How do you guys scout trails to use?

[CoolDave]

So I've done some Googling already, I'm new to the whole off-road thing.. What services, apps or resources are you guys using to find trails?

I see a lot of paid apps and a lot that have features I don't necessarily need at this point. Basically I'm hoping there's a good free way to find just some basic dirt trails to take the kids down, I don't need to be rock crawling, using a spotter or getting stuck anywhere, just something that's a step above tooling around our property or farm to market roads.

We're just a little east of Dallas but we also enjoy making trips to west Arkansas so anything in that area would be good too.

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[PWillette]

Short of the pay for apps & such try reaching out to any wheeling clubs in the areas you may visit.

 

[Brian_B]

OnX is what I finally settled on. There are many though

 

[Rumbloki]

Keep in mind, if you jump off the road onto a "trail" in Texas, you will be trespassing. There are no public lands in TX. It's best to go with a group to places like https://www.hiddenfallsadventurepark.com/

 

[Ironiguana]

So I've done some Googling already, I'm new to the whole off-road thing.. What services, apps or resources are you guys using to find trails?

I see a lot of paid apps and a lot that have features I don't necessarily need at this point. Basically I'm hoping there's a good free way to find just some basic dirt trails to take the kids down, I don't need to be rock crawling, using a spotter or getting stuck anywhere, just something that's a step above tooling around our property or farm to market roads.

We're just a little east of Dallas but we also enjoy making trips to west Arkansas so anything in that area would be good too.

OnX and local clubs.

The closest Off-road Park to Dallas is in Bridgeport.

https://www.cityofbridgeport.net/322/Northwest-OHV-Park

Here's a few great parks in Texas and Arkansas if you don't mind the drive:

• https://merusadventure.com/
• https://www.hiddenfallsadventurepark.com/
• https://hotspringsoffroadpark.com/

 

[Snacktime]

Youtube and my party years of wheeling a $2500 toyota pickup

 

[23OBX2.7]

ICE or EV dirt bikes you'll get a firm sense if trail will tear your rig up or not, or if it is worth it. Can cover a days worth of trail in 40 min max on dirt bike and get a work out.

 

[Mjasi3]

Trails off-road app. They actually have people go out and ride and write the trail and a lot of them are up-to-date within a week or two. And join a local Facebook group

 

[I_Fly]

I had been in the same dilemma. Not sure how to find locations, not quite ready to join a club. Also, not wanting to do heavy rock crawling, mudholes, or anything crazy. There are many public trails in my state. Just not close to my area.
There is a lot of information online. I have found good trail information on the state bronco club page. Not sure if TX has a club. Also, some of the general offroad club pages and posts on social media. I've also followed a Youtuber that is from my state. He does trail and trip overviews and provides locations etc. I had some success with this type of recon.
Eventually I ended up with a free trial of onx offroad (for a week). It's not quite like other nav apps but does have good trail information. Not only to find the trail but difficulty and trail condition information. It also shows property owner information. So, you know who to contact if you wanted to ask for permission. I recommend it. After the free trial I was offered a half off the first-year subscription. Worth the cost if you use it for a few outings.

 

[Way2Fast]

I subscribed to OnX. It has great descriptions of the road and the difficulty. It aslo allows users to post pictures and their opinions of the route

 

[HolidayDog]

A few times a year onX offers a 70% off sale. It’s $30 for a year. It’s very useful to find trails, see trail reports and also helps with navigation while on rides. The paid version allows you to download maps so you can see around you without cell coverage.

 

[beardymcstash]

like one of the other posters said, there is virtually no public land in texas... and bridgeport, while fun, feels like you are constantly bumping into folks and its probably not what you are hoping for.

highly recommend making a long weekend of things up in OK or AR. some good trails like what you'd be looking for with the family up in the beavers bend/broken bow area.

i have an onx sub. love it, but its a bit on the higher side and probably overkill for what you need. recommend looking for deals and check your ford connect app thingy cause i just got a notice the other day for a years worth of the free onx elite.

for example, here are all the trails (and almost all are easy) immediately around the broken bow/hochatown area

 

[KT_bronco]

There is free data from park services that you can mess about with https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/maps but convenient data is usually for pay as others have mentioned, pick your poison.

One other way to find trails is to read peoples trip reports on this forum in your area. Plenty of people post about the adventures they've been on in your state. If not search other off-road forums, plenty of posts will crop up.

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