multi-day offroad riding?

[KnightofNi]

I was directed here due to your proximity to myself (just outside of philadelphia) and being that ya'll are the only DS group i can find within striking distance i'm gonna ask my questions here.

i'm trying to find somewhere to ride for a few days on dirt, camping along the way. i'm not looking for a OHV park that allows camping. i'm looking for a bit of solitude with maybe a riding partner. i was inspired by all the TAT rides on ADVrider but realize that will be hard to come by with only 4 days to ride.

route suggestions are most welcome. as with anything i do this is getting plenty of time to plan since i'm looking to hit the dirt on 8/22 (i can ride about 4-5 hrs out after work on 8/21 to get to a starting point)

TIA
todays n00b

[Rut Row]

I'm not familiar with the Philly area - maybe someone else here can help on that. But a few hours away to the west (in PA) is Michaux State Forest.

[dmar]

Consider riding the c+d canal roads in cecil county maryland, A must see in my opinion. Very scenic dirt roads with good restaurants at chesapeake city where you access the canal roads. There are roads on both sides of the canal. The south road is the best. There are several trails if you stray off the canal service roads also. You can also fish at several piers along the way down the canal road. There is camping in elk neck state park in cecil county or susquehanna state park in havre de grace which is in harford county maryland. There is also the pine barrons i new jersey not far from atlantic city, have not been there but have heard of many trails there and has camping. However it is all sand riding and can be difficult to ride in. There is also michaux state park in pa which has dirt roads , but most trails are restricted to ride. The gas lines there are a blast, but don't think they really like riders on them. I'll try to upload a couple pics of the canal road and gas line.

[mdubya]

You might try asking over at ADVrider.com in the south east forum. I can say for sure that there are untold hundreds of miles of dirt and gravel roads which run through West Virginia. I don't know if you will find enough continous trails to ride for days. But if you look for dirt and FS road in WV, you could spend months riding them, I am pretty sure. Several of us have ridden from Parsons to Durbin, WV. There are miles and miles of dirt roads around the Spruce Knob area. You could connect more dirt to the Cass/Snowshoe/Slaty Fork area. There is another large area of dirt roads which run between the Route 219, Route 150, Route 20, Route 33 borders. You will need a Gazetteer WV map book and you will be able to identify the dirt and FS roads. I don't know how remote you want to get, but you can certainly achieve the feeling of remoteness in these areas.

Another idea would be to head for the Hatfield McCoy trails in SW WV. I have never been there, but heard lot's of good things about Hatfield McCoy.

[KnightofNi]

thanks for the help guys!

dmar,
that second pic is kinda what i was thinking i would find, but all the powerline roads i've found seem to cross major roads or people's yards. where is that trail?

[crofrog]

does anyone have a gpx or kmz file of the c&d canal area.