Anybody know of a good map of the ROADS in the SHNF?

[HiSPL]

My Daughter just moved to Huntsville for school. In October she was hit bu a hit and run driver who was probably drunk, but wasn't picked up on that night, so its impossible to tell. She is still traumatized about driving and probably will be for a while.

We bought her a 2008 Volvo XC70 (think Subaru Outback) which is AWD and does well for what it is, but it IS a car with AWD.

I thought about taking her out to the access roads to show her how and where to get off the roads and maybe get to know her car and car control skills a little better in a non traffic environment.

My biggest problem is finding a good map of the access roads out there and figuring out if her car would make it or not. I know those roads aren't really challenging to a jeep or truck, and I've done a fair bit of exploring in a 2wd SUV myself, but there are some ditch crossings and ledges sometimes that could be tricky for a car platform. Our biggest hurdle will be ground clearance. The AWD system in this car actually works great for snow, mud, loose stuff.

 

[HiSPL]

I'm basically looking for soft roads with "some" challenge.

 

[Rydah]

You could do the Cheesburger Loop.

2014 Cheeseburger Loop Version 1 - NW Houston / Montgomery

Cheeseburger Loop Version 1 - NW Houston / Montgomery I grabbed an old GPX from around 2008 from this forum. I tried to follow it a few weeks ago on my DRZ and found a few spots to be inaccessible now due to apparent private ownership. So I decided to use my track from that day's ride to...

www.twtex.com

 

[William Wolfen]

The roads in the national forest are almost entirely Prius friendly. Just watch for mud after a good rain.

 

[dukey33]

I was driving thru there on a rainy Saturday and came upon a a very rutted road that had a Chevy econobox stuck at the bottom of a small hill. It was abandoned and blocking the way. I had to reverse up a slippery incline before I could turn the car around. The ruts were deep enough to cause me concern even with AWD. The little Chevy was certainly high centered.

 

[HiSPL]

The roads in the national forest are almost entirely Prius friendly. Just watch for mud after a good rain.

Thats more or less what I remember, but on youtube some jeep clubs are showing some "trails" with ruts and ditch crossings. Maybe they got onto some of the OHV trails that they weren't supposed to, idk.

Frankly mud is one of the areas where these cars seem to excel. Even with street tires.

 

[HiSPL]

You could do the Cheesburger Loop.

2014 Cheeseburger Loop Version 1 - NW Houston / Montgomery

Cheeseburger Loop Version 1 - NW Houston / Montgomery I grabbed an old GPX from around 2008 from this forum. I tried to follow it a few weeks ago on my DRZ and found a few spots to be inaccessible now due to apparent private ownership. So I decided to use my track from that day's ride to...

www.twtex.com

We may do this too, but I wouldn't consider anything on the loop challenging for a car.

 

[William Wolfen]

Conditions always vary, but the actual FSRs are typically passable unless overly wet. I suppose you could see ruts if someone got down it in a big 4wd pickup when it was wet and it hasn't been graded yet.

 

[Cagiva 549]

I’ve driven every road in the national forest that is open in a El Camino and some that wernt , wet or dirt pretty much . Haven’t been there in a few years but last time I was all but the main roads were gated .

 

[Tourmeister]

Very few of the actual FS roads are a problem even when wet, unless you head East and start getting into the red clay. Most roads have had repeated gravel dumps on them so they are pretty firm with a few exceptions. Even after a good rain, the next day they are usually not too bad unless they are literally flooded.

If you are just looking for gravel/dirt to play on, here ya go,

Gravel Road Maps and Biking Routes - Gravelmap

Gravelmap is a tool for finding and sharing local gravel roads for biking, gravel grinding, exploration and more.

gravelmap.com