What about Canada's forest preserving ?

[anton]

Hello,

as I understand, in USA most of the forests are preserved, meaning that it's hard to find a good trail (or make your own) in the forest ...

well, anyway, we were looking for a trip for about 1-2 weeks in the forest. It preferably should be completely in the forest with a little bit of roads (like trails that were left from the big trucks that, for example, transported wood sometime ago from the forest)... and I'm not sure if it is possible to find such in USA, however, Canada has much bigger forest land, maybe it is possible to find such wild forest somewhere to the north of Canada ?

We live in Ohio and 1-2 days drive to the starting point would be the best option or maybe transport our vehicle there by truck/train and then fly, then the distance probably does not really matter, but the price does.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[bri]

It is considered bad etiquette to make your own trail. In fact that is one of the things that helps get trails closed in the US. It has been considered bad form for about 20 years or so. Before that people did not think about the consequences of making their own trails.

Making your own trail goes against the treadlightly philosophy, which any responsible wheeler should adhere to.

http://www.treadlightly.org/about.mv.

I would also say that you should tread lightly through any land, not just forest and not just land in the US.

There are a ton of trails throughout the US, many are in forest. Wilderness areas in the US do not allow any form of motorized travel and also do not allow bicycles. As far as national forests go, many trails go through national forest.

Tread lightly Anton. Stay on the trail and leave it better than it was when you arrived.

Brian

 

[anton]

well, I didn't mean making a trail - just for the fun of it.

I understand about tread lightly position and that's why I'm looking for trails in Canada, that were made by the big trucks or so sometime ago ...

 

[paulc]

Well up here in British Columbia we have about 350,000 kilometers of Back Roads, Forest Service, Ranch Roads and Mining Roads etc, of all ages some super easy, many Camel Trophy like trails. The problem for you, will be finding them by yourself. There are a couple of published resources you could purchase such as "The Four Wheelers Companion"
By Mark Bostwick, printed by Harbour Publishing. There are a number of volumes covering different parts of the province. Be aware of course BC is a huge place & there is no way on to keep up with all the trails that are available to the recreational user. Mussio Ventures, compiles & publishes probably the most extensive map books covering all of BC, they also have many volumes on CD as well. You can check them out here www.backroadmapbooks.com

There are also the 4x4 clubs which are probably your best bet for finding some great trails, most are concentrated here in the Vancouver area, but there are a some good ones through out the province you can find links to most of them here http://www.4wdabc.ca/clubs.asp . I'm a member of the Rover Landers http://www.roverlanders.bc.ca .

Have fun if you visit.

 

[vabiro]

Anton

I live in Toronto, less than a day's drive from much of Ohio, and just north of here there are many places that fit your criterion. Algonquin park is about 3 hours drive north, but there is even more trails and Logging Roads (what I think you're looking for) and disused rail tressels north of Algonqin.

I would highly recommend the Backroads Map books that Paulc suggested. While they don't cover all the trails they do a good job of those that they do, especially in the Algonquin area. I would suggest the "Algonquin" and "Near North" books for the areas that you are looking for. When paired up with a standard Ontario road map or GPS you're well on your way.

If you're interested in seeing what the area looks like take a look at the photo album at our club web site http://www.landroveradventure.com/photoalbum.html . Look for albums in Ardbeg Minden, and Mattawa to get an idea what the area has to offer.

The Discoweb video "Back East" also has some footage taken in the Bobcageon area with some of our members.

BTW, I just did a Mapquest search for directions from Cleveland to Algonquin Park and it shows Total Est. Time: 8 hours, 10 minutes. Well within your criterion.

We are always doing trips into that area, so drop me a note and I'll keep you posted.

Victor

 

[paulc]

Opps, I see that Cleveland is about 2000 mile drive to BC, bit far for a 1 or 2 day drive.
Have a great time in Ontario.

 

[anton]

Paul, Victor:

Thanks a lot if BC has great trails, then it will worth the shot, especially that there are good mountains in BC as well and we love mountains

yes, Toronto is close to us, usually 6 hours drive - depending on the line at the border.

we are looking for mostly Camel Trophy like trails (my dad took part in semi-finals several times, though, never made it into the last stage )

 

[vabiro]

Anton,

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I suppose which Camel Trophy event you mean, but all were challenging, and there are no shortage of challenges. From the photo album (http://www.landroveradventure.com/photoalbum9.html) a recent trip to Ardbeg near Algonquin provided no shortage of challenges: water crossing, insects, and mud which provided plenty of stucks.

Paul: BC is a 4x4 paradise. Mountains and plenty of logging roads to access awesome trails, camping and hiking. I visit Vancouver often and have been thinking about renting a '04 Disco from Hertz and doing a day trip. Could be fun.

Cheers
Victor

 

[Bruno]

a recent trip to Ardbeg near Algonquin provided no shortage of challenges: water crossing, insects, and mud which provided plenty of stucks.

More than most would want to tackle !

Bruno.

 

[anton]

Anton,

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I suppose which Camel Trophy event you mean, but all were challenging, and there are no shortage of challenges. From the photo album (http://www.landroveradventure.com/photoalbum9.html) a recent trip to Ardbeg near Algonquin provided no shortage of challenges: water crossing, insects, and mud which provided plenty of stucks.

This does sound great ... now I gotta make my dad go there somehow ... by all I'm proving myself more and more that I should get LR as soon as possible, though money is the biggest issue as always