Distance between home and the start of a trail

[Robert OB 33/48]

Hello you all,

A question which is interesting for us European guys and girls. At least your answers to it.
If you go out for a weekend of Overlanding. And you can leave on friday around three/1500 hours.
What is your average distance you do before you hit camp, or are at the start of the first trail.

We here in Europe have some difficulties of getting people together for a weekend Overlanding which isnt around the corner of the house.

So, what are your distances and time to go out there?

Thanks for all the answers.

 

[tritonl]

For me the trails and camping spots start at 30 minutes drive and get longer from there.

 

[Mojavewanderer]

I’ve driven up to 6 to 7 hours on Fridays after work to get to a trail for a weekend. I would prefer not to go that far, but sometimes the desert calls and I need to answer. Lately I’ve taken an extra day to those long distance weekends though.

 

[CR-Venturer]

15 minute drive from my front door in some cases. Depends where I'm going though, could be half an hour, could be an hour.

The trail that leads to this spot starts about 20 minutes from my front door:

 

[Todd & Meg]

In the winter I can go 15-20 minutes from the house to camp and not have cell service. But in the summer those spots are to hot. Can be 120 degrees, (about 50 C). So we have to get up in elevation which is 1.5 - 2 hours away.

My wife is off sat, sun, and mon, this year I'll take some Mondays off work and have an extra day.

Todd

 

[TRED LYT]

For us, it takes a good 2 hours without traffic to get to trails worthy of exploring. There are many options at that distance which keeps thing interesting.

 

[keeflester]

Over the years I’ve been stressed out by trying to cover hundreds of miles just to get to the start of my adventure. These days (having retired) I let the journey become part of the adventure and look for wild spots all along my main route. This way, I can take three days to drive 500 miles, have not gotten over-tired at the wheel, have sampled some solitude en route, and still have the energy to enjoy myself when I get there.

 

[Sfcruiserlife]

I live on the coast in California and it takes me at least 2.5-3 hrs to make it to a decent trail. I try to leave really early or late to bypass all the commuters because that may add 2-3 extra hours.

 

[BTodd]

Most great spots are within 30 min. However, if the itch for adventure is strong enough and the company is good, there is no distance too far. The trick is making the travel to the trail part of the adventure.

 

[MazeVX]

I would not drive longer than 5 hours, but there is only very little stuff around here in this range... So weekend trips with real trails are very rare over here.

 

[Steve]

At least three hours to get to the closest trail of any kind; even a crappy drive down a gravel road to a reclaimed strip mine. To get to the cool spots you frequently see here and on Instagram, it takes 3-4 days of Interstate driving...

 

[Robert OB 33/48]

I have noticed that you folks in the USA are way more into long distances as we are here in Europe.
Most people are already having problems with about 200km of driving before they can do a trip.
And so it is very hard to get a group together for a weekend.
Mostly the same people are showing up.

 

[BCMoto]

I live on the coast in California and it takes me at least 2.5-3 hrs to make it to a decent trail. I try to leave really early or late to bypass all the commuters because that may add 2-3 extra hours.

Im local to you and I am with you on that travel times

 

[CR-Venturer]

This thread definitely underscores how blessed I am to live so close to such amazing wilderness.

 

[Dilldog]

This thread definitely underscores how blessed I am to live so close to such amazing wilderness.

Those of us who live in the Northwest US and South West CA really are spoiled.

One of the reasons I love Spokane so much is in 45min. I can experience such a great diversity. We are located in a highland desert, have amazing large and small lakes, amazing rivers and streams, alpine environments, and some of the most interesting geology in the world as the whole of eastern WA was shaped by glacial flooding and volcanic activity. Then if I extend my travel time to 2 hours theres the Columbia basin, 3 hours theres the Cascade Mountains, 7 hours theres a rain forest and the Pacific coast. And that is all just in Washington state.

North Idaho has some amazing places that include trails and camping that are 30min. away. Then theres western Montana which is simply put breathtaking and amazing and I can be there in 2-3 hours. And of course north of the border has some of the most amazing mountains anywhere, the Canadian Rockies truly are beyond words and are about 3-4 hours away.

 

[Robert OB 33/48]

We guys envy you much.
Why? Because Overlanding in Europe is very difficult. In for example Germany it is prohibited, same more or less in Belgium. In the Netherlands, one of the smaller countries in Europe, you can do a bit. Just older farm roads, forest tracks and forgotten tracks which are on maps, but are very difficult to find.
France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Rumania, chech Republic and Slowakia are more or less the places to be.
But if you try to make get a party together for such long trips, you hardly find people who are willing to drive around 1000km to and 1000km back.
So for me this thread is more to have myself confinced that you can drive longer if you want to. I do, but have much resistance in Europe.

 

[John Hapla Philip]

For me it depends on if I just want a dirt road through some woods or if I am going on a mud and rock trail. There are a lot of dirt roads in woods within 20 or 30 minutes but most of the actual trails start at about the 2 hour mark. If I am looki g for camping with or without trails it is generally a 3 hour drive to camp. Now, if I'm looking to travel and explore it's closer to 5 hours driving mostly because I'm closer to big cities and we try exploring further every year.

 

[old_man]

From my home in Northern Colorado, there are tons of places to go within an hour. The problem is that I have done all of them dozens of times over the last 50 years so they are pretty mundane to me now. People still travel days to see them. Personally I find I end up going farther afield over time. Now most things I find willing to spend the effort on are 4-12 hours travel. It is not unusual to knock off 400 miles each way.

 

[MazeVX]

For me it depends on if I just want a dirt road through some woods or if I am going on a mud and rock trail. There are a lot of dirt roads in woods within 20 or 30 minutes but most of the actual trails start at about the 2 hour mark. If I am looki g for camping with or without trails it is generally a 3 hour drive to camp. Now, if I'm looking to travel and explore it's closer to 5 hours driving mostly because I'm closer to big cities and we try exploring further every year.

I would be perfectly happy if it was allowed to drive on our forest roads through the woods, my home area is really nice and you would have a new scenic look every time you leave the forest but it is forbidden...

 

[Jedi]

For me, 45 minutes will get me to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, with tons of opportunities from there.