Help! Tread Lightly! Four Wheel Drive Way BoH Trail FL

[KX L]

I'm leaving Friday to head up to the Ocala National Forest to take on the Tread Lightly! Four Wheel Drive Way Trail.

I just found out it's 81 Miles long!!! It looks like at worst it only goes to level 3 out of the 10 possible for BoH trails so I'm not worried about my fully weighed down JT Mojave handling it.

I've watched some YouTube videos but no one says how long it took them. Have any of you guys done the trail? Please answer the following:

1. When did you do it---month/year?

2. How long did it take you?

3. Do you end up back where you started?

4. Some of the trail is known for the paint striping you can get due to how close the bushes and trees are to the trail. Are the trails set up one way only? Are there cut outs for passing? On the videos there is just no way to pass and I can't imagine trying to back up.

5. Recommended nearby place to stay?

6. Additional comments/guidance?

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[Blade1668]

To many years ago for my experience with it. It was the first year of the "Rubicon" TJ.

 

[BeastGlad25]

I have always gone in with a hand battery chainsaw (Amazon) and trim down the scratchies . That part sucks . We usually spent the entire day and grilled on the trail. After rain it can be MUDDY and thick .

 

[40x40]

I'm leaving Friday to head up to the Ocala National Forest to take on the Tread Lightly! Four Wheel Drive Way Trail.

I just found out it's 81 Miles long!!! It looks like at worst it only goes to level 3 out of the 10 possible for BoH trails so I'm not worried about my fully weighed down JT Mojave handling it.

I've watched some YouTube videos but no one says how long it took them. Have any of you guys done the trail? Please answer the following:

1. When did you do it---month/year?

2. How long did it take you?

3. Do you end up back where you started?

4. Some of the trail is known for the paint striping you can get due to how close the bushes and trees are to the trail. Are the trails set up one way only? Are there cut outs for passing? On the videos there is just no way to pass and I can't imagine trying to back up.

5. Recommended nearby place to stay?

6. Additional comments/guidance?

you have probably expended more energy in worry and typing your post than what you will do on the trail. we did it twice 5 years ago, spring and fall, and it was not wet on those days. we spent 3-4 hours there on each visit. the hardest part of the rides was resigning myself to the fact that i was going to pin stripe the "livin be-jesus" out of my jeep. common sense dictates you DO NOT DRIVE in any water. it could be several feet, as in 5'-6', deep. great for SXS or swamp buggies not so much a late model gladiator. i did not experience it to be a one way, single lane, 81 mile continuous thread. the total length of all trails may be 81 miles. if memory serves correctly, being a national forest, the roads were on my jeep's oem navigation.
silver springs fl has many old time, original tourist attractions to visit. there are mom & pop motels there and of course the chain variety on I75. or head east and stay on the ocean in ormond beach. FYI, make a left turn off SR40 onto US1 north for 6-7 miles and end up in biker heaven. it is probably quiet this time of the year though. enjoy your time.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Quite easy and relaxing. Some good stretches to wind up that Mojave in the sand. You can choose how much striping you want, and I second a saw. I removed a fallen tree with a sawzall and my winch to avoid backing out of a section. Watch for these…

 

[Gvsukids]

Do you end up back where you started?

https://www.onxmaps.com/offroad/trails/us/florida/tread-lightly-four-wheel-drive-way

 

[KevinC]

I'm leaving Friday to head up to the Ocala National Forest to take on the Tread Lightly! Four Wheel Drive Way Trail.
To add to the already good comments.

1. When did you do it---month/year?
I done it during all seasons. Right now is the dry season and you should not find any water.

2. How long did it take you?
As it is 81 miles long, there are many places to exit the trail. As most of it is 2wd dirt road, you can traverse it pretty fast.

3. Do you end up back where you started?
No

4. Some of the trail is known for the paint striping you can get due to how close the bushes and trees are to the trail. Are the trails set up one way only? Are there cut outs for passing? On the videos there is just no way to pass and I can't imagine trying to back up.
One way trail with plenty of options to move over or conduct a multiple point u-turn. Parts of the trail are tight and the tree branches have no leaves to act as a buffer to your paint.

5. Recommended nearby place to stay?
I just go home when done. The closest town/s have limited lodging and/or places to eat. Salt Springs has a few places. Umatilla has one hotel and some good restaurants . Silver Springs may have the best options for lodging and food.

6. Additional comments/guidance?
Jeep Beach starts Friday. You probably know that. Expect any lodging in or around Daytona to be full. I would stay further west than east of the trail, ie: Silver Springs. Pack some food and water and enjoy the trail. Ocala has a diverse wildlife viewing opportunity. The black bear is often seen due to their habitat being over-developed by DR Horton.

 

[RealTruck]

I'm leaving Friday to head up to the Ocala National Forest to take on the Tread Lightly! Four Wheel Drive Way Trail.

I just found out it's 81 Miles long!!! It looks like at worst it only goes to level 3 out of the 10 possible for BoH trails so I'm not worried about my fully weighed down JT Mojave handling it.

I've watched some YouTube videos but no one says how long it took them. Have any of you guys done the trail? Please answer the following:

1. When did you do it---month/year?

2. How long did it take you?

3. Do you end up back where you started?

4. Some of the trail is known for the paint striping you can get due to how close the bushes and trees are to the trail. Are the trails set up one way only? Are there cut outs for passing? On the videos there is just no way to pass and I can't imagine trying to back up.

5. Recommended nearby place to stay?

6. Additional comments/guidance?

Funny you should mention this! RealTruck just co sponsored a trail cleanup for Tread lightly! as part of the onX Offroad Trail Revival, and we had about 40 of us from the company focused on the BoH trail in Ocala National Forest. We removed a bunch of trash and tires, and trimmed back about 8 miles worth of extreme overgrowth that was encroaching into the trail. I joked that they were going to have to take down the "free pin striping" sign. We'll be posting the story and pics on here soon, so be on the lookout!
We stayed at the Big Scrub Campground. It has restrooms and hot showers, if that interests you, but if you want something a little more primitive, Hopkins Prairie has camping spots, but their rest rooms are more like glorified porta-potties. Both camp grounds are "relatively" close to the BoH trail and can be paid for online or at the site with a QR code.
-Todd

 

[KX L]

All, Thank you so very much for your answers. I'm an idiot for not saying the pampered wife unit is with me. Silver Springs it is.

 

[Blade1668]

Quite easy and relaxing. Some good stretches to wind up that Mojave in the sand. You can choose how much striping you want, and I second a saw. I removed a fallen tree with a sawzall and my winch to avoid backing out of a section. Watch for these…

Most of them are friendly I've dragged more that a few off trails and roads to keep them from being ran over.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Most of them are friendly I've dragged more that a few off trails and roads to keep them from being ran over.

It was quite passive. I was moving pretty quickly and saw it a hair too late. I didn’t hit it, but stopped fast with it between the tires. I couldn’t get out until I confirmed out the window that it wasn’t going to be right under my foot. It wasn’t worried about me as I didn’t hassle it. Got a nice video of if slowly making its way into the brush.

 

[Blade1668]

It was quite passive. I was moving pretty quickly and saw it a hair too late. I didn’t hit it, but stopped fast with it between the tires. I couldn’t get out until I confirmed out the window that it wasn’t going to be right under my foot. It wasn’t worried about me as I didn’t hassle it. Got a nice video of if slowly making its way into the brush.

A 7 or so ft Eastern helped my reputation at Ft Stewart in 98 in the unit I was in. I was more pissed off about having to kill it due to situation. But damn sure made them know I wasn't someone to screw around with. I wasn't as happy with it when we got to Kuwait a few weeks later then having to deal with a few cobras and sand vipers during that deployment. In one case, I picked up a soldier who happened to be put in a position on a nest of sand vipers probably the only thing that saved his life was we were in MOPP 4 doing training and they couldn't bite though the NBC suit. The other point was he couldn't see them or feel them due to having all layers on. A major WTF conversation happened afterwards with me and "few higher ranks" in a not so nice or tactful manner. Being one of the few combat vets in the unit helped along with combat not far from where we were then.

 

[WILDHOBO]

A 7 or so ft Eastern helped my reputation at Ft Stewart in 98 in the unit I was in. I was more pissed off about having to kill it due to situation. But damn sure made them know I wasn't someone to screw around with. I wasn't as happy with it when we got to Kuwait a few weeks later then having to deal with a few cobras and sand vipers during that deployment. In one case, I picked up a soldier who happened to be put in a position on a nest of sand vipers probably the only thing that saved his life was we were in MOPP 4 doing training and they couldn't bite though the NBC suit. The other point was he couldn't see them or feel them due to having all layers on. A major WTF conversation happened afterwards with me and "few higher ranks" in a not so nice or tactful manner. Being one of the few combat vets in the unit helped along with combat not far from where we were then.

Holy damn. That would be a thing.

 

[Blade1668]

Holy damn. That would be a thing.

On more than a few occasions I've had someone who was in a unit I was in recognize me or my voice and come up to me from years earlier. The reminiscing about something I had done or like. One of my buddies I came across a post on a forum probably 14 years ago. I sent him a pm he recognize me by my forum name last time I seen him was in 1990 then the handle was a nickname I got several years before that. His response back was a picture of me in 1990 in W. Germany. Back then he was "one of them" dumbass PVT's that are always doing dumbass s###.

 

[RealTruck]

It was quite passive. I was moving pretty quickly and saw it a hair too late. I didn’t hit it, but stopped fast with it between the tires. I couldn’t get out until I confirmed out the window that it wasn’t going to be right under my foot. It wasn’t worried about me as I didn’t hassle it. Got a nice video of if slowly making its way into the brush.

I've run across my share of wildlife in ONF. I found this footprint when I was out with my buddy's Gladiator a while back. The angle of the camera doesn't doo the size of the print justice.
-Todd

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