Adventure Series: Belmore State Forest

If you do not have a motorcycle that you are confident operating in off road settings, DO NOT attempt this ride.

The smell of Florida mud getting baked on hot exhaust headers was filling the air. It's seems unseasonably hot and humid with it being February creating a sheen of sweat on everyone's brow. The trail seemed easy enough at first and since everything prior to this particular section was beginner friendly, we all thought we could make it through. Riders were competent. Tires were of the correct nature. But the fear of someone being overtaken by the boggy water crossing before us that was of questionable depth deterred the group. A brave soul on the bulletproof KLR had somehow already made it across lifting our spirits, but the boss had already spoken. We were to turn around and do everything we had just fought through again. The concern lay not with everyone else's bike, which were mostly of the GS or GSA variety, but a loaner G310GS. While it tackled the mud like nobody's business, the exhaust might be too low and dip below the water line; a risk the pilot did not want to take. Turning a set of heavies around on a muddy trail that is probably about seven feet across is no easy task, but we did it and made our way back out to the two track we probably should have stayed on.

Now that I've spooked you enough, let me tell you how wonderful the rest of Belmore State Forest is.

Coot's Shanty offers a place to park so you can take some of the available footpaths

In all honesty, these tracks are some of the best you can find in northeast Florida. Tucked away in Keystone Heights, this 8,700 acres has enough for whatever it is you're interested in. It's far enough "out there" that you can't hear any main roadway traffic and it's splendid. Hiking, mountain biking, and general offroading can be found in abundance here. Nearly every time I've visited, some type of wildlife has made itself known, with the most interesting experience coming in the form of an adorable little wild pig. I'm well read enough to know not to approach these guys as they can be quite aggressive, but I'll be damned if that thing didn't make me giggle a little bit. There are two entrances to the forest, but the north one is the easiest to get to since we're coming from Jacksonville. All of the main trails are in good shape, so as long as you stay on them you should be alright. The account that I opened with is the result of our group heading off onto one of the trails that was not considered an "open road" on the map and had not been scouted previously.

Staying on the main trails offer your best bet for a nice ride through the forest.

If you happen to try and tackle the forest after it rains, you can be sure that there will be plenty of water holes for you to negotiate. Due to the fact that things can be quite muddy in the area these water holes look more menacing than they actually are, so you can ride through them with confidence if you have the correct tires and don't mind getting a bit wet. Trying to making it through wearing something more suitable for the street may end up with you getting a bit dirtier than you bargained for.

The Ducati Scrambler living up to its namesake. A big smile is apparent under that helmet! This rider managed to scramble completely off the trail and into the woods later on that morning.

This water crossing proved easy pickings for a KTM Super Adventure.

The Super Tenere handles itself quite well. It sounds good, too.

Following the line of the .GPX file will take you on a fairly safe route around the forest, but avoid the area highlighted in yellow unless it's been pretty dry for a few weeks. I think it's safe to say that any amount of rain would cause the ever-present offshoot trails, like the highlighted one, to become a muddy, difficult mess.

Coot's Shanty offers an area to rest or collect yourself after getting onto the trails and, if I remember correctly, there might be a few other recreation areas to take a break at as well. If you find yourself on Cripple Creek Road, there is a wonderful little bridge that makes for an excellent photo opportunity. Depending on how much rain the area has seen, the water level can range from a few feet below the bridge to almost even with the bottom of it, complete with a rather vigorous current.

The bridge at Cripple Creek Road

The trusty KLR having it's fun since Kawasaki has ended its lineage.

Depending on how much riding you're planning on doing, Belmore might be good enough for a morning adventure ride, much like our group did. If you're keen on tackling more trail, Etoniah State Forest is easily accessible from the southern entrance down Middle Road. As with all these write-ups and trails, approach them with caution and assess them according to your skill level. In my opinion, the main trails can be done by beginners to intermediates with no issue. It was quite the melting pot of bikes at the start of our group ride when this track was made that included a Honda CB500X and a Yamaha FZ-07 (both on street tires) who didn't take any spills at all. That should give you a pretty good idea of the difficulty of this route. If you do try to go off the beaten path, things will get difficult. I'll let these past few photos speak for themselves when it comes to that...

Some members of the technical group weren't exactly dressed for the part.

There was no getting around throwing up a big rooster tail of mud behind you.

The little G310GS that could! It handled the mud better than the bigger bikes due to its light weight.

I was unaware at how filthy everything actually was until I got home.

- To find out more about Belmore State Forest, visit their website. It has a nice map to cross reference .GPX files with.

- Due to how impressive the performance of the G310GS was on this ride, I'm including a link to more information on it here.

- Click here to download the .GPX file for this ride from dualsportmaps.com