Deep in the rural back roads of South Carolina is a privately owned technical off-road park called Gulches. Situated in the hilly piedmont region of the Blue Ridge Mountains and at just under 80 acres, this ORV park not only meets the challenges of built 4x4's, it also accommodates dirt bikes and quads.
Located in Laurens County, the region is steeped in American history going back to the American Revolution. It's named after Henry Laurens, an early American statesman who served as president of the Second Continental Congress, the body of representatives that adopted the Declaration of Independence. In the 1820's, 17th President Andrew Johnson, established a tailor shop on the town square. Not surprising, Laurenians are passionate about their history, past and present. These folks will draw you in to their political affairs and visitors quickly become well versed in the politics of the region.
Gulches is located off the beaten path and one knows they have arrived when a little white house with a red tin roof and a fashionable hedge of twisted and broken windshields comes into view. Waiting in the rustic office to check in, there is a variety of diversion. A parts box of nuts and bolts, a dusty shelf stocked with assorted vehicle fluids, Gulches t-shirts, and several framed magazine articles featuring Gulches. A television runs non-stop video of past 4x4 competitions. Trail guides are not required, so participants are shown wall samples of the easy to understand trail signage, given a map, and sent on their way.
Behind the office a 200 year old Oak nicknamed 'tree-of-parts' shades the picnic area. This durable tree has a wide variety of carnage parts unceremoniously strung from its branches. The collection includes an exhaust, radiator, axle parts, a Jeep mirror, a Warn steel cable, Toyota Birfields and bumper, a transmission cooler, and a haphazardly hung broken chair with a hastily painted sign, "When Jeeps go wild." These parts are ever changing because they are up for grabs. You name it, it's likely been there.
The trails are distractingly beautiful much to the credit of co-owner Lydia Wilkenson who is adamant about maintaining the pristine and undisturbed natural beauty of the hardwood, bamboo and soft pine forests. The terrain includes red and gray clay, black dirt, and white sugar sand. Trail obstacles consist of a bowl, rocky hill climbs, natural and man-made rock gardens, a giant cement pipe garden, water holes, name-sake gulch trails, off-camber slopes and a roller coaster mud pit known as Suspension Junction. Trails are rated easy, intermediate and advanced.
There is plenty of room for trailers and camping is available along the tranquil and scenic Reedy River, which runs into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Bass fishing is great -so bring your fishing gear if you're so inclined. The riverside camping includes a hot shower.
In addition to unlimited open four-wheeling, Gulches' offers a Mega 4x4 Challenge Series of events five times a year. The sponsored rock crawling events are open to anyone who wants to compete; categories include bone stock with no lockers, to the more beefy super modified requiring winches.
Other events include ATV competitions featuring Mud Bogging and Powder Puff 4x4 challenges specifically designed for women drivers and spotters.
Gulches is a fairly new park that opened in the Spring of 2006. Many clubs from the region have worked countless volunteer hours cutting trails and to show appreciation, many of the trails have been creatively named after these supporting clubs.
Rain was very heavy this day. Copious amounts of water mixed with vermiculate laced red clay produces a thick squishy mud that is awesome to play in, and rocks particularly hard to climb on. Because tires were so caked with clay, no one had traction and it was pretty neat to watch as trail guides Hutch May and Erik Hughes skillfully climbed a craggy piece of mountain known as Shipwreck, so named for the numerous boat carcasses strewn about the sides of the trail. This rain slicked piece of rock is well known for tearing rigs up.. Although luck works on occasion, the intimate relationship one has with their vehicle is necessary to finesse and climb this difficult obstacle. As a spectator, it was impressive to see the skill of these drivers as they handled their different and equally capable rigs; Hutch's '99 Tacoma with 15 inches of lift with 42" Irocs and Erik's '80 CJ7 with 12 inches of lift and 42" Irocs.
Gulches is open four days a week, Thursday through Sunday. There is a diverse mix of four-wheeling enthusiasts, the quads, bikers and 4x4's get together and many become fast friends. They can share the 4x4 trails or there's a separate loop for the quads and bikers. With over 32 trails covering a wide variety of terrain, there is something for everybody.
You can check out www.GulchesORVPark.com and sign up for their monthly newsletter.
