8/23/2025 Prentice Cooper Wildlife Managment area.

[Rspayde]

The weather forecasts/predictions lately have been awful, we cancel our weekend outdoor plans based on the rain forecast and then no rain shows up and it's hot AF...

It has supposed to rain all week here and it hasn't. Now they're saying all day Friday and Saturday in Huntsville... I posted the event in the Georgia FB group, that if it is actually raining when we get up, we're not going and will have to postpone it... We are also planning on going to the LRC ride next month though, assuming it doesn't rain either?

You'd be better of going to prentice in the rain over LRC in any amount of rain imo but yeah weather has been super unpredictable

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[Valhalla]

If it doesn't rain this Saturday, the wife and I are taking both our Broncos to it. Some people from the Georgia Bronco group may join us?

Did you all look to see what all is open?

 

[Valhalla]

It poured here today, we are under a flood warning. Be super careful on the creek!

 

[vrtical]

Unreal!

4 of us from Georgia ran some trails there yesterday! We need to do a better job of taking pics and video of us on obstacles.

A fun, but long day driving home to Atlanta. Buc'ees Car Wash refused to wash my Bronco had so much caked and baked on mud all over my rock rails! Ha ha! Found another car wash a couple miles away off the exit before Buc-ee's. They did a decent job getting most of it off. Guys actually said they had fun pre-treating it, as it looked like we had a good time; we did!

We need to do a fall one, I willl come down for the weekend.

 

[Valhalla]

Honestly, I'm to the point in my life that if the whole trail is wet/muddy, I will not go... If the bottom falls out while we're riding, we just keep riding. That's happened to use 3-4 times and it was a big learning curve as for example, the dry rock hill we jump went up and down on is now soaking wet... That happened to us in 2015 at Stony Lonesome here in Alabama, that was our first beautiful day start, turning into thunderstorms the rest of the day! We had windows & doors off that day too, LOL! I thought I had a pic of my Jeep from that day, but cannot find it...

And since my wife wanted her own Bronco to offroad, she has yet been riding offroad in the rain/mud and she definitely hasn't done any water crossings by herself!

When we went riding with Jeeps & Wrenches, from middle TN, I was the guinea pig going across the Sequatchie River in Jan 2016, after the bottom fell out the night before, the river was 2.5'-3' foot deep in spots and they sent me across, because I was the only Jeep with a snorkel!

When I got across, the water line, (clean paint vs dirty everywhere else), on my Jeep was halfway up my door! As soon as we took our time going across the river, this loud mouth moron in a JK said if he can do it, I can do it! He went full throttle across it and when he got to the other side, I told him he was a complete idiot! He was the one guy in the group that had to go out of his way to prove something.... I'm definitely not that kind of person!

2 weekends later, a few of us came back to Coppinger Cove and this same river crossing was a few inches deep!

And about LRC, since I've been there, I can definitely agree with you that after it's rained, it's probably not passable! We went in August 2024 and the river crossing might've been 8"-10" deep? I can only imagine how deep it would be after a bad storm, like the Sequatchie was above!

But back to Prentice, I didn't even know it had a water crossing/creek until yall mentioned it here? I will definitely wait till it's drier before the wife and I head to it... It's just had for both of us to get a weekend off together lately...

This crossing is not at all like the sequatchie. A lot of people have died being swept away there. This is a creek that may rise to around 2 feet at worst 3. All of Prentice is just beautiful. It is supposed to be nice Saturday. More rain in a few hours today though.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

If it doesn't rain this Saturday, the wife and I are taking both our Broncos to it. Some people from the Georgia Bronco group may join us?

Dang man. Well, it will rain tomorrow and after a month of World Cup, gotta do some husband stuff this weekend.

The Facebook crew were talking about Little River Canyon, but on my wife's birthday which is August 15, so I keep running up against obstacles (pun!).

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

We need to do a fall one, I willl come down for the weekend.

Count me in for a date in September or early October.

Last year's run was a blast and I told the boys that I may have to camp next time as it was a long, tired drive back down to Atlanta.

 

[Valhalla]

All right, sorry for any confusion. Haley Rd. has a creek crossing that is not bad in Prentice cooper. The overlook in most pictures is straight out tower road that is gravel till almost the Once you enter most roads to the left have some kind of river overlook. Most roads to the right are some kinds of woods ride. All loop back to tower road or dead end except for Haley Rd. which leads out on the Sequatchie side of the mountain.

The Sequatchie River which is not in Prentice Cooper But over near Coppinger cove is where many have died. If you do not know you need a permit to be in that area and they only let 20 Bronco style vehicles there per day. This is a bargain that was made to see if they would keep it open. They do patrol this area in 4x4s they are sheriffs.

I get if you are adamant to not go to Prentice Cooper. The weather tomorrow may be some of the best summer weather we get for it, however.

 

[Rspayde]

Count me in for a date in September or early October.

Last year's run was a blast and I told the boys that I may have to camp next time as it was a long, tired drive back down to Atlanta.

I canned my labor day plans so plans for travel until November for us.

Been meaning to checkout some new spots in Chattanooga as well so would more than like just make a weekend out of it myself.

 

[Valhalla]

Prentice is mostly forest roads with a few pleasant surprises mixed in. It is just a very pretty place. I am not trying to push you into going just there is nothing there a Bronco can't handle.

 

[615_Bronco]

Apparently November is iffy at Prentice, according to what someone said on the Georgia FB group. Said the best time to ride there is March-August, the rest of the year is a bunch of hunting/game events... I didn't know state parks did that?

https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife-ma...uBXgm6gUh_Jr_l77t7_aem_Qvqqh6sCZP-57U88Gd4t5Q

It’s a State Forest not park.
Per the site below it looks like December is when most of the side trails are closed.

https://www.tn.gov/agriculture/forests/state-forests/prentice-cooper.html

 

[Valhalla]

Apparently November is iffy at Prentice, according to what someone said on the Georgia FB group. Said the best time to ride there is March-August, the rest of the year is a bunch of hunting/game events... I didn't know state parks did that?

It is not a park, it is a wide life management area. It is there to encourage population, and to control it if it becomes too dense.

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