NC/SC Monthly Meet-up, Singletary Lake State Park (SP) and Bladen Lakes State Forest (SF)
February 21-22nd 2014
This area was discovered when driving around one Saturday with OrangeAddict and WitchyWoman playing “where does this road go”. When we decided to go back, I was able to map out many miles of potential trails using Google Earth. However, without pre-running the trails, we could not be certain if they were accessible until we tried.
We met-up Saturday morning with OrangeAddict and WitchyWoman, WolfNC, Holeshot, Steve-0, and SCRaptorGirl. As we started the mapped trails, we ran into several dead ends of private land and were feeling a bit frustrated. However, having ran some of the trails before we knew we would eventually have success. We finally found some good trails and lots of mud on the Eastern part of Bladen Lakes SF. The SF has posted signs, but if you read them they only prohibit raking of pine straw, not access. The roads are graded dirt roads; they are wide and flat with the exception of some smaller trails and low spots that collect water in the rainy season. One trail we went down was a dead end but could potentially be fun with only a few trucks. I’ve marked it on the KMZ (Google Earth) file.
After hitting some of these muddy trails we headed down to Singeltary SP. The roads were dryer here, but because of logging were a little chewed up by the big trucks. The SP has orange gates that you can enter if they are open. Other things to look out for are roads that have small posted signs saying that vehicles are prohibited (even-though the road clearly shows tire marks, etc). The park seems to have designated the smaller roads as hiking trails. We also encountered logging trucks and some hunters, so please just stay alert. We had lunch here and then decided to head to the Northern most part of my mapped trails and work back South toward the cabin we had rented for the night. However, the northern trails ended up being an unreachable piece of state land surrounded by gated private land. We returned south to the Western portion of Bladen Lakes SF and found dry mostly flat roads and fun long straight stretches. We also found a few places where buried irrigation pipes made for some fun jumping. We crisscrossed the roads having fun for a while before calling it a night and heading to dinner in Elizabethtown NC.
Sunday, Night Raptor 1, Orange Addict, WitchyWoman, and Steve-O headed out for a little more fun and exploring. We deviated a bit from the mapped trails since we had hit most of the possible roads the previous day and found a few more trails. Even after several hours of wheeling we still spotted more unmapped trails that could be tried. If you go exploring, just be aware of posted signs and gates indicating private property.
What did you like best about the area?
The White Lake area was a mix of pine forests, Cypress swamps and farm land. There are several small shallow lakes nearby that have state land surrounding them. A series of service roads where developed to allow access for loggers, hunters, campers, explorers and other revenue activities. There are over 100+ miles of roads and trails that can be traveled as long as they are not behind closed gates. The majority roads we traveled that day were wide, relatively flat and made of soft sand. The trucks were able to travel at a good speed and have some fun. There were a few areas that we were able to explore trails that traveled into the forests. Unfortunately, most of these trails led to a dead end. They were fun roads to drive as they were a bit more technical, and often contained some deep mud puddles.
What did you like least about the area?
All of the roads on the state lands are pretty much open to the public, however, there are a lot of access roads and cut offs that go through private land. Typically these are gated with no access allowed. We respect the private property, but it does limit some of the areas that could be explored.
Any tips for someone replicating the trip?
If you go, be mindful of the time of year it will be and who else may be using the roads. You may come across loggers, hunters, and hunting dogs.
Keep aware of posted signs and gates.
Elizabethtown, which is close by, offers a number of different types of restaurants and a Wal-Mart for any last minute supplies.
Kinds of Activities that are available:
There are many activities available in the White Lake area. You can camp, stay at a nice cabin, go boating or do some off-road exploration. There are a lot of areas that are available for hunting and horseback travel is welcome as well.
Recommended Gear:
Spare Tire
A Gazetteer/map of the area (Offroad GPS maps)
First Aid Kit
Packed Lunch and drinks
A buddy (always a good idea to off-road with a friend)
Radios (if you have a buddy)
FRF T-shirt (see Mobilebeats)
Here are some pictures as well as the KMZ file of our actual tracks.
In the KMZ file, I’ve marked trails that do not go through with a black X… but I’ve left them in as you may want to go check them out even if you know that you will be turning around.
Google Earth File.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xah6uzf6av67fw4/white lake fire post run2.kmz
Original Route vs. final route
(The red is our tracks while the purple and blue are what we were not able to do)
Be aware that there is more we have not yet explored
Videos
NC-SC February 2014 Meet-Up, White Lake Area NC - YouTube
NC/SC White lake jump - YouTube
Let us know if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.
Thanks,
Nicole
February 21-22nd 2014
This area was discovered when driving around one Saturday with OrangeAddict and WitchyWoman playing “where does this road go”. When we decided to go back, I was able to map out many miles of potential trails using Google Earth. However, without pre-running the trails, we could not be certain if they were accessible until we tried.
We met-up Saturday morning with OrangeAddict and WitchyWoman, WolfNC, Holeshot, Steve-0, and SCRaptorGirl. As we started the mapped trails, we ran into several dead ends of private land and were feeling a bit frustrated. However, having ran some of the trails before we knew we would eventually have success. We finally found some good trails and lots of mud on the Eastern part of Bladen Lakes SF. The SF has posted signs, but if you read them they only prohibit raking of pine straw, not access. The roads are graded dirt roads; they are wide and flat with the exception of some smaller trails and low spots that collect water in the rainy season. One trail we went down was a dead end but could potentially be fun with only a few trucks. I’ve marked it on the KMZ (Google Earth) file.
After hitting some of these muddy trails we headed down to Singeltary SP. The roads were dryer here, but because of logging were a little chewed up by the big trucks. The SP has orange gates that you can enter if they are open. Other things to look out for are roads that have small posted signs saying that vehicles are prohibited (even-though the road clearly shows tire marks, etc). The park seems to have designated the smaller roads as hiking trails. We also encountered logging trucks and some hunters, so please just stay alert. We had lunch here and then decided to head to the Northern most part of my mapped trails and work back South toward the cabin we had rented for the night. However, the northern trails ended up being an unreachable piece of state land surrounded by gated private land. We returned south to the Western portion of Bladen Lakes SF and found dry mostly flat roads and fun long straight stretches. We also found a few places where buried irrigation pipes made for some fun jumping. We crisscrossed the roads having fun for a while before calling it a night and heading to dinner in Elizabethtown NC.
Sunday, Night Raptor 1, Orange Addict, WitchyWoman, and Steve-O headed out for a little more fun and exploring. We deviated a bit from the mapped trails since we had hit most of the possible roads the previous day and found a few more trails. Even after several hours of wheeling we still spotted more unmapped trails that could be tried. If you go exploring, just be aware of posted signs and gates indicating private property.
What did you like best about the area?
The White Lake area was a mix of pine forests, Cypress swamps and farm land. There are several small shallow lakes nearby that have state land surrounding them. A series of service roads where developed to allow access for loggers, hunters, campers, explorers and other revenue activities. There are over 100+ miles of roads and trails that can be traveled as long as they are not behind closed gates. The majority roads we traveled that day were wide, relatively flat and made of soft sand. The trucks were able to travel at a good speed and have some fun. There were a few areas that we were able to explore trails that traveled into the forests. Unfortunately, most of these trails led to a dead end. They were fun roads to drive as they were a bit more technical, and often contained some deep mud puddles.
What did you like least about the area?
All of the roads on the state lands are pretty much open to the public, however, there are a lot of access roads and cut offs that go through private land. Typically these are gated with no access allowed. We respect the private property, but it does limit some of the areas that could be explored.
Any tips for someone replicating the trip?
If you go, be mindful of the time of year it will be and who else may be using the roads. You may come across loggers, hunters, and hunting dogs.
Keep aware of posted signs and gates.
Elizabethtown, which is close by, offers a number of different types of restaurants and a Wal-Mart for any last minute supplies.
Kinds of Activities that are available:
There are many activities available in the White Lake area. You can camp, stay at a nice cabin, go boating or do some off-road exploration. There are a lot of areas that are available for hunting and horseback travel is welcome as well.
Recommended Gear:
Spare Tire
A Gazetteer/map of the area (Offroad GPS maps)
First Aid Kit
Packed Lunch and drinks
A buddy (always a good idea to off-road with a friend)
Radios (if you have a buddy)
FRF T-shirt (see Mobilebeats)
Here are some pictures as well as the KMZ file of our actual tracks.
In the KMZ file, I’ve marked trails that do not go through with a black X… but I’ve left them in as you may want to go check them out even if you know that you will be turning around.
Google Earth File.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xah6uzf6av67fw4/white lake fire post run2.kmz
Original Route vs. final route
(The red is our tracks while the purple and blue are what we were not able to do)
Be aware that there is more we have not yet explored
Videos
NC-SC February 2014 Meet-Up, White Lake Area NC - YouTube
NC/SC White lake jump - YouTube
Let us know if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.
Thanks,
Nicole
Last edited:
