New England Broncos

Anyone interested in getting a group together for a run? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would be very interested. I’m in Vermont and have had a hard time finding people to hit the trails with. I don’t have a winch, so I’m hesitant to do too much solo and would love to find some others to go out with.

I’m in CT and there aren’t a lot of trails in this state but would to travel to meet for a run as well. Don’t have a winch either and don’t like wheeling alone.

Any good trails around your area?

Hard to find public trails up here that are wide enough for full size rigs. Lots of side by side / snowmobile trails, but few wide trails.

But this place in NH looks really interesting. I would love to organize a Bronco group to visit this place over a weekend:
https://www.armorditch.com/

I would be able to go to Armorditch. What’s your availability this month?

We should organize something soon before snow and frozen mud starts. Rich Banfield is a pro guide in Connecticut. I wonder if he's be interested in heading up a group for Old Florida Road, North Adams, MA? Probably the only #6 (out of 10) trail in Mass. Sasquatch lift necessary, plus winch or somebody who has and knows winching. You can definitely do the Ma Bell trail in Northampton without a winch; lift is advisable but not essential. Allow 4 hours up and back. (It's called "Ma Bell" because it was cut up a hillside for a phone line --now gone--by the old ATT-"Ma Bell" company.) Plenty of videos on line for both Old Florida Rd and Ma Bell.

@SeptuagenarianSasquatch

@SeptuagenarianSasquatch Old Florida road has a gatekeeper that will require you to winch over.. Unless your in a 2 door bronco on 40's or a portals. The steward of Old Florida Road is a club called Mohawk 4x4. If your considering a run here you should reach out to them. You will also need to register your vehicle as OHV in MA for any off highway runs.

That works for me. Just need a meeting point and anyone that would like to join, would be fun. How do we reach out to Rich Banfield?

I do plan on getting a winch on Black Friday. Does anyone have any recommendations for a 2023 badlands? I would need a relocation bracket for the camera and the parking sensors for my bumper.

@GreenBadlands

@GreenBadlands When I bought in 2022 and 53,000 happy miles ago, there wasn't much you could do without blocking the camera. My solution then was to install a new Rough Country bumper with an inside-the bumper "hidden" winch, so it was all low, down, out of the way. Kind of pricey, but it looks rad. Now there are relocation kits for the camera. You'll have to look into it.
By the time you get that bought and installed, we're well into December, not sure if we'd get much of a gathering. Maybe the thing is to set a date for spring, promote it among other Bronco (and maybe Jeep? New York?) groups, have a rendezvous and maybe a good pub decided upon afterwards.
Meanwhile, look into the Ma Bell Trail. I found it very doable, first off-road effort in 57 years (actual truth, there), solo, no spotter 4DR Badlands/Sasq. (But there are some much more difficult portions for the more ambitious.) DM me if you go there.
If you're serious about off-roading, you'll need recovery gear: kinetic rope, static towline, soft shackles, traction boards, first aid kit, survival gear, metric tool roll...this gets pretty expensive.

Count me in for any New England trip.

I’ve read about Ma Bell and would be totally up for doing that run. I think I saw it on onX when I was poking around the region. I’m less than 3 hours from North Adams. And my wife went to Smith so she’s always up for a trip down there. I could make that trip work easily.

And I’d be up for a trip to Armorditch as well. I know nothing about it aside from what I read from their website.

My schedule is flexible for the next couple of weeks but if that’s too ambitious to plan something that quickly, putting some work into organizing a group for the spring is a fine idea as well. Or doing both.

Armorditch is all set up and ready for a group to go out there so it’s probably the easier option for a last minute adventure. It looks fun!

And I have recovery rope, soft shackles, toolkit, first aid kit, and survival gear. And a pretty cool fridge/freezer/ice maker for meals on the trail.

I still need to get recovery boards. And a winch, eventually, but I don’t love most of the options I’ve seen so haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

@bkirchhoff

@bkirchhoff MA Bell is fun but short. Armor Ditch is pretty fun.. been there about a dozen times. It's behind Harley Jacks Burgers and Brews. I would suggest spending the day there. Lot's of good trails and obstacles. They even have a Sword in the Stone... see if you can find it.. it's near "Down the rabbit hole". You can purchase a day pass from the Armor Ditch website. One last thing. The owner of the park, Tim Carnes, has a number of recovery vehicles. So if you get stuck he will come out and tow you out.

I'm not big on driving Ma Bell again. I've done it three times, and as I said, it was my first off-road effort since my Sonora Desert job in 1965 (in IH Scouts!). But I'd join people who want to, ride shotgun, help with spotting, hit a pub afterwards. Now a trip to Armorditch? Sure, I'm in. Set up a date. I'm retired, so I can probably accommodate anything.

My only off-road experience is the Bronco Off-Roadeo that I attended in Tennessee just over a week ago.
I do not have any recovery gear, but I'm preparing my list for next month's "Dear Santa" letter.
I'd be interested in the Ma Bell Trail, or any similar "novice/beginner" trails where recovery gear is not a critical necessity.
I just retired and my availability is open until Thanksgiving.

@GreenBadlands

We could see how many people would be interested in Armorditch for next weekend and then maybe plan a Ma Bell run in the spring.

I looked over past 6G Forum events up here in New England and it looks like a group did Armorditch in 2023 and groups did Ma Bell in ‘23 and ‘24. Doesn’t look like anyone organized any trail rides in ‘25 through this New England section of the forum. It would be nice to see this section of the forum become more active and planning rides and events like this seems like a good move in that direction.

I could also post on the Reddit Bronco groups to see if anyone else up here would be interested in heading over next week. Maybe try for next Saturday, November 8?

I have a fair amount of off road experience but I’m by no means expert level. I feel like the Armorditch option will be better for a novice group as it looked like there were various levels of difficultly we could choose from. With Ma Bell, it’s a 6 rating and I’m not sure how many escape route options it affords. (Edit: Old Florida Rd was the 6 and Ma Bell is much easier than that it seems. I had that wrong. But same idea applies.)

edit to add: looks like me, @GreenBadlands, @Sparkie, @SeptuagenarianSasquatch and @Nibroc99 have engaged with this conversation in some way. Let’s start with how many of us can make next Saturday work and I’ll see if others from Reddit might be interested.

I’m all for Armorditch.

@GreenBadlands

@GreenBadlands good choice.

Just went to their website and I no longer see day pass options for sale — just the year membership and special events. I sent them an email asking if it would be possible for a group of us to get day passes for next Saturday and will report back when they reply.

edit: they responded right away and said I could call tomorrow to book a group day. I’ll give them a call and get details from them on cost and how firm of a headcount we would need. Looks like they are having a Halloween themed Jeep event tonight.

@Sparkie

I'm 50-50 on ArmorDitch Nov. 8. Talk me into it! I was on that group run last year. Their maps and signage (and hence their difficulty ratings) leave much to be desired. If it weren't for the cold, I'd love to try "Double Dog Dare," a deep water/mud obstacle. I tried it then, 4Low/Mud-Ruts/both lockers and got stuck. Fortunately, I could back out of it. OTOH, I just mounted KO2s, which are supposed to be good for mud. Hmmmm.....

If anybody has connections with Jeep groups, why not include them? The point is: to have fun!

Not having done Old Florida, I have the understanding that it is very tough. There's one obstacle that's about 3-4 feet and for many requires a winch. I have done Ma Bell three times, solo on Sasquatch 4DR, no winching needed. I wouldn't say there are "workarounds," rather it is rather wide in many places giving you an array of lines to work.

Check videos. Plenty on both. Note: local towns (Ma Bell especially) and land owners/abutters are very concerned about trash, truck parts falling off, and especially people creating workarounds off the trails (Old Florida especially). Stay on the trails, leave nothing behind.

@Sparkie Where are you in Mass? I'm in Boston. Meet up for coffee or something?

Maybe plan on Old Florida in the spring, say, April? Consider: 1) there should be lots of mud (for me--great!) and 2) Spring run-off on New England trails removes lots of smaller fill around rocks, rearranging and augmenting their difficulty. That's what makes New England off-roading very um...distinctive.

@SeptuagenarianSasquatch

@SeptuagenarianSasquatch
The mud in Tennessee behaved more like grease on those rocks. With the Bronco Off-Roadeo automatic transmissions, it took me some extra time to find the right bite for the tires and throttle. I'm still not confident about how to use a Bronco in the mud.

@bkirchhoff

Good morning.
@bkirchhoff I am interested in the easier trails at ArmorDitch. However, my wife is making plans to go to Burlington, Vermont on the 8th of Nov (next Saturday). Her plans are not yet confirmed. I will know better about my availability in the next 2 days.
@SeptuagenarianSasquatch , I live about 30 miles northwest of Boston, in Chelmsford. We could meet for coffee somewhere in between. Depending on where you live, either Woburn or Lexington might be the "half-way towns".

@SeptuagenarianSasquatch

So I had a great note written up last night, convincing @SeptuagenarianSasquatch to move to a YES from his 50/50, and I hit the wrong button when I tried to post it and deleted the whole thing. Suffice to say, I was super convincing, so just trust me on that. ;-)

I just called Armor Ditch and Chris, one of the co-owners, is super nice and accommodating. We can do a day ride for $40 per person and we can just Venmo them. No minimum number of people needed and we can just let him know in advance how many we expect or we can take care of it when we get there. They are open 24 hours a day too, so it doesn't matter when we get there or how late we stay. The restaurant opens at 11 (not sure what time it closes).

He works with NE Bronco Nation and has had various other Bronco groups come out there over the past several years. And if we organize a group of our own through the forum, he will also cut us a deal on yearly memberships ($169 instead of $249) with some other incentives thrown in to encourage others to join as well.

So I'm 100% in for next Saturday and would love to get anyone else who can make it to join up. I would also love to start planning regular trail days with other Bronco drivers out there for next year. Something like a "second Saturday of each month" or something like that so people could plan on it and make it when they can. But that's getting ahead of myself a bit. For now, let's try to get some people together for this Saturday and check the place out!

@bkirchhoff

@bkirchhoff yes.. I am one of the leaders at NE Bronco Nation (NEBN) .. I work directly with Chris to host an annual Bronco Takeover at armor ditch. usually in late August. I will make sure to post the event here so you call can join in next year. We also partner with New England Bronco and do a partnership event with them at 508 International in Charlton MA. Those trails are much easier, tighter, and not as diverse as Armor Ditch. Armor Ditch gives you more variety.

Give us a following on FB and IG. @northeast_bronco_nation and my personal account is @FerrousBronco.

If you all are looking for some easy trails with some small climbs, streams, and mud.. you can give Pulaski Sate Park a try . It's stock friendly. It's in RI - in the corner of CT/RI/MA. It's part of the Baker trail system. You also don't need a MA OHV license.

@decummins

@decummins This is great information! Chris mentioned that he works with you. I found the website for NE Bronco Nation and signed up for updates yesterday — just followed you on IG as well. I’m happy to be finding local groups and other resources. I didn’t realize NEBN was active; I had previously seen the subgroup on the main Bronco Nation page and signed up there, but that page doesn’t have much information. The other page you guys host is much more helpful and I’d love to take part in the events you are planning for next year.

And thanks for the tip on Pulaski State Park! That sounds like a great place to check out as well.

@bkirchhoff

@bkirchhoff TheBroncoNation is not affiliated with NEBN. Our main membership is managed through FB where we can screen membership. We also have an IG page and will be launching the website soon. We have ~3.5k members today - representing the largest of the private Northeast bronco enthusiasts groups. We do have a presence in The Bronco Nation - which offers another avenue for us to reach members in the northeast.. but this site does not give us the controls to operate the community.. which is why our primary operating strategy for the community is through FB.

As for Pulaski. If you join our FB group you can sign up for the NEBN trail ride at Pulaski on Nov 23rd. It's being led by one of our members. I will be there. The event can be found under the "Events" section of our FB. This is where we post all of our club rides. The event is called "Sunday in the Park Trail Ride".

Good afternoon, I am also interested in an easier trail at armorditch as well. I don’t have a winch so would need some recovery help if I’m going to try more difficult trails. As for Nov 8th, I just found out that I have plans (the wife) with family.

I also found this for on the Tri State Broncos website for a run on 11/16/25.

https://www.tristatebroncos.com/

I will be able to attend this event as I’m two hours from this location. Wanted to let everyone here know in case they wanted to join.

I’m am also down for a group run in the spring as well. I know the holidays are coming up making in a little more difficult for getting together.

Thank you.

@GreenBadlands

@GreenBadlands I have a work trip from 11/13 - 11/22, so this upcoming weekend is my last available window for a bit. But that event does sound like a blast and I would be game for that if I weren't traveling.

Okay, I'm up for ArmorDitch Saturday Nov. 8.

@decummins

How many will make ArmorDitch Nov. 8? So far, it's just GreenBadlands? Maybe this was just too short notice? @decummins, more info on Polaski, please? Where, when, nature of trails? Thanks!

@decummins

@decummins Thank you.
It sounds like fun and I wish I could be there but I will be marching in a holiday parade up here in Massachusetts this Sunday.
Thanks for the update and have fun on the trails.

@decummins

@decummins

@decummins

@decummins Where was this trail?

@bkirchhoff

@bkirchhoff and @SeptuagenarianSasquatch , please COUNT ME IN for ArmorDitch this Saturday, 08-Nov-2025.
My apologies for the late reply, but I was waiting to hear results from my wife's plans -- which fell apart.

Does that make 3 of us so far, or have I missed a message?

@Sparkie

@Sparkie and @SeptuagenarianSasquatch - I think that makes 3 of us so far. Would still welcome others to join but am happy to go with a small group as well.

What time should we plan to meet up there? I’m flexible.

@bkirchhoff

@bkirchhoff I think you might have the longest drive. From my house, Armor Ditch is about a 2 hour drive. So, let us know what works best for you.

@bkirchhoff

@bkirchhoff - apologies I won’t be able to make it this weekend. My wife’s plans did not fall through. Next weekend I will be attending the event from Tri State Broncos. Please keep me posted about how armorditch was. Definitely looking forward to the spring for more runs.

We have 3 of us in for tomorrow and we have folks interested in future rides, so I’ll call this a win for a short notice trail day!

If anyone else wants to meet up with us, we will be at Armor Ditch at 10 am Saturday (Nov 8).

Enjoy everyone. Looking forward to future trail days!!

New England Broncos

GreenBadlands

New England Broncos

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