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GSL Ranch. check this place out.

After a heavy rain, how long does it take GSL to be dry enough for intermediate riders that don't like getting covered in mud,...asking for a friend... ;-)
 
We haven't forgotten about yall... money is tight and machines keep breaking down and the inconvenience of rain during this project... we are working every day to get this road built and all the legal stuff finished... hopefully soon I'll have a new adress to spread for you guys. Keep the patience and get them machines ready to run because we are for sure going to make some noise out here agin but I just dont have a date to post yet but it will be shared here first.
 
We haven't forgotten about yall... money is tight and machines keep breaking down and the inconvenience of rain during this project... we are working every day to get this road built and all the legal stuff finished... hopefully soon I'll have a new adress to spread for you guys. Keep the patience and get them machines ready to run because we are for sure going to make some noise out here agin but I just dont have a date to post yet but it will be shared here first.
Love hearing this. Brought my boy here once when he was just learning to ride. Had a blast. Hope things clear up for y’all soon.
 
I’m going to be out there this weekend. Come say hello or grab a cup of coffee. I’ll be in a Rogue toy hauler or riding a CRF250RX
 
I’m going to be out there this weekend. Come say hello or grab a cup of coffee. I’ll be in a Rogue toy hauler or riding a CRF250RX
I second what @SpiritAtBay says. My son and I will be at a TORCS event, but I’m very much looking forward to going back with him and my 8 year old. Let us know if there are 8 year old friendly sections!
 
I second what @SpiritAtBay says. My son and I will be at a TORCS event, but I’m very much looking forward to going back with him and my 8 year old. Let us know if there are 8 year old friendly sections!
I remember an open grassy area with some very small hills-might be a good area for a youngun..if the grass isn't very tall
 
I'm out of town or I'd be interested.

Report back on how it was, plz!

I wish I could say otherwise, but I don't think GSL Ranch is quite as motorcycle ready as it should be. It needs a LOT of work before I'd really be interested in going back out there.

We had only been riding for 15-20 minutes or so before the guy riding with me suddenly disappeared. I waited a few minutes, and he didn't arrive, so I went back to find him. I found him with a bunch of thick wire which had wrapped around his rear axle and the brake, locking his rear wheel. It was some heavy gauge fencing wire. I rode back up front and got some wire cutters and we eventually got him back on the bike. That was bad enough to happen once, but then it happened again on a different trail. So, strike one against GSL Ranch is that it needs to be cleaned up. If I were just invited to ride on someone's pastureland, I could expect to find things like that. But if I'm paying money at a place that bills itself as an adventure park and then charges an entry fee, I don't think I should have to be concerned with something like that.

Another strike against GSL Ranch is just the length and number of trails. There's just not that much to it. We started riding sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 and had seen everything there is to see and ridden every trail by noon. We had lunch and went out again looking for something else but couldn't find anything we hadn't already ridden. I think the property's big enough that they could put a LOT more trails out there and design the trails in a way to maximize the length of trail with respect to area. The trails which are there are okay, but they're really fire roads. We found no singletrack. What looked like singletrack always turned out to be some game trail that would end up in something impassable.

The last strike against GSL Ranch would be the overall condition of the trails. It's been closed a couple years, so it's understandable that the trails wouldn't be at their best. They're perfect for ATVs but not motorcycles. Where there aren't any loose rocks, there's plenty of grip and it's good to go. Because of how dry it's been, it's a bit dusty and it can be loose in some of the turns, but that's okay too. The problem is the occasional unexpected loose rocks ranging in size from baseball to bowling ball. Most of the rocks are embedded into the soil and provide sufficient grip. I actually liked that because it's a different type of terrain than I usually ride, so it was a nice challenge. But quite a few times I'd hit a loose rock in the middle of the trail that would totally change my trajectory. There were a lot of close saves. On one of those close saves, I hit the rock, or rocks, and just barely saved it. The guy behind me, seeing me just about eat it, picked a different line to avoid the rocks, but then my bike threw one of those softball sized rocks right at his front tire, which sent him into the fence, bouncing off the fence, back across to the other side of the trail into a tree. He crashed hard, hitting his head hard on one of those rocks/boulders, ending up dazed and with a severe headache. I'm certain he had a mild concussion. After he recovered for a while, we rode back to camp, packed up, and left. I didn't think I wanted to stick around and ride there another day. There was nothing new to see and by the afternoon, I was actually getting sort of bored of seeing the same stuff, riding the same trails over again.

It wasn't all bad, though. So, who do I think would enjoy GSL Ranch? If you're new to riding off road, just getting into it, they have this large oval track with some small jumps. The dirt there is great, and it's not rocky. You could probably spend a couple hours having fun with that, pushing yourself and increasing you speed with each lap. There's a small, not highly technical, moto track right up by the camp area. It would be fine for an 8-year-old. The large oval would be fine for a youngster though he may find getting to it to be a bit difficult because you have to cross a dry creek bed. The path there has plenty of grip, without the loose rocks, but it is a little rough and might be a bit intimidating. The only other possible bad thing about having a small child riding the large oval is other folks on the oval. We were out there and there were some guys on really fast side-by-sides and ATVs. They were throwing up a tremendous amount of dust. If any of those guys were out there, I wouldn't let a small child ride the oval. If you're a hard enduro enthusiast or trials rider, you'd probably never run out of fun in the dry creek bed. I'm not, much preferring singletrack and flowy woods riding. I'd prefer riding in sand over boulder hopping (besides, I suck at it!). If your expectation is to have breakfast and then go ride off road for 2-3 hours and calling it quits by lunch, GSL could be for you.

I have a few suggestions for the owner of GSL Ranch if any of you know him. I think it's good to have a private property open to the public for riding like he has right now. But he might should consider also having a limited club arrangement. He could allow a small number of core enthusiasts an annual fee instead of the $20 day use fee. The core club members would have to come out every couple months and have a work day to clean up and maintain the trails and cut new trails. What I'm suggesting is something sort of like what they have at Zars Ranch, with club members, only also keeping it open to the public for non-members. With Zars, if you're not a member, the only way you can go out there is with the sponsorship of a club member. Being a club member at Zars, I have a sense of buy-in, ownership, and responsibility. I did my "community service" work day hours for the year before the first month was over. But every time I go out there, if I see something not right, I fix it. I'll pick up any trash I see, I'll get some loppers and cut back any face slappers growing across the trail, if I see any rocks fist-sized or larger, I'll kick them off the trail (except in the creek bed. They're expected there). I carry flagging in my camel back in case I see that the trail markings have become un-clear. And I know it's that way for just about every other member at Zars. People are always working out there to maintain it and/or make it even better. Another thing is that GSL Ranch has a larger property than Zars but not nearly as much trail. They could find someone who knows how to design good trails and maximize the land without spoiling it for the agricultural side of it (it's still a ranch with livestock, after all). Then the club members could cut the trail and really bed it in and keep it maintained. I've been a member at Zars for over a year, ride there just about every weekend, and still haven't seen all of it. There's just so much out there. There are guys who've been members for years who tell me they still find new challenges and things to explore. But at GSL Ranch, I saw it all by lunch, and it's the larger property. So I really think GSL Ranch would benefit a LOT by having a number of motorcycle (or ATV) enthusiast "land managers". The property has a lot of potential to really be an alternative to some of the better known off road riding facilities, such as Hidden Falls. As is for the moment, I really can't foresee that I'll have any desire to go back out there.

But that's just what I think. YMMV.
 
I wish I could say otherwise, but I don't think GSL Ranch is quite as motorcycle ready as it should be. It needs a LOT of work before I'd really be interested in going back out there.

We had only been riding for 15-20 minutes or so before the guy riding with me suddenly disappeared. I waited a few minutes, and he didn't arrive, so I went back to find him. I found him with a bunch of thick wire which had wrapped around his rear axle and the brake, locking his rear wheel. It was some heavy gauge fencing wire. I rode back up front and got some wire cutters and we eventually got him back on the bike. That was bad enough to happen once, but then it happened again on a different trail. So, strike one against GSL Ranch is that it needs to be cleaned up. If I were just invited to ride on someone's pastureland, I could expect to find things like that. But if I'm paying money at a place that bills itself as an adventure park and then charges an entry fee, I don't think I should have to be concerned with something like that.

Another strike against GSL Ranch is just the length and number of trails. There's just not that much to it. We started riding sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 and had seen everything there is to see and ridden every trail by noon. We had lunch and went out again looking for something else but couldn't find anything we hadn't already ridden. I think the property's big enough that they could put a LOT more trails out there and design the trails in a way to maximize the length of trail with respect to area. The trails which are there are okay, but they're really fire roads. We found no singletrack. What looked like singletrack always turned out to be some game trail that would end up in something impassable.

The last strike against GSL Ranch would be the overall condition of the trails. It's been closed a couple years, so it's understandable that the trails wouldn't be at their best. They're perfect for ATVs but not motorcycles. Where there aren't any loose rocks, there's plenty of grip and it's good to go. Because of how dry it's been, it's a bit dusty and it can be loose in some of the turns, but that's okay too. The problem is the occasional unexpected loose rocks ranging in size from baseball to bowling ball. Most of the rocks are embedded into the soil and provide sufficient grip. I actually liked that because it's a different type of terrain than I usually ride, so it was a nice challenge. But quite a few times I'd hit a loose rock in the middle of the trail that would totally change my trajectory. There were a lot of close saves. On one of those close saves, I hit the rock, or rocks, and just barely saved it. The guy behind me, seeing me just about eat it, picked a different line to avoid the rocks, but then my bike threw one of those softball sized rocks right at his front tire, which sent him into the fence, bouncing off the fence, back across to the other side of the trail into a tree. He crashed hard, hitting his head hard on one of those rocks/boulders, ending up dazed and with a severe headache. I'm certain he had a mild concussion. After he recovered for a while, we rode back to camp, packed up, and left. I didn't think I wanted to stick around and ride there another day. There was nothing new to see and by the afternoon, I was actually getting sort of bored of seeing the same stuff, riding the same trails over again.

It wasn't all bad, though. So, who do I think would enjoy GSL Ranch? If you're new to riding off road, just getting into it, they have this large oval track with some small jumps. The dirt there is great, and it's not rocky. You could probably spend a couple hours having fun with that, pushing yourself and increasing you speed with each lap. There's a small, not highly technical, moto track right up by the camp area. It would be fine for an 8-year-old. The large oval would be fine for a youngster though he may find getting to it to be a bit difficult because you have to cross a dry creek bed. The path there has plenty of grip, without the loose rocks, but it is a little rough and might be a bit intimidating. The only other possible bad thing about having a small child riding the large oval is other folks on the oval. We were out there and there were some guys on really fast side-by-sides and ATVs. They were throwing up a tremendous amount of dust. If any of those guys were out there, I wouldn't let a small child ride the oval. If you're a hard enduro enthusiast or trials rider, you'd probably never run out of fun in the dry creek bed. I'm not, much preferring singletrack and flowy woods riding. I'd prefer riding in sand over boulder hopping (besides, I suck at it!). If your expectation is to have breakfast and then go ride off road for 2-3 hours and calling it quits by lunch, GSL could be for you.

I have a few suggestions for the owner of GSL Ranch if any of you know him. I think it's good to have a private property open to the public for riding like he has right now. But he might should consider also having a limited club arrangement. He could allow a small number of core enthusiasts an annual fee instead of the $20 day use fee. The core club members would have to come out every couple months and have a work day to clean up and maintain the trails and cut new trails. What I'm suggesting is something sort of like what they have at Zars Ranch, with club members, only also keeping it open to the public for non-members. With Zars, if you're not a member, the only way you can go out there is with the sponsorship of a club member. Being a club member at Zars, I have a sense of buy-in, ownership, and responsibility. I did my "community service" work day hours for the year before the first month was over. But every time I go out there, if I see something not right, I fix it. I'll pick up any trash I see, I'll get some loppers and cut back any face slappers growing across the trail, if I see any rocks fist-sized or larger, I'll kick them off the trail (except in the creek bed. They're expected there). I carry flagging in my camel back in case I see that the trail markings have become un-clear. And I know it's that way for just about every other member at Zars. People are always working out there to maintain it and/or make it even better. Another thing is that GSL Ranch has a larger property than Zars but not nearly as much trail. They could find someone who knows how to design good trails and maximize the land without spoiling it for the agricultural side of it (it's still a ranch with livestock, after all). Then the club members could cut the trail and really bed it in and keep it maintained. I've been a member at Zars for over a year, ride there just about every weekend, and still haven't seen all of it. There's just so much out there. There are guys who've been members for years who tell me they still find new challenges and things to explore. But at GSL Ranch, I saw it all by lunch, and it's the larger property. So I really think GSL Ranch would benefit a LOT by having a number of motorcycle (or ATV) enthusiast "land managers". The property has a lot of potential to really be an alternative to some of the better known off road riding facilities, such as Hidden Falls. As is for the moment, I really can't foresee that I'll have any desire to go back out there.

But that's just what I think. YMMV.
I got the sense that the owner is just there for the passive income, not really concerned with making it something special. Considering how long he's been fighting with his neighbors it's amazing that it is open for use at all.
So is there a new entrance?
 
I wish I could say otherwise, but I don't think GSL Ranch is quite as motorcycle ready as it should be. It needs a LOT of work before I'd really be interested in going back out there.

We had only been riding for 15-20 minutes or so before the guy riding with me suddenly disappeared. I waited a few minutes, and he didn't arrive, so I went back to find him. I found him with a bunch of thick wire which had wrapped around his rear axle and the brake, locking his rear wheel. It was some heavy gauge fencing wire. I rode back up front and got some wire cutters and we eventually got him back on the bike. That was bad enough to happen once, but then it happened again on a different trail. So, strike one against GSL Ranch is that it needs to be cleaned up. If I were just invited to ride on someone's pastureland, I could expect to find things like that. But if I'm paying money at a place that bills itself as an adventure park and then charges an entry fee, I don't think I should have to be concerned with something like that.

Another strike against GSL Ranch is just the length and number of trails. There's just not that much to it. We started riding sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 and had seen everything there is to see and ridden every trail by noon. We had lunch and went out again looking for something else but couldn't find anything we hadn't already ridden. I think the property's big enough that they could put a LOT more trails out there and design the trails in a way to maximize the length of trail with respect to area. The trails which are there are okay, but they're really fire roads. We found no singletrack. What looked like singletrack always turned out to be some game trail that would end up in something impassable.

The last strike against GSL Ranch would be the overall condition of the trails. It's been closed a couple years, so it's understandable that the trails wouldn't be at their best. They're perfect for ATVs but not motorcycles. Where there aren't any loose rocks, there's plenty of grip and it's good to go. Because of how dry it's been, it's a bit dusty and it can be loose in some of the turns, but that's okay too. The problem is the occasional unexpected loose rocks ranging in size from baseball to bowling ball. Most of the rocks are embedded into the soil and provide sufficient grip. I actually liked that because it's a different type of terrain than I usually ride, so it was a nice challenge. But quite a few times I'd hit a loose rock in the middle of the trail that would totally change my trajectory. There were a lot of close saves. On one of those close saves, I hit the rock, or rocks, and just barely saved it. The guy behind me, seeing me just about eat it, picked a different line to avoid the rocks, but then my bike threw one of those softball sized rocks right at his front tire, which sent him into the fence, bouncing off the fence, back across to the other side of the trail into a tree. He crashed hard, hitting his head hard on one of those rocks/boulders, ending up dazed and with a severe headache. I'm certain he had a mild concussion. After he recovered for a while, we rode back to camp, packed up, and left. I didn't think I wanted to stick around and ride there another day. There was nothing new to see and by the afternoon, I was actually getting sort of bored of seeing the same stuff, riding the same trails over again.

It wasn't all bad, though. So, who do I think would enjoy GSL Ranch? If you're new to riding off road, just getting into it, they have this large oval track with some small jumps. The dirt there is great, and it's not rocky. You could probably spend a couple hours having fun with that, pushing yourself and increasing you speed with each lap. There's a small, not highly technical, moto track right up by the camp area. It would be fine for an 8-year-old. The large oval would be fine for a youngster though he may find getting to it to be a bit difficult because you have to cross a dry creek bed. The path there has plenty of grip, without the loose rocks, but it is a little rough and might be a bit intimidating. The only other possible bad thing about having a small child riding the large oval is other folks on the oval. We were out there and there were some guys on really fast side-by-sides and ATVs. They were throwing up a tremendous amount of dust. If any of those guys were out there, I wouldn't let a small child ride the oval. If you're a hard enduro enthusiast or trials rider, you'd probably never run out of fun in the dry creek bed. I'm not, much preferring singletrack and flowy woods riding. I'd prefer riding in sand over boulder hopping (besides, I suck at it!). If your expectation is to have breakfast and then go ride off road for 2-3 hours and calling it quits by lunch, GSL could be for you.

I have a few suggestions for the owner of GSL Ranch if any of you know him. I think it's good to have a private property open to the public for riding like he has right now. But he might should consider also having a limited club arrangement. He could allow a small number of core enthusiasts an annual fee instead of the $20 day use fee. The core club members would have to come out every couple months and have a work day to clean up and maintain the trails and cut new trails. What I'm suggesting is something sort of like what they have at Zars Ranch, with club members, only also keeping it open to the public for non-members. With Zars, if you're not a member, the only way you can go out there is with the sponsorship of a club member. Being a club member at Zars, I have a sense of buy-in, ownership, and responsibility. I did my "community service" work day hours for the year before the first month was over. But every time I go out there, if I see something not right, I fix it. I'll pick up any trash I see, I'll get some loppers and cut back any face slappers growing across the trail, if I see any rocks fist-sized or larger, I'll kick them off the trail (except in the creek bed. They're expected there). I carry flagging in my camel back in case I see that the trail markings have become un-clear. And I know it's that way for just about every other member at Zars. People are always working out there to maintain it and/or make it even better. Another thing is that GSL Ranch has a larger property than Zars but not nearly as much trail. They could find someone who knows how to design good trails and maximize the land without spoiling it for the agricultural side of it (it's still a ranch with livestock, after all). Then the club members could cut the trail and really bed it in and keep it maintained. I've been a member at Zars for over a year, ride there just about every weekend, and still haven't seen all of it. There's just so much out there. There are guys who've been members for years who tell me they still find new challenges and things to explore. But at GSL Ranch, I saw it all by lunch, and it's the larger property. So I really think GSL Ranch would benefit a LOT by having a number of motorcycle (or ATV) enthusiast "land managers". The property has a lot of potential to really be an alternative to some of the better known off road riding facilities, such as Hidden Falls. As is for the moment, I really can't foresee that I'll have any desire to go back out there.

But that's just what I think. YMMV.
That’s good info, and very much appreciated. I’d never subject my 8 year old to a track ridden simultaneously with SxSs.
The 11 year old and I might give it a go someday. We had a good time there the last time we went. At least we’ll know.
 
I got the sense that the owner is just there for the passive income, not really concerned with making it something special. Considering how long he's been fighting with his neighbors it's amazing that it is open for use at all.
So is there a new entrance?
Yeah, there is a new entrance. It's very well marked and obvious. Coming up from the end of Edge Falls Rd. in Bergheim (not the Kendalia side), it's right after crossing a cattleguard, to the right. The road in is very much like the road getting into Hidden Falls, a nice rock road, twisty with lots of hills.

You're probably right about the owner being in it for the passive income (and having the income to help cover the property tax). Still, I think if he'd offer some sort of deal for real enthusiasts in exchange for some land and trail management work, he could garner much more interest and start making much more passive income. Even as it is right now, once it's been open again for a long enough time, the existing trails will likely get better and more trails will be developed. But it's only been re-opened for a few weekends. Until that happens, though, I don't think he's going to get very many repeat customers from the motorcycle community except maybe for the locals. Anyone having to drive very far to get there will most likely be underwhelmed and realize there's other options for their money. Oh, unless the motorcycle riders are of the hard enduro or trials communities. I'm sure that creek bed offers days of fun for those folks. Same for folks with rock-crawling side by sides. My bike, my skill set, and my interest aren't really aligned for that, so it's not really a place for me.

The best part of GSL Ranch, for me, is the large oval track. I could have a lot of fun on that and enjoy that alone for a couple hours or so. The only problem with it yesterday was the side by sides. They were throwing up so much dust and riding in one another's dust cloud. I thought it was probably a bit too dangerous to be riding out there with those guys tearing it up. The oval isn't really an oval but shaped more like a kidney bean. Rider Planet has it at 1.3 miles in length. My odometer stated 0.8 miles, but I don't know if my odometer is properly calibrated. It would be an awesome location for a race, something like the Peoria TT, but with more than one jump. If I lived within 20 miles, I'd probably go out there a few times a year just for the large oval. But it's not worth it for a 50+ mile commute, especially if it's going to be crowded with large ATVs.

The pricing has changed since it was closed, and it's absolutely understandable, given the hassle and work required to get the new road built. It's $20 per day, per adult rider and $20 per night to camp. If I were to haul the camper out there on a Friday evening, ride all day Saturday, camp Saturday night, and ride again on Sunday and then leave that evening, that's $80. Compared to Hidden Falls, if you're an ATV guy or one of the other motorcycle riders I mentioned, that's a bargain. But I'm a bit spoiled, I guess. I pay roughly $200 for an annual membership at Zars Ranch and I'm out there just about every weekend, all weekend. The membership pays for itself within the first month. Yeah, there's the required community service aspect, that's 16 hours per year, but I knocked that out in one weekend. And I still continuously do things to maintain the trails/property even though I've done my time. The owner of GSL could offer a similar sort of deal for a small cadre of local enthusiasts. I'm sure if he did, he'd have plenty willing and would have to limit the number of available memberships. That cadre would do all the work to keep the place maintained and all that. It would make the place better and more inviting for the folks who have to commute a long distance or who only plan to ride a few times a year. What I'm trying to say is that he has the property with the potential to really be something great and it wouldn't require any more real investment from the owner.
 
The kids and I went out here today and a good time was had by all. Wasn’t much traffic and the dirt was perfect after 30 minutes or so. The double track around the place is 90% good for people not really wanting a big challenge and 10% loose and rocky. Fairly pedestrian for anyone with experience. As stated above, the hard enduro guys could probably go all day in the creek and surrounding rocks, while the mini mx track and the oval are good for anyone. For a family day, it’s good times. For those looking for miles of single track and gnar, probably look elsewhere.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, as I’m sure I haven’t seen the whole property yet.
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