Unpaved Roads in MarylandSubscribe to this blog RSS Feed
    You must be logged in and belong to this group to post to this forum.
    1 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    buffalo and I did our first excursion together on DR650's yesterday. There aren't much in the way of legal unpaved riding opportunities around DC so I thought I'd start this thread as a way of making a collection of unpaved roads and the like in Maryland.

    I found these tracks on ADVrider.

    Link #10688
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    PA, MD, VA, WV Routes (Dirt Roads) - ADVrider

    PA, MD, VA, WV Routes (Dirt Roads) GPS Tracks - Northeast, Southeast & Florida

    http://www.advrider.com/forums/show...

    Not all of the files in the zip were in GPX format so I used :
    Link #10687
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    GPS Visualizer

    GPS Visualizer is a free utility that creates customizable maps and profiles from GPS data (tracklogs & waypoints), addresses, or coordinates.

    http://gpsvisualizer.com

    to convert that Garmin GDB file format into GPX. The resolution of the tracks isn't great, but at least it gives us some areas to explore. 

    Map #10683
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    Unpaved Roads in Maryland - courtesy of ADVRider.

    In looking for more off pavement opportunities in and around DC, I found these tracks on ADVRider. The best off-road sections are reported to be around GreenRidge National Forest.

    http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/StateForests/greenri...


    According to the thread, the best roads are around Green Ridge State Forest:


    Know of any unpaved roads in Maryland? 
    2 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    Interesting article on gravel roads. Frederick County, as of 2012, only has 60 miles of gravel roads while the state of Pennsylvania has over 20,000 ....

    Link #10691
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    Md.'s gravel roads take visitors back in time - USATODAY.com

    The Frederick County Rural Roads Program is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with a series of events to showcase the value of gravel roads.

    http://travel.usatoday.com/destinat...
    3 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    The ride buffalo and I did yesterday. The pathetically short sections of unpavement we found are marked in green:

    Map #10693
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    Ninety Miles Maiden Ride of Buffalo's DR650SE

    buffalo and I went out for a 90 mile mostly pavement ride yesterday to break in his new to him Suzuki DR650SE. We only found two small sections of legal "pavement ends". 

    4 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    I've come across this map before. It's cluttered but has many points that could be explored:

    Link #10710
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    Gravel Roads - Google Maps

    Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps

    https://maps.google.com/maps/u/0/ms...
    5 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    Another google map of dirt roads in Frederick. Apologies for the broken graphic which happens when linking to Google Maps:

    Link #10712
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    Frederick County Dirt Roads

    Frederick County Maryland Dirt Road Database

    https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/v...
    6 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    Link #10714
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    8 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    10 of 14
    buffalo
    9 years ago
    Here's the Maryland Department of Natural Resources page for off road riding areas in the state:

    11 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    I did a weekend DR650SE gravel roads ride with Colin Busch from Bob's BMW. Interestingly, we found a number of miles of gravel roads up in the area. One particularly nice section can be found at the end of Mountaindale Road which connects to Route 15 just South of Thurmont via Putman Road.

    Map #10741
    Yermo
    9 years ago

    Oct 2014 Catoctin Area, Maryland Gravel Roads Ride

    Weekend gravel roads rides up to Catoctin State Park near Thurmont Maryland. Surprisingly, we found many more miles of nice gravel roads than we had expected. Find Mountaindale road which connects to route 15 via Putman Road. It goes through a neighborhood of log cabins and is more like a driveway than a traveling road. At the end it turns to gravel (where the green line starts). There you will find a system of gravel roads with a few hills and one stream crossing (marked). In the fall it proved to be a beautiful area. Be aware of joggers and riders on horseback.

    12 of 14
    buffalo
    9 years ago
    Very cool. I'm looking forward to taking a crack at some of those roads on my DR.
    13 of 14
    Yermo
    9 years ago
    Interesting map included in this article:

    14 of 14
    Yermo
    7 years ago
    This was a good ride. 120 miles from DC.

    Map #11662
    Yermo
    7 years ago

    Green Ridge State Forest Dual Sport Ride

    The gravel/dirt/4x4 trails start immediately as you exit off I68. Green Ridge has much better and more interesting dirt and gravel roads than Michaux State Forest does. We found one 4x4 trail at an advanced beginner to intermediate level that was fun.

    The forest is simply beautiful. We will have to go there again.