Pennsylvania Famous Reading Outdoors -Info Thread

[jochuma3]

Riders,

I know there are many of us that ride in these areas and there are often threads regarding information/rides for these areas  scattered throughout the forum.  I thought that it might be beneficial and useful for all of us if we can have this thread as the go to for information regarding Reading Anthracite and Anthracite  Outdoor Adventure Area.    I think we can use this thread as a way of streamlining information for;

 

1. General information/ first hand experience type of questions that riders who are interested in these areas may have for those of us who ride there often.

 

There is a ton of information about RAC and AOA that your not going to find on a website - RAC doesn't even have a website.

 

2. Exchange of direction/GPS tracks/ride routes/ and parking locations.  

 

Again there is very little "formal" maps, route directions etc for the RAC lands- this can be a great way for us to share our ride routes, GPS track etc.  Safe parking places etc.  

 

3. Post upcoming rides and meet ups-  I know I have talked to many of you who ride these areas alone and would like to meet up with some "riding buddies".  I know from first hand experience that riding deep into RAC land by myself  isn't exactly the smartest thing I can do.  Riders can use this thread as a way to meet up with others, maybe even have a few planned "get togethers" a year where a bunch of us meet up and ride, grab some grub and then a few drinks after the day is over.  

 

Ok, so that I my idea, I hope some others are interested.  Lets see where this goes.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[steve0809]

Cool idea. I don't have anything of value to add but certainly interested in seeing how this develops

[jochuma3]

AOA vs RAC comparison 

 

I have had several riders ask me my opinions about the two areas- comparing one to the other, as I have a year pass to both areas.  Below is an email I sent to "epic adventure" (a fellow on this forum) regarding my comparison RAC vs AOA.  Folks, this is just my opinion and Im sure others would think otherwise.  I actually love both of these riding areas and most days when I ride I link the two together in a nice dual sport loop.  But for those of you wondering about the similarities and difference between the two areas here is my two cents......see the email below.  

 

Hey Bill,

SO I spent the afternoon at AOA.  To give you my 2 cents on the place.  First off, it seems to be MUCH less rocky as compared to RAC.  There are certainly rocky sections and some bad ass rocky trails at AOA, but there seemed to be ways around the rocks and a good deal of the trails had very few rocky sections.   If I was to rate the rockyness at RAC I would say 8-9 out of 10.   AOA  I would say like 5 out of 10.  that was the main thing I liked.  The other positives are that the trails are marked with arrows, it is virtually impossible to get lost, there are arrows about every 50 feet or so pointing you back to the main road, so as long as you are on a trail you are not lost.  There are some pretty cool trials, nothing really gnarly.  There is also a main area with a club house type thing, picnic tables and soda machines etc.  Also there is staff in side by sides that drive around and you can call if you need help, get a flat etc.  

 

The negative would be that there is no real "play area".  Just a shit load of trails.   I did buy a season pass ($120) for the year, but  you can also do a day pass for $25.  

 

MY verdict,  for a DRZ and trail riding (or your pop on his ATV)  I would have to say AAOA is a bit better than RAC.   If I had a KTM 250 I would like RAC better, but AAOA has much wider, less rocky trails -  it is more of a "trail ride"  than most of the stuff at RAC.     I will continue to get the AAOA pass and RAC pass next year.    I  think you dad would be happy on his quad there - AAOA is a middle age ATV guy's paradise.   

 

P.S.  I think that AAOA might b pretty crowed on weekends.  I have only been there on Thursday and Fridays and there is only a few people there (today I saw about 10 other guys all day)   but the staff indicated that a number of people come in on the weekends.  

 

JC   

[jochuma3]

A great resource for RAC and particularly for the 901 area  is fellow forum member yoshgixxer.  This guys knows the trails/parking spots etc up there like the back of his hand.  He has given me some great advice and direction this summer.  Im sure he will be checking in here eventually, but in the mean time you can follow his posts to some great RAC information- especially those of you that are looking for single track.  

 

JC  

[re-tread 57]

All i can add is that i park at 354 Valley Road, Pottsville, PA. It is on the south side of the road and there is some old construction equipment parked there also. You can ride on either side of Valley road. I mostly ride on the south side of the road. It is not that crowded on weekends. I am interested in other good areas at RAC.  

[pat22043]

I have ridden two RAC areas up near St Clair. One is "darkwater valley" which is on the west side of RT61 off "E Darkwater Rd". The other is "Burma rd" which is on either side of RT 1006 (Burma Road) which is to the east of St Clair/RT 61.

 

A lot of people just park behind the Home Depot and ride up the trail out of the parking lot. The Home Depot folks don't seem to mind us parking there, but RAC has posted a zillion No Tresspassing signs around the parking lot. There is lots of truck/trailer parking off Burma Rd itself, but you will need an RAC parking permit there. To the North side of Burma Road is a large open valley. Mostly jeep trails, with a few single tracks. The South side of Burma Rd has more single track and the trails are generally more challenging.

 

Darkwater Valley is also a fairly large open valley with dual track, but there are a fair number of challenging single track trails at the east end (close to RT 61/Home Depot) and to the north up towards I81. There are a bunch of parking areas off Darkwater Rd. There is also a parking area at the far west end, enter newcastle rd & greenbury Rd ,Heckscherville, PA 17901" into your GPS

 

I've only been riding there for two seasons, maybe 40 trips, and I've not explored it all.

There are also big RAC land areas north of I81. I've never been close to riding those areas.

[re-tread 57]

Hey Pat,

I can get to "darkwater valley" from where i park. i just go East and cross a few small roads to get there. I havent tried the East side of St Clair yet but i will. I hesitate parking at Home Depot so i will park where RAC suggests since i have a permit.I dont want to break the rules and risk the opportunity to ride on RAC property. Thank you for the post. I will explore those areas. I am always looking for a "play area" where i can improvise a little track with a jump or two. I have found that hard to find. Daryl  

[pat22043]

here is a place where you can do some jumping: Go up Burma Rd from St Clair. As the road plateaus out, there is a big RAC permit parking area on the right side. There are lots of trails to the right, straight and across Burma Rd. In the parking area, there is a rock outcroping, maybe 8 to 10 feet high and 30 yards long. Climb it, fly a bit. Take photos, Here are some

 

[jochuma3]

cool photos.   I am seriously considering trading my GS in for a KTM dual sport.  I can't justify owning both bikes along with the DRZ, but it is also  hard to get ride of the GS.  Ever since i started riding off road again I have found street rinding kinda boring.  I bought my DRZ in May and rode it every weekend, in that time I have only rode the GS about 4-5 times.   Here is the real kicker.....I have a sweet HD Road King that only has about 5K on it - I have not started it in two years!  I walk out to my garage to ride and I see the GS and the DRZ sitting there with the Road King and I never once in two years jumped on that Road King.  

[pat22043]

cool photos.   I am seriously considering trading my GS in for a KTM dual sport. 

 

Thanks. The bike in the photo is not a "dual sport" by most folks, its a 2014 KTM 200 XC-W enduro bike. It does have a headlight and a tail light stock. And its got a legal PA title and PA plate. But its not street legal, as it doesn't have the equipment to pass PA inspection. For that it would need things like brake lights, high and low beams, horn, mirrors and DOT approved tires.

But it looks enough like a dual sport that he rides it in dual-sport enduros

[re-tread 57]

Hey Pat,

Thanks for the tip. Do you mean going East on Burma rd from 61 on the left hand side (North) or the right hand side (South)? I am not Evil Knieval or anything, but i do miss a jump or two every so often. 

Daryl

[jochuma3]

re-tread,

if you are leaving St. Calir going up the Burma road you will go a few miles and off to your right you will see a flat dirt parking area, there was a sign hanging on a pole that said 'RAC Parking".  There is usually a fe trucks parked there unloading /loading bikes.  SO from that parking lot you can enter RAC property on that same side (right side of burma road if you are driving away from St. Claire).   What i do is .......there is a small hump about 1 foot high or so on the far right hand side of that parking area, you ride over that hump and turn right down a trail- the trail will go down and around for maybe a mile or two, it is a nice track with some rocks-  it will take you back into that area of the RAC land.  Back in there is the "play area".  It is a fairly large coal dirt area with some nice hills and a flat area.  there is certainly some cool jumps in there-  the black dirt there is very very soft and light, you will know as soon as your tires get into it- feels almost like sand.  

 

JC 

 

Hey Pat,

Thanks for the tip. Do you mean going East on Burma rd from 61 on the left hand side (North) or the right hand side (South)? I am not Evil Knieval or anything, but i do miss a jump or two every so often. 

Daryl

[jochuma3]

I am planning on riding out to the Treverton Area (RAC LAND) on Friday and checking it out.  This is an area that is included with the RAc permit that most don't tend to ride, but it is pretty popular with the ATV crowd.  

John C.  

[_N8_]

Most people that don't ride Trevorton anymore is because they either never had a permit & RAC started cracking down or they used to ride Trevorton along with a lot of the land that is now AOAA and you aren't supposed to do that anymore as I understand it.  That and the fact that there's thousands of acres over by Minersville & St. Clair that there is really no need to go over there anymore other than the coal hills.  I used to know the Trevorton area like the back of my hand, but I have not been there in 2-3 years.

[pat22043]

... East on Burma rd from 61 on the left hand side (North) or the right hand side (South)? I am not Evil Knieval or anything, but i do miss a jump or two every so often. 

 

The big parking area is on the right hand (south) side of Burma Rd. Its at the top where the paved road levels out. There is also a big parking area on the right before it levels out, apparently with a lot of single track trails going further to the right/South. But I always park up where its level.

 

About half-way up to the flat portion, there is a RAC gate on the left with a brown work trailer, and on the right, there is a driveway to an active construction zone. I generally stay away from active construction zones as RAC tends to use huge machines that would squash me and my KTM like fleas

[jochuma3]

Ride 10/30 at AOA.

 

Weather permitting-  there are a few of us from the ADVrider site that are trying to get together for a ride at AOA on Friday 10/30.  Basically a meet up of sorts.  Probably start with a trail ride around the park and then guys can break off and do thier  thing and meet back up in the lot at breaks to BS and hang out.  We are keeping an eye on the weather to see how it plays out for next week.  Let me know if anyone is interested.  

 

JC    

[Shadowflag]

Hey all... fairly new here and fairly new to dirt bikes... I've been riding atv's and mt bikes for a long time... decided to marry the two together and loving it.  Anyway, I've been riding AAOA a bit and curious whats at the East end of the mail haul road.  Is that RAC property?  its posted when youre coming back onto AAOA property, but i dont recall seeing anything headed out.  Is there anything worthwile over that way?  Feel free to PM.

 

Thanks!

[xxhardluckracingxx]

I would add that if your going to ride RAC plz get the permit its a small price to pay for such a great area. We go up quite often to ride single track next time we get a ride together ill post back at which trail head we will be meeting. I can pretty much link up single track from the 901 pub to home depot on 61 and beyond.

[jochuma3]

I know that AAOA is up against RAC property , so yes that is probably what you are looking at.  I agree with xxhardluckracingxx, if you do decide to rode race- just go a head they do stop and ask you , not to mention that it is the best way to help insure that the land stays open for us.  I would also like to get in in that single track deal-  

John C. 

 

Hey all... fairly new here and fairly new to dirt bikes... I've been riding atv's and mt bikes for a long time... decided to marry the two together and loving it.  Anyway, I've been riding AAOA a bit and curious whats at the East end of the mail haul road.  Is that RAC property?  its posted when youre coming back onto AAOA property, but i dont recall seeing anything headed out.  Is there anything worthwile over that way?  Feel free to PM.

 

Thanks!

[SENIORWOODS110]

Two buddies and I are heading up to AOAA Sunday morning for the first time. Hope to be at the parking lot around 10am. If anyone on here would like to meet up and ride, let me know. We're B level vet, and senior guys.