I wasn't able to get better pictures that would show more of the trail.
I'm definitely up for another trip.
Seldon
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/556612569rwMfiA
