Places To Go Wheeling Before You're Gone

The Hammers, Johnson Valley, CA

•Iron Range OHV Area: The pride of Minnesota, Iron Range offers more than 30 miles of trails in a 1,200-acre park. (Gilbert, MN;www.ironrange.org/recreation/atv.ohv)

•Las Cruces, NM: Chile Canyons, site of the annual Chile Challenge, is a main attraction. Offers Habañero Falls, Tabasco Twister, and more. (Las Cruces 4WD Club, www.lascrucesfourwheeldriveclub.com)

•Montrose, CO: Rock gardens in this area are some of Colorado's most challenging trails. Calamity Canyon and Die Trying are two that live up to their names. (Western Slope 4 Wheelers, www.ws4w.com)

•Rausch Creek Off-Road Park: Rausch Creek is the most popular place to wheel around New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and beyond. (Joliet, PA; www.rauschcreekoffroadpark.com)

Area BFE, Moab, UT

•Rock Creek Off-Road Park/Green Acres, Mr. Frieling's, Hurliman's: Clayton is the rock capital of Oklahoma. Green Momba and Wet N Wild are two of its famous trails. And Poteau areas are both beyond Oklahoma for wheeling challenges. (Clayton, OK; Sam's Offroad, www.samsoffroad.com, staff@sams offroad.com)

•Rubicon: The most-famous trail in the United States, the Rubicon was also one of the most challenging prior to the long-travel/coilover suspensions of the '90s. It is now targeted for closure, a potential victim of its own notoriety. (Georgetown, CA; www.rubiconfriends.com)

•Ruby Lake Trail: The largest state in the U.S. is perhaps our final wheeling frontier. Other trails such as Boulder Creek and Sheep Creek are rated more challenging by the locals. We chose Ruby Lake because we've been there. (Sutton, AK; Alaska Extreme Fourwheelers, www.akextreme4x4.com)

•San Juan Mountains: The Switzerland of America this is one of the most scenic areas in the Contiguous 48. Mining trails allow 4x4 exploration of Colorado's geological history. Chosen more for beauty than challenge, the mountains' most famous trail is Black Bear Pass with its steep, above-timberline switchbacks. (Telluride-Ouray, CO; www.fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan)

Superlift ORV Park, Hot Springs, AR

•Superlift ORV Park: In formerly abandoned logging land, these Hot Springs trails were a popular word-of-mouth destination. Superlift spearheaded an investment group to ensure this area's survival as an off-road location. Challenging trails include Impossible, Ingrid's Revenge, and Ultimate Adventure (named in honor of our trip there). (Hot Springs, AR; www.orvpark.com)

4WD Associations
•Arizona Sate Assoc. of 4Wheel Drive Clubs, www.asa4wdc.org
•California Assoc. of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, www.cal4wheel.com
•Colorado Assoc. of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, www.hightrails.org
•Florida Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.fl4wda.com
•Great Lakes Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.glfwda.org
•Idaho State 4x4 Assoc., www.id4x4a.com
•Indiana Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.ifwda.com
•Louisiana Off-Roaders, www.louisianaoffroaders.com
•Middle Atlantic Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.mafwda.org
•Midwest 4 Wheel Drive Assoc., www.mw4wda.org
•Montana 4x4 Assoc., www.m4x4a.org
•Northeast Assoc. of 4WD Clubs, www.nea4wd.org
•Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.pnw4wda.org
•Rhode Island Off-Highway Vehicle Assoc., www.riohva.org
•Southern Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.sfwda.org
•Southwest Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.swfwda.org
•United Four Wheel Drive Assoc., www.ufwda.org
•Virginia 4WD Assoc., www.va4wda.org
•Wisconsin 4 Wheel Drive Assoc., www.w4wda.org