The Trails of Gulches Waterloo SC

[Sempe-Fi Rubicon]

Checking in to see if any of y'all have taken a Gladiator there. Looking to pick up my second badge of honor trail. I've seena couple Youtube videos of the green and blue trails there and it looks really fun. Looking for some trail selection tips from the seasoned Vets out there. Also If anyone who would like to meet up out there that would be fantastic. Looking at the last weekend of this month or the first or second weekend in August, It would nice to have an experienced member who know the area to volunteer as a guide lol.

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[cranbiz]

Been to Gulches many times. It's a nice little park and does have many Gladiator friendly trails. Trails 1, 2, 17, 13 are the main trails. It's been a while since I have been there but 14, 26, 5 and 6 are not all that hard. You can do Heartbreaker for most of it and bail out onto 1 before the extreme part.

You should be able to join a group there. I would stay away from things like Shipwreck, Rocker Knocker, Sidewinder, Cupcake, Death Valley and Radical Ravine. Twister should be doable and trail 56. Don't even consider Papa Gulch.

Unfortunately my schedule doesn't have Gulches planned anytime soon.

 

[Sempe-Fi Rubicon]

Been to Gulches many times. It's a nice little park and does have many Gladiator friendly trails. Trails 1, 2, 17, 13 are the main trails. It's been a while since I have been there but 14, 26, 5 and 6 are not all that hard. You can do Heartbreaker for most of it and bail out onto 1 before the extreme part.

You should be able to join a group there. I would stay away from things like Shipwreck, Rocker Knocker, Sidewinder, Cupcake, Death Valley and Radical Ravine. Twister should be doable and trail 56. Don't even consider Papa Gulch.

Unfortunately my schedule doesn't have Gulches planned anytime soon.

Thank you so much, I appreciate your insight.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Looking to do this the first week of November! Will be in north and south Carolina that week so I'm trying to decide between Gulches and Uwharrie. Would really like to hit em both but I'm not sure the "boss" will put up with two parks in a week LOL

 

[cranbiz]

Looking to do this the first week of November! Will be in north and south Carolina that week so I'm trying to decide between Gulches and Uwharrie. Would really like to hit em both but I'm not sure the "boss" will put up with two parks in a week LOL

Both can easily be done in a day. Gulches has more trails packed into it's space while Uwharrie's trails are longer and it's beautiful.

The main issue with The Gulches is weather. If rain is forecast, they will close the park so you do have to watch the weather. If you are camping, Uwharrie might be a better choice as you have both a campground with hookups (fee required) or primitive camping (free) available. Gulches has limited camping with hookups but some primitive camping available on the river.

Too bad your trip isn't over Veteran's day. We have an event at Uwharrie that weekend.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

I saw that! it would have been a cool event to attend. Thanks for the info on rain. Gulches fits my itinerary a lot better but maybe I can convince my other half to hit uwharrie as well

 

[CarolinaGladiator]

You would be hard pressed to hit both Uwharrie and Gulches in the same day unless you only plan on running the badge trail at Uwharrie. It's about 2.5 to 3 hours between the two depending on traffic. The trail time at Uwharrie is also dependent on (trail) traffic. Dickey Bell can get VERY busy around the rock garden and with traffic going both ways the time to run the trails system to and from plus the trail itself can be quite a lot.

 

[cranbiz]

You would be hard pressed to hit both Uwharrie and Gulches in the same day unless you only plan on running the badge trail at Uwharrie. It's about 2.5 to 3 hours between the two depending on traffic. The trail time at Uwharrie is also dependent on (trail) traffic. Dickey Bell can get VERY busy around the rock garden and with traffic going both ways the time to run the trails system to and from plus the trail itself can be quite a lot.

Agreed. If you were to devote the entire weekend to wheeling, it's much more possible to do both. To do both in one day is nuts.

 

[tysongladiator]

Gulches depends on the weather. If it's wet, it's gonna be rough. If it's dry, it's more fun. I've been there a few times. The first time I went in my JT was a few years ago. Did one of the harder trails like Shipwreck in my Overland. No lockers. Wasn't easy, but I learned.

There's always folks out there to roll with. I'm still in an offroad group from SC and there are members from that group that go out there all the time. On good weekends, it stays busy.

Check the weather first though. That's the fun factor. Haha!

 

[Sempe-Fi Rubicon]

Gulches depends on the weather. If it's wet, it's gonna be rough. If it's dry, it's more fun. I've been there a few times. The first time I went in my JT was a few years ago. Did one of the harder trails like Shipwreck in my Overland. No lockers. Wasn't easy, but I learned.

There's always folks out there to roll with. I'm still in an offroad group from SC and there are members from that group that go out there all the time. On good weekends, it stays busy.

Check the weather first though. That's the fun factor. Haha!

Thanks for the info and I do enjoy you videos.

 

[tysongladiator]

Thanks for the info and I do enjoy you videos.

I appreciate that! Stay safe out there and have fun!

And from a soldier to a Marine: Thank you for your service! One family, one love!???

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