GRSF 2027 - New Years Winter Tour

Hey SubieCrew! Join up for a New Years Winter Trail Driving Tour at Maryland's Green Ridge State Forest on Saturday, January 16th, 2027 at 11am. This driving tour is a full loop that begins/ends at the forest headquarters and is approximately 50 miles roundtrip.

I like to use the OnX Offroad Technical Ratings Guide (Linked Below). On their 1-10 scale, we will be in the 1.0 - 2.5 range. We can expect relatively unmaintained rutted dirt/rocky roads with occasional 4-6inch obstacles. For this tour's proposed loop, there will be two very small creek crossings (1-3 inches of slow moving water for 3-4 feet in traversal distance). Trails are typically one vehicle wide with select places to pull aside if we encounter opposing traffic. The stock 8.7in of ground clearance and standard AWD found in the Subaru CUV/SUV lines will be all you need for this trail system!

Meet up at Belle Grove Grocery between 10:30-11am (12937 Orleans Rd NE, Little Orleans, MD 21766) a great touchdown place to grab gas and any last-minute drink/snacks. Hoping to leave Belle Grove by 11:15ish and drive over to the GRSF Headquarters were we will convoy out on about a 4-5 hour loop to visit a variety of lookout points connected by a series of moderately maintained dirt/gravel service roads. About 25% of the way into the trip there is a 1.7mile riverwalk hike along the C&O Canal that we can walk together to visit Indigo Tunnel, which is now a protected Bat Sanctuary. A lot of history here involving late 1800’s Railway Planning, C&O Canal Development, Sustainable Logging, etc.

Loop Summary: GRSF Headquarters, M.V. Smith Rd, Tower Lookout, Mountain Road, Orleans Rd, Fifteen Mile Creek C&O Canel Parking Lot, Indigo Tunnel Hike, Point Lookout, Carroll/Kasecamp Rd, Mertens Ave, Banner’s Overlook, Log Roll Overlook, Jacobs Rd, Zumbrun Overlook, GRSF Headquarters.

If you have any questions about your specific vehicle on this trip, send me a text at 240-204-4453 or add me on Discord @rikysongsu. Over'n'out!