Gulches ORV Park

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izzyandsue

izzyandsue

Izzy
SILVER Star
10 Year
Joined
Oct 31, 2014
Threads
119
Messages
6,871
Location
Charlotte, NC
Website
www.tactegra.com
I am planning on going there tomorrow 1/11, if anyone else is interested/have the time, weather should be dry. Never been there, but wanted to exercise my newly acquired skills.
 
Never been but if its wet I hear it gets nasty.

You might get some company posting up on upstate cruisers as well if you haven't.

Have fun and take lots of pics :)
 
Thanks,,that's the plan, first time,there so will do a recon.
By the way, do you still have the roof rack for sale?
 
The Gulches is in Laurens, SC. It sits on about 80 acres. The owner, Skip, is a great host. There are a bunch of trails, some of which are class 4 or better. Stay away from the big pits at the bottom of the hill along the creek. They are pure mud bog at this time of year. Make sure to give Rebel blvd a shot. Give Heartbreaker a shot, we were the first FJ Cruiser to go up Heartbreaker, Skip thought we were nuts.
 
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This place is simply awesome, in my opinion. Well maintained and well run. The first pic is the map, the second is ScenicMap track on my iPad, you can guesstimate which trails I went on. Wheels got plenty of dirt!

First, Skip the owner is a great guy, does comes across as a great steward of the driving, safety minded. As a first timer, I followed a guide (called Ranger, hooaa Camp Darby!) to familiarize myself wit the trails and probably for them to make sure I had an idea what I was doing. That was a great intro. Afterwards you are on your own to explore by yourself or with others. I stuck to red and blue trails, those are hairy enough for me and my truck, did have to lock it a couple of times too. A few opportunities to balance the truck on opposing diagonal wheels, great stuff.

On a personal level, compared a day driving here to a day driving at VIR, this was a lot cheaper and buckets of fun. Other drivers where pretty friendly as well, and the guides do roam around to check on things. There are trails to satisfy a novice like me and hardcore drivers too, incredible skills. Will post some videos later, will go back and strongly recommend.

Logistics:
From South Charlotte, it is 120 miles, 2:30 with stop, last Starbucks on exit 82, I-77, drive through Sumter National Park, get gas at Laurens Shell station right before leaving the town and for full tank at park($1.82/gal). Bring your lunch.
 
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That looks awesome!

Do they have on-site camping available?
 
Yes to camping, circle numbers on map are campsites.
I got there at 11, left at 2. So probably 2:30 of diving. Was pretty good.
 
Thanks for posting this! I've heard a lot about this mythical place, Gulches, but this is the first official account that I've read.
 
You are welcome, I truly enjoyed it. A few more photos

First is the entrance, then my little mule, and the iPad set up that help me track the trails using ScenicMap. Was only $9.99 in iTunes, I spend a few hundred Bucks of my time researching which map I shoud buy, the $9.99 or the mytopo $7.99. Nuts.

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Wow, so that's what a green one looks like before I get my hands on it. I had forgotten. Never seen one with a tan interior.

Food for thought - the new BFG AT KO2 are getting great reviews. It's a great option if you're ready to stray from a street tire but don't want to lose street performance. And you do know that you can stuff 35's in there without a lift, right...;)
 
Thanks John, assume I know nothing... and I am wide open to suggestions/help/ influence. My list of things to do has come down quite a bit, but still prioritizing. This forum has been great on a lot of how-tos as well. Will the 35s fit with stock rims?


Birfield refill-check (valvoline Palladium?)
Igntion bezel no-light
Roof rack remove and clean repair holes
Degrease and repaint under carriage rust
Extend diff breathers
Caster correction bushings install
Code P0403 VSV check (comes and goes)
Abs code read and reset - check ABS ECU for water
Alarm remove
Antenna mast
Detail leather - recolor
Headliner clean, Folex
Seatbelt retractors
rear door bottom lights
cargo dome light
Parking break frozen- rebuild
Power button dead
Fresh air no heat- continue debug
Buy and install sliders
Fire extinguisher install
Steering freeplay check
Defroster grid not powering
 
Wow haven't been to gulches in ages. I keep hearing that its fine down hill but do want to try it again.

When i first got in the club 7 years ago and we wanted to grow more members past the bulk in the Raleigh area we put a gulches trip on the calendar 3 years in a row but ultimately i was the only one committed due to the large drive time from the Raleigh area.

It was a fun place but i kept my trail option light with it being a rainy day and me being by myself. It about 90 minutes from the center of charlotte so not too bad of a drive for local guys.


Those pics are awesome thanks for sharing
 
Awesome videos :cheers:

Will definitely have to make a trip out of this.
 
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