Want to go offroading near Raleigh, North Carolina?

Where2Wheel will help you find offroad trails near you!  We exclusively cover Jeep trails, 4×4 trails, truck trails, and OHV trails.  Read along and we will point out offroad places near Raleigh, NC.

In order to keep the offroad community up to date with the latest and most accurate wheeling information, we have created an offroad trails map that covers the entire USA.  The trails map on Where2Wheel is powered by the offroad community and is totally reliant on individual offroaders contributing their knowledge to keep the map up to date and accurate.  So if you do go wheeling on any of these trails, make sure to leave a review on W2W, or make any adjustments to the trail descriptions as needed since trail conditions can, and often do, change frequently.

Alright, we were talking about offroad trails near Raleigh, North Carolina.  Again, last warning, we are talking about Jeep trails and 4×4 trails that are large/wide enough to fit a passenger vehicle – no ATVs or dirtbikes talked about here.  The first (and best) offroad trail near Raleigh is The Uwharrie National Forest located about 100 miles west of Raleigh.  The Uwharrie National Forest is one of the best known off-highway vehicle trail systems on the Eastern half of the United States.  Uwharrie National Forest provides the only public off-highway vehicle (OHV) or motorized trail system in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina.  The Uwharrie OHV trail system ranges from 2WD dirt roads meandering through the forest to some of the most challenging steep and rocky climbs this side of Moab, Utah.  You will see a wide range of vehicles on these trails, ranging from heavily modified ‘rock crawlers’ to stock SUVs.  On Where2Wheel, we have 10 different Uwharrie trails listed (Falls Dam, Daniel Trail, Dickey Bell Jeep Trail, SawMill, Dutch John, Slab Pile, Rocky Mount Loop, Badin Lake OHV Area, Wolf Den, and Big Creek Training Grounds); click here to view the Where2Wheel Trails map, or just click each trail title above to view the trails one at a time.

So if you are going to Uwharrie, or thinking about going, here are a few things to know.  The offroad trails within Uwharrie are all inside of the Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex.  To access The Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex, you must purchase a day pass ($5) or annual pass ($30); info on where to buy a pass can be found on the PDF here.  The Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex is open from April 1 to December 15 every year, and during that time period the trails are open 24/7.  There are some rules to know about wheeling at Badin Lake, so read here before heading out.  If you have the opportunity to wheel Uwharrie, don’t miss out on this amazing trail systems since OHV areas like this are becoming fewer and fewer as government regulations on the use of public lands tighten over time.  If you would like a guided introduction to Uwharrie and/or some help improving your offroading skills, don’t forget to look up the guys at Big Creek Training Grounds to assist you with anything Uwharrie related. Lastly, if you decide to hit these trails on your own then we always recommend to pack with you some type of emergency communication device (like this Spt3 Satellite Messenger) and first aid kit in the event that you get lost or injured. 

Where2Wheel does have a couple other trails listed to the west of Raleigh approximately the same distance away as Uwharrie (Lexington Muddy Playgrounds and Devils Playground), but if you are in Raleigh and you want to head west for some offroading, go check out Uwharrie, nothing else in the area is going to compare with the experience you will get at Badin Lake OHV Complex.  Now if you want to look east towards some leisurely beach riding rather than the intense trails in the forests of NC, there are some great options for beach 4×4 action in North Carolina.  Up towards the VA/NC State Line on the coast, there is Carova Beach (240 miles NE of Raleigh).  Carova Beach is one of the few places left in the US where public beach access is granted to all 4×4 vehicles. The beach is beautiful with soft white sand and the ocean is great during the summer months.  The beach is 11 miles long, but there are countless more miles of trails behind the beach. Some of the trails can become challenging as they are often flooded with deep water.  On the back trails you can find wild horses that live in this area.  Make sure to read up on local laws before entering the beach as they do have active law enforcement on the beach, and with the beach access comes different laws.  Two very important laws to remember are: 15 mph speed limit on the beach, and maintain 50ft distance from the horses at all times (no feeding or interaction of any kind other than watching).

If you don’t want to go as far north from Raleigh as Carova Beach, then you can head to Cape Lookout National Seashore (180 miles E from Raleigh) for some beach driving as well; however, Cape Lookout is a much more isolated location accessible only by ferry.  The isolation does bring beauty though as you and your 4×4 get to take a step back in time and explore North Carolina’s undeveloped barrier islands.  Additionally, beach driving at Cape Lookout is a more serious occasion than beach driving on Carova Beach, and that is mainly because admission to Cape Lookout requires that all drivers complete and obtain an ORV Education Certificate that comes with a decal that must be displayed on the vehicle for beach access.  Here you can read about everything you need to know before considering a trip to Cape Lookout National Seashore.

If you’re looking for more offroad options, there are many more Jeep trails and 4×4 trails listed on Where2Wheel that are near Raleigh, NC, but it’s easier if you visit W2W and view the offroad trails map for yourself.  You can view trail reviews and also browse the offroad trails map on Where2Wheel.com – W2W is free to access and use!

Lastly, feel free to create an account on Where2Wheel; it’s free to use and you can find other offroaders in your area that you can hit the trails with.  If you do enjoy using W2W and want to support us, please either tell your offroading pals about the site or sign-up for a premium account, which takes ads off the map for just $2.99/month.

Thanks for reading about some of the offroad trails near Raleigh, NC.  For more offroad trail information you can visit Where2Wheel or check out our North Carolina blog about offroad spots in NC.

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