We love getting out of town, but sometimes, you just want to wheel for a few hours and not dedicate an entire weekend and many hours of highway driving for a precious few hours on the dirt. For folks in the DC area that need to scratch the itch — and only have a few hours — there is now a place to do that, and they’ve been up and running without much fanfare for several months now. Red Cloud Off Road in Lorton, VA (just 30 minutes south of the District) offers over 200 acres of 4×4 trails for “sanctioned gatherings”.
Some of the Trucks at Red Cloud Off Road on Sunday
Get those kids started early!
Our buddy, Scott at High Tech Auto in Chantilly, keyed us into Red Cloud a few weeks back and we signed up to attend a trail day this past Sunday. Several of us made it out — Alex in the cruiser, Tony in his FJ, and my friend Mike in his 5th Gen 4Runner (who drove to Moab/the FJ Summit with me back in the summer of 2012).
Red Cloud is “pay to play”, and the entrance fee for Sunday was $40/vehicle. In addition (as you’d expect from a business), you fill out a couple of liability waivers and each vehicle needs to bring required equipment, including a fire extinguisher, tow strap, full-size spare, and jack. All stuff you should have already if you’re offroading.
Headed out on the trail system
In dry conditions, I’d bet that most high-clearance factory 4x4s could run most of the trails at Red Cloud. That was not the case this past weekend. Just a few days ago, the DC area received ~12” of snow, and much of that was still covering the trails at Red Cloud along with mud in some spots.
Shots from the Trail
The crowd on Sunday was about a 50/50 mix of Toyotas and Jeeps, and the key to success in the conditions was having high-clearance bumpers and mud-terrain tires. Our friend Mike brought his 5th Gen 4Runner on all-terrain Falkens, and he had absolutely no traction on the snow/ice. He wisely parked his truck and rode along after about 10 minutes of “ice skating” on the all-terrains. Guess what’s on his wish-list now?
Mike’s 4Runner Trail Edition
The trails at Red Cloud offer a mix of twisty, articulation-focused obstacles, tight-wooded sections, creek crossings and creek trails, and some holes/muddy sections. Overall it was a good challenge — we were in low range the whole time and in the slippery conditions we were using lockers pretty frequently. Everyone pulled winch cable at least once — I pulled cable 3 times: twice out of necessity and once out of an abundance of caution (I wasn’t going to risk hitting a quarter panel on a tree…).
Pulling winch line on the trail
So what’s the verdict? We really like this place! Being so close to us, Red Cloud is a great place to go occasionally to test out a new mod, brush up on technical driving skills, and/or to get more comfortable using your recovery gear. All of which are darn near guaranteed to help you enjoy those far-from home trips in the future.
We have a ton of great photos from the day thanks to our friend Nate, who rode as a passenger and volunteered to play photographer! Nate, we owe you.
More shots from the trail
So is this place still open? Their site says otherwise, or are they “closed”
Red Cloud is closed until further notice, we’ll update you guys with any information as it comes out.
Nice! My brother and I will be going this weekend! Weather should be nice. We’ll be taking his JK with lift/tires, but no winch, I hope we’ll be okay! Can’t wait till this fall so I can go in my new Runner. I’ve got those same Shenandoah plates on my crossover too – but they look much better on a 4Runner (part of my justification)
Hey Cody! As long as the trails at Red Cloud dry out a little before the weekend you probably will get by just fine without a winch – although I always feel better with one handy!
Ben, once i get my Trail lifted and armored, I wanted to join the dirt road trip boys on some adventures! Oh yeah, it’s happening soon and in the works
Can’t wait to see you out on the trail, whats your plan for a lift an armor?
I have a friend we visit usually once a year in Lorton…. next time I’ll have to drive out there instead of Fly… maybe combine it with a High-Tech visit. Is that Ben in a TAD Gear jacket?
No worries guys, we’re looking forward to hitting Red Cloud again in the spring so hopefully we see you guys out there again.
Womp womp…first time my tires have ever failed me. Happy riding shotgun though! Thanks Ben!
Great write up, nailed it!…. I wish I didn’t have such a big group with me so I could have run with you guys.