So you would like to learn more about the offroad trails available in North Carolina; well, you have come to the right place.  Where2Wheel can help you find Jeep trails, truck/SUV trails, fourwheeling trails, OHV trails, and all other offroad trails for 4WD vehicles.

North Carolina is a great place for 4x4 offroad trails; NC offers a great variety of terrain with sandy beaches in the east and green forested mountains in the west.  Fortunately for us offroading enthusiasts, in NC we have the privilege to wheel on both the beaches and in the mountains!

Starting in the East of North Carolina, there are two beaches that NC allows vehicles to drive on.  The first and most preferred is Carova Beach.  Carova is located in the most Northeast corner of North Carolina, and public beach access is granted to all 4x4 vehicles. The beach is beautiful with soft white sand and the ocean is a great during the summer months. The beach itself is 11 miles long, and there are countless more miles of trails behind (west of) the beach. Some of the trails can be challenging as they are often flooded with deep water. On the back trails (or occasionally on the beach) you can find wild horses that live in this area.  It's quite the site to see when a group wild of horses cross your path; the horses are used to humans being around, but make sure to keep your distance - it's the law no person gets closer than 50ft to the wild horses, and there is law enforcement around to ensure this rule is adhered to.  Also, if you are going to hit the beach it's important to remember that the speed limit on the beach is 15 mph and it is enforced.  Carova beach has enough sandy trails and sights to see that it is worth spending the day here Jeepin' on the beach!  The other beach that you can drive on in NC is Cape Lookout.  Cape Lookout is north of Wilmington near Morehead City, and this beach is a bit more secluded than Carova.  In fact, Cape Lookout is only accessible by ferry and all drivers must obtain a free ORV Education Certificate and corresponding decal before being able to hit this beach.  More details on Cape Lookout are available here, but my recommendation is to visit Carova Beach for a day of sand, sun, and 4WD.

Moving towards the center of North Carolina, we find an offroad jewel of the MidAtlatic - Uwharrie National Forest has become a place of 4x4 pilgrimage for MidAtlantic and East Coast offroaders.  I can't touch on all the trails available in Uwharrie so you will need to check out Where2Wheel and our Trails Map for that (it's free), but I can tell you that Uwharrie has trails for every vehicle type and every skill level.  Worth mentioning is the Badin Lake OHV Area; Badin Lake is open from April 1st to December 15th of every year, and it has 6 trailheads with 16 miles of trails.  The trails range from beginner & stock vehicle stuff to the "you better have full rock protection, lockers, and big rubber" to hit this trail.  If you are hitting Badin Lake for your first time, it is recommended that you start with Dutch John Trail or Falls Dam Trail (both can be found on the W2W map).  I can't emphasize this enough, if you live in North Carolina and you are an offroading enthusiast then you need to visit Uwharrie; it's a fantastic offroad resource that is unique to NC.

Last, but not least, on the Western side of NC you will find an abundance of 4x4 offroad trails to ride.  You can see them all on the W2W map; I assure you there are plenty of trails in Western NC and I will put a screenshot below to show you what you are missing out on by not checking out the W2W map.  Okay, so you would like me to talk about one specifically?  How about Jocassee Gorges in Lake Toxaway, NC.  Jocassee Gorges is a trail that is growing in popularity and is mid level in difficulty.  The trail is located in Gorges State Park and has some spots that can be challenging, but nothing that should discourage vehicles with a small lift and 31s or larger rubber.  Also, the trail has some great scenic photo opportunities where you can capture the natural beauty that surrounds this area of North Carolina.

*Shameless Plug to Help Support W2W: Don't forget your Recovery Gear! Wherever you are wheeling, you should always be prepared for getting stuck! I've handpicked these items for their great value and dependable quality.

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Thanks for reading about the offroad trails that NC has to offer.  Please sign up for and then explore Where2Wheel for yourself.  We have way more trails listed on our map than I have time to write about.  See you on W2W!

If you are looking for offroad trails in South Carolina, well look no further because Where2Wheel is here to help you find 4x4, Jeep, truck, and OHV offroad trails.

South Carolina isn't quite as abundant with offroad trails as it's brother to the North, but if you know where to look there are enough spots to kick it into 4WD in SC until you can find time to travel up to the offroad trails of North Carolina.

Alright, so you are set on hitting the 4x4 trails in South Carolina.  It looks like you are heading to Gulches ORV Park in Northwest SC (Laurens County).  Gulches is a family friendly park with trails for every skill level.  They have almost 50 trails at Gulches, so there is enough terrain to fill the whole weekend; the park is usually muddy with a decent amount of elevation changes throughout the forested trails.  Gulches is one of the more affordable ORV parks too with a day pass only costing $25.  They even have camping available.  For more info, check out Gulches' website.

I do realize that Gulches is a bit of a hike for those of you living near the coast, which is why I will mention that we do have some trails listed near Charleston on the Where2Wheel Trails Map.  It's free to get on W2W and take a look for yourself; matter of fact I will drop a screenshot of the W2W map at the bottom of this blog so that you can see if any of the trail pins on W2W are near your area of the map.  Remember, new offroad trails are being added to Where2Wheel all the time, so while this snapshot won't update, it is worth getting on W2W to see if anyone has added new offroad trails for South Carolina.

*Shameless Plug to Help Support W2W: Don't forget your Recovery Gear! Wherever you are wheeling, you should always be prepared for getting stuck! I've handpicked these items for their great value and dependable quality.

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Lastly, if you are in SC and you are looking for offroad trails, I suggest that you check out our blog post on offroad trails in North Carolina.  NC has a ton of great trails and is right next door to SC!

Thanks for reading this short briefing on 4x4 offroad trails in SC.  See you on Where2Wheel where you can search for offroad trails and find wheeling buddies near you!

Let's talk about 4x4 offroad trails in Virginia

This article specifically covers Jeep trails, truck trails, SUV trails, and all other highway vehicle four wheeling trails in VA.

Virginia certainly isn't the mecca of offroading, but that doesn't mean that VA doesn't have its fair share of 4x4 trails where you can get your tires dirty and have some fun with your Jeep, truck, or whatever 4WD that you choose to have some fun with.  I will provide a base overview of the terrain types that you can find in Virginia and then I will move from East to West mentioning any major 4x4 offroad trails that standout in VA.

East to West you will find: Starting at the Atlantic Coastline with sand/beach, then a quick transition to mud/swamp, then progressing into wooded/forest trails, and as you move into the western half of the state you move into the Appalachian Mountains where the trails are typically forested trails sprinkled with mild to moderate rock crawling sections. That's Virginia 4x4 off-road terrain in a nutshell.

Notable 4x4 offroad trails in VA from East to West include:

Carova beach isn't technically in Virginia, but it is a favorite among VA four wheeling enthusiasts.  Carova Beach is 11 miles of public beach to drive along plus countless more miles sandy trails that stem off of the main beach.  Be careful on these trails tho as they tend to be partially flooded most of the year and some of the water crossings can get deep enough to swallow a 37 inch tall tire.  You can find more info about Carova Beach on the Where2Wheel Trails Map - it's a great place for the beginner offroader.  The only downside is that even tho Carova Beach is spitting distance from Virginia Beach, the drive is about 2.5 hours to Carova because beach access can only be had from south of the VA/NC border.

Moving westward, just off the beach you will find Hampton Roads; the surfers in this coastal metropolitan are have a saying, "VA has no waves", and that mantra pretty much rings true for the 4x4 community and its offroading trails in Hampton Roads.  There is one gem in the area for offroading and that is Starr Motors Jeep dealership.  Starr Motors (aka Starr Motors Offroad Outfitters) has a small offroad course behind their Jeep dealership; the course has several hill climbs, rock gardens, and mud pits and is a blast to visit when open.  Check out the VB 4x4 group or events calendar on Where2Wheel.com to find out when Starr Motors will be open next - they open the park with varying frequency, usually at least once every other month.

Middle Virginia, around Richmond area, used to have a handful off offroading options; however, the options have become fewer and fewer in recent years.  Crozet, VA outside Charlottesville, VA used to be a hub for rockcrawling, and RedCloud Offroad Park was a favorite in the Richmond area, but sadly neither of these options are open for wheeling anymore.  If in the middle part of VA you can still check out Shoe Creek trail, but even that trail seems to be threatened by closure issues.

Moving up to Northern Virginia is the fantastic Big Dogs Offroad in Gore, VA.  Big Dogs Offroad is Virginia's largest offroad park and is open about a dozen times a year.  More info on Big Dogs Offroad here.

Westward towards Roanoke, VA you will find many trails inside the George Washington National Forest and Jefferson National Forest, the most notable and most extreme being Potts Mountain Jeep Trail.  Potts Mountain is a challenging trail that takes you up a mountain and along the trail you will be forced to navigate rock gardens, rock ledges/shelfs, and even some mud pits - don't go alone and make sure you have a capable vehicle.   The western part of Virginia by far has the most 4x4 offroad trails that VA has to offer, and is well worth the drive to visit out that part out the state.  The trails in the national forests are usually dirt fire roads that hunters use to access the forest during hunting season, but they are open for public access and are a great place for amateur enthusiasts; these trails include stream crossings and the occasional mud put, but make sure to stay the trail as going off trail is a ticketable offense.

For more 4x4 offroad trail information simply signup for free to Where2Wheel.com or login to W2W to check out the Where2Wheel Trails Map.

*Shameless Plug to Help Support W2W: Don't forget your Recovery Gear! Wherever you are wheeling, you should always be prepared for getting stuck! I've handpicked these items for their great value and dependable quality.

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