Capital Off Road Enthusiasts, Inc.

The official dates for our spring visit to the Outer Banks (OBX) and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Recreation Area (CHNSRA) were April 16-18 this year but some arrived early and got some extra fun packed into the weekend. I hope to accurately include some of that. But first a little setup.


Read full article: '04/16/2010 Outer Banks Cape Hatteras National Sea Shore'

Like many clubs, CORE traditionally schedules a ride on New Years Day. Generally, a nearby trail is chosen for its proximity and its relative ease in order to allow for a later start but still letting everyone get home at a reasonable hour in case January 2 is a work day. But sometimes a surprise gets thrown into the mix. We also call this Grandma Holman's ride as my Grandma firmly believed whatever you did on New Years would be repeated throughout the year. Our New Years Day ride is planned to be an enjoyable ride with as many good friends as possible.

Read full article: '01/01/2010 Grandma Holman's New Years Day Run'

So with fall in full swing and the leaves well into the color change of the year, I thought it was about time for a scenic trip to enjoy the colors, and what better place then Green Ridge. Picking the date was a little up in the air for a while, but finally, everything came together on October 17th.

Read full article: '10/17/2009 Fall Colors Green Ridge State Forest Run'

The year is quickly coming to a close. At this time every year CORE historically heads out on the trails for a day away from the crowds and the shopping marks the beginning of the holiday season. This year I lead the annual CORE Black Friday trail ride and took the group to Rausch Creek Off-Road Park (http://www.rauschcreekoffroadpark.org). Rausch Creek Off-Road Park is a pay-for-play four wheeling area located north east of Harrisburg PA. It covers over 1,700 acres and has trails for all levels and experiences for the off-road enthusiast.


Read full article: '11/27/2009 Rausch Creek Black Friday Run'

Thanks to the efforts of the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Defenders of Wildlife, and the National Audubon Society, management of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore is subject to a consent decree rather than the judgment of the National Park Service. As a result of that, there is a widespread belief that the beaches there are closed. In reality, large portions of the beach are closed for extensive periods but, so far at least, they have not been totally closed permanently.

Read full article: '10/29/2009 Cape Hatteras Beach Run'

One destination for CORE that always seems to be a hit is the Uwharrie National Forest at Troy NC. It's very different from most of the other National Forests in that there are 16 miles of dedicated OHV trails of varying difficulty. Most of the other National Forests, while having roads, are geared more towards access by hunters and fishermen and so have very little challenging for the 4 wheel drive enthusiast.


Read full article: '10/10/2009 Uwharrie National Forest'

After living and four wheeling in the Washington D.C. area all of my life, and the opportunity to go somewhere else and explore new trails presents itself, I get all excited and ready to travel to new and foreign places. Keith had an invite from former members of CORE, Gil and Sherrie Campos to stay in their backyard and camp while attending a trail ride. They live in Tennessee less than an hour drive from the Coal Creek off Road Park. So, with invitation in hand, and some local trail guides from the Rock Solid Jeep Club lined up we hit the road in search of adventure.

Read full article: '08/21/2009 Coal Creek OHV TN, Trail Ride'

With summer in full swing and a free weekend coming up, what better thing to do then to go off road with friends? Well that’s just what a group of us did. And what better place then to Casparis in Pennsylvania. And along for this trip we had the following folks come out and play.

Read full article: '07/25/2009 Casparis Trail Ride'

So with the last run over a month ago and nothing planned for a while, I figured a trail run was in order. And considering we haven’t been there since last year in July as well, and the fact it’s a fun trail, a trip to Stoney Run near Stuarts Draft, VA sounded like a good idea for a nice mid-summer run. Plus, we got to do Shoe Creek afterwards making it a double run.

Read full article: 'Stoney Run & Shoe Creek Trail Ride'

So with the last run being the New Years Run and nothing seemed to be planned for a while; I wanted to do a trail run with snow. And being late Feb, I wasn’t sure if it could still be found. So I figured we’d try anyway. And also considering we haven’t been to Casparis in a while, and the first time we ever went was in Feb as well with about 6 inches of snow on the ground, I figured I’d test that luck again. And as luck has it, the area got dumped with about 3-4 inches of snow on the ground during the week before heading to Casparis, giving us a nice winter run.

Read full article: '02/21/2009 Casparis Winter Run'