Suggestions from our eastern neighbors

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dnp

dnp

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Jackson, MS
Hey guys,

Some of us from CottonLand Cruisers (MS) are planning on a short road trip this next weekend to NE Alabama / SE Tennessee / NW Georgia, and we're looking for some places to get off road. Some of the folks going with us aren't lifted much and don't have armor, so much more of this trip will be on road than off.

Most of the folks going (with some wives and kids) have not traveled in that area much, so we're going to places like Little River Canyon (and backcountry area north of that), Desoto State Park, Cloudland Canyon State Park in GA, etc........that being said, what I'm writing about is to see if any of you have suggestions on forest service roads and/or other "milder" offroad areas we could visit in those regions? The Cove in TN is probably going to be more " involved" than what we're seeking, but if anyone has other suggestions, please reply. (I've heard there are places to ride over near Huntsville in Gurley, but have been unable find any info........)

In any event, that's what I'm looking for. The main areas of interest are: Birmingham to the north, I-65 to the east, I-24 to the south, and I-75 to the west. Those aren't set in stone, but are the general areas. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, David
 
+1 on the Skyway motorway, we made a run up there and it was a very enjoyable trip. The views were great, you are actually going parallel to the Pinhoti trail on the first leg I believe. Below is links to some pics we took

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580536207DiYctb
 
Thanks for the suggestion on the Skyway, but that's a little out of the area we'll be driving. At this point, I don't see us having enough time to travel south of I-20, and most of he time, we'll be considerably north of that.

Any suggestions on places north of Birmingham (on both sides of) I-59 all the way up to Chattanooga?
 
There are some really cool spots to camp in the bankhead national park but I don't think they have any open forest roads... I know that a highway (cullman motor way) ran through the area at one point (maybe 1920's) sorry if I wasn't any real help..
 
Go to Scottsboro, drop women off at Unclaimed Baggage as soon as the doors open, drive N on AL 79 to Skyline Wildlife Management Area, spend day puttering around on old logging roads, return to Unclaimed Baggage at closing time to retrieve women (and all the junk they've purchased), and call it a day.

Turkey season is getting close so keep that in mind but if you stick to roads that should not be an issue, and maps of the WMA are available somewhere.

Scottsboro is < 1 hr. from Chattanooga by US 72. There's a Rover shop in S. Pittsburgh that you pass along the way and there's usually some cool looking old Rovers sitting around (to paraphrase: beauty is skin deep but unrealiability goes all the way to the frame).
 
Also right there.... Bucks pocket state park is a great place to camp... The primitive camping is about two miles down a rough road; nothing a stock right couldn't do but not a gravel road either.. The rest of the camping is actually in the pocket or the bottom of a canyon with a river running near (really a great place).. As far as sky way or any of the other expedition style offroading up there the locals keep that stuff pretty tight so you won't find alot of info on the Web about it.
 
Godwin said:
Go to Scottsboro, drop women off at Unclaimed Baggage as soon as the doors open, drive N on AL 79 to Skyline Wildlife Management Area, spend day puttering around on old logging roads, return to Unclaimed Baggage at closing time to retrieve women (and all the junk they've purchased), and call it a day.

Turkey season is getting close so keep that in mind but if you stick to roads that should not be an issue, and maps of the WMA are available somewhere.

Scottsboro is < 1 hr. from Chattanooga by US 72.
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That's the type of information I'm seeking. I've been through Scottsboro before, but I was unaware of the SWMA. I'll look it up to see if I can come up with some info.
Godwin said:
There's a Rover shop in S. Pittsburgh that you pass along the way and there's usually some cool looking old Rovers sitting around (to paraphrase: beauty is skin deep but unrealiability goes all the way to the frame).
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See my sig line. I've got a D-90 also, but thankfully (sound of knocking on wood), I haven't been bitten by the unreliability bug.......yet

ClankBang said:
Also right there.... Bucks pocket state park is a great place to camp... The primitive camping is about two miles down a rough road; nothing a stock right couldn't do but not a gravel road either.. The rest of the camping is actually in the pocket or the bottom of a canyon with a river running near (really a great place).
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Yeah, we camped there several years ago.....really a NICE place. Definitely going to make that a stop along the way
ClankBang said:
As far as sky way or any of the other expedition style offroading up there the locals keep that stuff pretty tight so you won't find alot of info on the Web about it.
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Anyone you know that might be a source of information? Don't want to step on any toes. We're just looking for new places to explore with nice scenery (remember, Mississippi is, for the most part, flat.....any topography is a welcome departure from what we see every day!)

Thanks for the comments! Anyone else???
 
For a scenic drive, especially compared to Mississippi, on US 72 between Huntsville and Scottsboro is a small splotch along the highway named Paint Rock. On the west side of town AL 65 goes north up through the Paint Rock valley. The highway parallels the river and at times approaches the river. In a couple of places you can pull down to the water. AL 65 runs north and intersects with AL 146. AL 146 climbs up out of the valley and connects with AL 79 which runs south back to Scottsboro. All of the route is paved but if you are looking for a scenic drive this is a good one.
 
Try contacting Phil (bamableach) ..
If you get somthing going I might like to join you..
At least camp a night with those who are planing on it..
 
Bankhead Forest has some great waterfalls


2729648520044772710S425x425Q85.jpg


2457245690044772710S425x425Q85.jpg



these two are less than 100 yards from the road. Then you can also hit some of the back road places such as this geocache GC25GCB Definitely a Remote ...(P&G?)... Cache (Traditional Cache) in Alabama, United States created by TheGadgetMan as wet as it has been you will see some mud but think you would be OK in a stock 4x4, drive past it and you come upon the most secluded beach in Alabama Here GC19ZC0 Collier Falls (Traditional Cache) in Alabama, United States created by Keymaker is another one you can drive pretty close to. If you have someone that has a good topo map and can read it you should have no problem
 
ClankBang said:
Try contacting Phil (bamableach) ..
If you get somthing going I might like to join you..
At least camp a night with those who are planing on it..
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We're definitely gonna be up in NE AL this weekend, just not sure exactly where or when. That being said, we're always glad to meet new cruiser folks, so come join us. PM me some contact information, and we'll let you know or whereabouts.

David
 
DNP got a smoov D90!
 
dnp said:
We're definitely gonna be up in NE AL this weekend, just not sure exactly where or when. That being said, we're always glad to meet new cruiser folks, so come join us. PM me some contact information, and we'll let you know or whereabouts.

David
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We'll be expecting a trip report once the trip is over :)
 
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