I have put together a guide for things to do in Texas (and Oklahoma) if you are looking for a light off-road/softroad adventure. As with any trip you should do your research, map out the area, be overly prepared, and if possible bring a friend along to join in on the adventure and for the extra piece of mind in case you need a recovery vehicle.
They will be in no particular order. I’ll warn you ahead of time that some of these trip reports are long so you may want to wait until you are situated somewhere before going through them.
Texas Hill Country
In 2017, the Soft Roaders and Houston Overland took a tour of a couple of Texas breweries along with the scenic roads of the Texas Hill Country
In 2016 we toured the wineries in the area:
In the above link you will find maps for our Saturday and Sunday routes through the Texas Hill Country. I will advise that the Sunday morning route is not recommended and that Fly Gap Winery is not open to the public. Please omit those two sections from your route if you plan on visiting. The full Saturday route is a must do and the Sunday afternoon route is just as scenic.
If you wonder if I took my old Subaru across the James River the trip report is here:
Big Bend National Park
Big bend is the hidden gem in the Southwest corner of Texas. Miles away from civilization, breathtaking landscapes, with enough resources down there to keep you going for a week or two. Big Bend Ranch is west of the national park and is a place that I would like to visit in the future. Don’t be like me and at least spend a couple of days out there.
Texas Beaches
PINS has 60 miles of navigable beach. If you drive far enough you’ll no longer see any people other than the ones traveling up and down the beach. For both beaches research the tide reports before going in. The conditions for both beaches change daily.
Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area
BMRA is located in the wooded areas of East Texas and sits on a plateau. It’s a bit of a drive for our DFW crew, but it is four times the size of our local OHV park. Study the trail maps carefully, and if it has rained recently level 1 trails become level 2.
Northwest OHV Park
Bridgeport, TX is home to our local OHV park, stomping ground, and testing area. We do quite a few meetups here throughout the year. The trail conditions have been getting worse but there is a promise of trail maintenance in addition to a new mountain bike area later this year. If you are in the park and see standing water, drive around it. If you bring your softroader, stay north of the powerlines. There are enough trails for at least 3-4 hours of exploration, and if you do get stuck there are usually other people around to help out.
Sundog Trails (Oklahoma)
Sundog Trails is situated about 2 hours north of the DFW Metroplex. The trails are easy and the risk of vehicle damage is very low unless you fall off the sides of the optional obstacle course in the Northeast corner of the property. Just like Bridgeport I would suggest not going into water puddles unless you know how deep the bottom is. We chose this location for our 2015 Summer meet and I recently visited there this year because they are open on weekdays.
This is in no way the definitive guide for Texas softroading, only the adventures I’ve been on personally. There are still a few places I would like to explore such as Hidden Falls Adventure park, beaches near Galveston, and the Cheeseburger Loop (Houston Overland). I will be adding links to this guide each time we go on a new adventure. Maybe by the end of 2017 there will be a few more trips to read about.
If you’re on Facebook and would like to join us on our trips or just to follow us on our adventures, here’s our page:
https://facebook.com/softroaders.us/
Thanks for reading and if you plan on going on any of these trips or would like to comment on them please leave some feedback!