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No, he** no, and definitely not. And some other adjectives. I've ridden there in the wet. Or I've tried to ride there in the wet. Slick as snot, mud heavy as concrete, all around a 0/10 experience. I have learned to check the forecast and the weather history before packing up and heading that way. All that said, how would the gp have otherwise been? I've never been to an event day there.

@@blaynemI’m actually kinda new on bikes so it was not a good first experience, but it looks super fun when it’s dry. I’ll definitely go back in the fall or winter

Thanks! I hope you had a great ride!

Yeah this place is a mess in the wet. When it is wet and you're on a bike you have to get to the single track and trails less traveled, and those are harder to find if not with someone really familiar with the place. I'm not a fan of it when wet. Best wishes on your recovery.

I could reply with an essay here... If you're willing to say, what is your home town, for point of reference? Taylorville is close to me but a rutted out mess for trail riding, not really worth it. St. Joe is awesome. It can be tough, but is also so easy that my kids love to ride there. But it is big (2000 acres) and you have to learn the place to know where to go and where not to go. (400s off of 400 are flat and fun/easy; 400s near 100 are steep hills. 300s can be a mix, but 360 is a nice trail. 600s have two sandy parts and one timber part; neither that tough. 100s and 200s can be steep difficult hills. 800s are generally moderately easy, though 100 in this area is rocky and 850 or whatever it is on the bottom side can be a muddy mess so stick to the middle. ETC... you get the point.) Brushyridge is about 350 acres. Absolutely terrible when wet as the clay soil gets slick as snot. But in the dry, is a combination of flowing trails and peppered by some hill climbs and tricky single track. A nice facility. Yet it also took me a few times of going there to "get" how it is laid out. There are no real markers like at St Joe, and I would describe it as 3 parts. There's the parking lot back to the Enduro obstacles, the east third. If you go west across the creek, you get into a central section. And if you further west, under the railroad tracks, you get into the westmost third. Each part has some fun trails, nothing too extreme, unless it's wet or you want to do something challenging. But it's kinda easy to get disoriented or miss a section if you don't understand how things are laid out. Tilton ATV park is one I would recommend you looking up. I'm in Decatur so it's close(ish) to me, but it is a small 120 or so acres. It's cheap for an annual pass ($50 person, $75 family), they designate and mark the trails green (easy), yellow, and red (hard), and the green section is fun flat flowy trails for the 20-30 acres nearest the parking lot. Yellow trails are mostly off to one side. If you drop down into the red trails then you kind of are on your own, but nothing is too dangerous. The loamy soil is also a bit more forgiving. I've been taking my kids here for years and my 12 yo is this year going into the red trails with me for the first time. While you have cell service, know that often you may be the only one there -- so riding solo isn't something I'd advise. To the north, Fox Valley Off Road near Ottawa is also nice. Around 130 acres or so, I consider it pretty beginner friendly. Yeah there are some tougher trails and hills but there are a ton of easy exits and you'll never get in trouble by accident. There's a track, kids track, trails, and etc. Few super easy flat trails than Tilton, but a ton of moderate trails. You can cover it all in a half day, but yeah, it's a nice place and you won't get lost or accidentally over your head. Here's my own map of places... let me know if you have any questions... www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1vnAywBhpW3os-99k2mGR3CWEv1VhAkTR&usp=sharing

It is not free. You must purchase a pass (sold on an annual basis only) before riding any trail. There are rangers who look for the pass sticker to be displayed as you pass them. As for e bike I think that'd be fine but just watch your range. The H&H trail system is massive; on our 3 days of riding this trip we did 60 ,100, and 40 miles over about 5-6 hours of riding each day as the trails chain off of each other. trailsheaven.com/how-to-get-a-permit/

@@blaynem thank you sooo much!!!

'21 KTM 300 XC-W. You really can't get a better woods bike... lugs easy, light weight, low gearing, softer than MX suspension, predicable but strong power when needed. Any of the 250 or 300 CC 2 stroke Enduro bikes from KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas (all 3 owned by KTM), or Beta or Sherco... Will all serve well.

Thanks! I'm from Illinois, not a local, but I'll answer what I can.

@@blaynem We are looking to plan a trip with about 3.5 days available to ride. I am thinking of staying near Matewan and/or Delberton. We'd probably aim for as much moderate difficulty single track as possible. Do you think there is enough riding to fill that time in the Devil's Anse/Buffalo Mtn system? Have you explored the other trails systems much to recommend another area to definitely check out? Thanks so much, I appreciate hearing your thoughts!

Been there too; posted videos of some of it. Timer, hills, rocky ledges... But I'm curious if there's a certain trail in particular you're thinking of that I should make sure I hit next time?

GoPro Hero 9 camera has built in GPS. GoPro through the 11 does, in fact. (GoPro removed GPS from the Hero 12, which is a big disappointment.). Anyway, with GPS enabled the data is captured with the video. The GoPro Quik app can use the data for short clip overlays but for my longer videos like this I use a software called Telemetry Overlay that does it. It pulls in the map and adds the trail based on the captured GPS data.

Are you the Jim that was my in-car instructor? If so, know that you were one of my favorites even if I didn't get that clean run! The C8 was my warm-up drive before getting in the 296 so I wasn't too worried. Had I gotten stuck at the back for the 296 I would have been upset but we had a nice casual drive in the C8 and I appreciated what you could do (having me back off then go). I always debate what to say when getting in the cars... I don't want to say something too confident that'd make the instructor think I'd have an ego and won't listen, but I know I'm faster than the vast majority and should be up front. Usually it works out okay, this time it didn't. That's okay.

Are you one of the instructors? I'm jealous of you guys; so much fun. And you're the second person to suggest that I have to make COTA. The problem is it takes a couple laps to really learn a track... so if I made COTA from IL I think I'd have to "drive the fleet" ... we need a loyalty club package. :-) haha. (I think I'm at 15 drives with 13 of them at Putnam, 2 at Gateway.)

@@blaynem I am, and was actually at this event. It's a great gig, especially for a part time job!! I'd always do the lead car at a new track - it helps. If you'll be at Autobahn (Joliet, IL) in August, we can meet up and stay in touch and we can discuss alternate options. I'd love to hop in the right seat with you, you're a great wheel man and with that many drives, you have a great grasp of our program.

I use the GoPro to capture the GPS data, so I don't have a ton of experience to share here. That said i do use an app called OruxMaps when I ride big public areas I don't know well. OnX Offroad is also a very popular app. For just GPS data, GPS Logger for Android or GPX Trail Tracker for iOS are recommended by the software I use to do these trail overlays (when GoPro GPS data is absent).

Thanks! It's a program called Telemetry Overlay. It pulls and overlays the data from my GoPro Hero 9.

Thanks for the info have a great day

GoPro Hero 9 Black camera and Telemetry Overlay software. The GoPro captures the data (with GPS enabled) and then Telemetry Overlay extracts the data and lets me show the visuals of my choice including the speedometer, map, etc. it's a pretty cool software with lots of flexibility and options.

The camera is a GoPro Hero 9 Black. With GPS enabled, it captures all this data on its own. (GoPro dropped GPS on the 12, btw!). I then use a program called Telemetry Overlay to take the data file that the camera makes and turn it into the visuals.

Ok thx, did u use chest mount or chin mount on helmet?

@@mikebillhartz6380 ProShot chin mount. I'm a big fan as it is lower profile and doesn't have a clip I can put into my chest like clip style chin mounts, and is super secure. It also holds the camera where I can barely see the red recording indicator in the corner but other than a hair of the corners I don't see the camera or mount at all.

Yeah, I thought it was a cool trail with good flow and quite a bit of variety. Probably good that it's a fun trail, as it seemed to be one we ended up on repeatedly when trying to get to other trails. Happy riding!

Peer pressure is a hell of a drug? Or...ignorance is bliss? Truth is that this was our first time hitting this trail and we didn't know what we were getting into. Trail #150 is the lowest number of the "most difficult" trail numbers, and 180s, 190s, 170s, etc had been no problem. So... 150 couldn't be that bad, right? Well... it was. Got through it and didn't go back to 150 again.

Granted it's been a month since you left this comment, but if you remember... what trails seemed dangerous? I assume it was the wide main trails where SXS go fast or the wrong way? Those are the ones that get me. The narrow timber trails, even when steeper, I feel safer on.

That's awesome. I'd probably go through a bike a year if I lived that close to that awesome trail system!

I can't remember now how much complaining I left in the video, but between the lines here and on the 171/172 trails... we were ready to be done seeing gas lines. They're just such a pain to deal with, and so unnatural relative to the rest of the terrain...we hated those darn things!

(Delayed response, sorry!) Hahaha, I mean, all I was saying was that a sport quad would be fun on those fast wide sections. We hit a lot of single track but having the back end sideways on a sport quad on these otherwise uneventful trails wouldn't be a bad thing. It's not like I was promoting SXS use... sport quads actually take some ability to drive fast. But would I want a full day on one? I'll stick to the bike.

@@blaynem ,love your videos,,,you are an awesome rider ,keep up the great work on 2 WHEELS ,,,keep posting your inspirational videos,,,makes me feel young again 😀

Jeeps are no longer allowed. They once were, but the place changed hands a few years ago and with it came participation in the IL OHV program...which provides grant money for the place, but then will only allow bikes, quads, and sxs/utv. Actual vehicles/jeeps no longer allowed. (and if you check their FB page you'll see some former customers are still quite upset about that.)

Thanks! I'm wearing a GoPro Hero 9 Black camera, chin mounted with a ProShot helmet mount. With the GPS setting in the camera settings enabled, it captures the speed and elevation automatically. To extract the sensor data and turn it into an overlay, I use a program called Telemetry Overlay.

@@blaynem Very cool! Thanks.

It really was! We ended up on it multiple times, but it is a nice flowing trail with a little bit of everything.

The overlay at the bottom shows 3.0 miles for this trail/video; this was captured by the camera with GPS. It might be off by a little bit due to me stopping and walking back and forth before I turned the camera off, but it should be pretty close to accurate I'd expect.

That's good to know, and thanks for commenting for sake of anyone else that comes along looking into the trail. We found this a few times with different trails, where the trail we rode (and captured by the GPS) didn't quite match what was on the published maps. I think there are more redirections happening regularly than people might realize.

Thanks; I appreciate it! It was a fun ride!

Sorry I didn't see and reply to this for a bit. Anyway, we were all using Cardo Packtalk Bold units -- except for one guy with an older Sena unit. The Cardo's with the mesh technology worked great; the range was good and if we ever got out of range they automatically reconnected when we were back in range. The Sena however was directly connected via bluetooth bridge and it was finicky as could be. It'd broadcast static, the range wasn't good, and once we got out of range, we'd have to bit buttons to make it work again once back in range.

For these trails, you're not wrong! The higher number trails (150+) were the tougher single track; I have separate videos for those. This one with 35 and 21... we were just running between other trails. That said... I saw a guy on a 4cyl cruiser with adventure bike tires come off of I think 147; I was impressed.

Sorry, forgot to reply. Anyway... Here's the full details... GoPro Hero 9 Black recording at 4k and 30fps with stabilization and GPS on. With a 256GB card, the card is usually good for a full day of riding, somewhere in the 5-6 hour range. I have both the standard and the Enduro batteries; the standard seems to give 60-70 minutes with the Enduro getting me 15 min or so more. So... the batteries are definitely the limitation and the reason why recording stops. About every hour or so, when we're stopping for a break somewhere, I change batteries. With a video this long, it wasn't recording continuous. As to how I get a video this long... The GoPro automatically breaks recordings into smaller videos of 8:51 (or less). So, whether it's a 3 hour video or a 15 minute video, this means I have to use software to combine the videos back together. The GoPro captures GPS data, but the GoPro software for getting/using this data is terrible unless you're talking about a very short video and using their mobile phone app. So, I use a program called Telemetry Extractor to combine the videos and extract and overlay the GPS data. I then use a program called VSDC to do the final editing (removing bio breaks, extended bike recovery times, adding text overlays, etc.) and to render the final, full-length video.

I hope you got out there! I have an XR250L (at home); always great to see those bigger XR650's out there! Some of the trails would definitely be easier on a lighter bike but most should be totally doable on the 650!

Thanks; hopefully you guys had a great ride! Any big changes on these trails from fall to spring?

I get what you're saying, but the swing itself wasn't that close to the edge of the cliff to be dangerous. If there's a lawsuit I'd expect it to involve a side-by-side and/or beer; we only had one close call with a SXS and it was younger driver, but I can't tell you how many SXS drivers I saw drinking beer (which isn't allowed) out there.

@@blaynem Just saying these swings are "made for two" and the hemp rope they used won't last long. The one at Babcock is way too close to the edge.

Ahh, ok, I understand what you meant now. 👍 I didn't get to Babcock... Maybe next time.

Thanks! I always get all turned around the first time I go somewhere. There aren't usually ride videos on YT with maps I can check beforehand, but I realized adding the map overlay when watching back my own footage helps me get bearings for the second ride!

@@blaynem Very useful! Thanks for the uploads

Sorry; I somehow missed the comment for a couple weeks it seems. Anyway, there are some decent open fields and pretty flat trails around the property. However, some of those flat trails are pretty rocky in sections, so that makes it a little tricky for kids. If yours are comfortable riding standing up, and picking lines to not hit rocks, then they'd be fine to navigate those sections. But I'd be a little cautious about it as baseball/softball size rocks can do a number with small wheels. The tracks are also right by the parking area and if nothing else, the kids could ride the tracks. (The kids track is very small, backyard size... the main track is much larger but not all that scary or busy for kids to ride.)

Also, I posted some St. Joe videos recently, but if you haven't considered that, it's worth a look as well. You have to deal with some sand right off the parking area but it's a big area with lots of flat trails in the central/west. And if you want to put some more places on your radar, this is the map I made myself of places I could ride (from central IL)... www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1vnAywBhpW3os-99k2mGR3CWEv1VhAkTR&usp=sharing

Not a lot... probably 6 or 8 times a summer? I'm over in Decatur, so sometimes I go north or west instead... rotate quite a bit. About half the time I'm the only one there; sometimes I'll see a SXS or two or a bike or two.

Maybe because you had pooped your pants? The world will never know! :-)

Thanks! Yeah, it's quite a place... takes a few days to really hit everywhere or start to learn the trails. Shoulder tears, not so fun though. Hope you're recovered! As for the SD card, yeah, it's a 256 GB card. The edited file for a ride like this is around 150GB, recording in 4k at 30fps. Sometimes I break rides down into multiple videos when we're following specific trails or in certain areas... but other times we're just so all over the place that I just do it as one video. (Good thing I'm not monetized and playing the algorithm; long videos don't get the love!)

Thanks! I have an old XR250L myself; while not a 650, the 25 year old 250 is pushing about 300 lbs... I wouldn't want to try many of the single track trails with a heavy XR of either variety! I put these videos together (as numbered trails) in hopes it would help people looking to scout out trails, so I'm glad to hear it helped! And yeah, through 3 days of riding, 200 miles, everyone we saw was pretty courteous. It wasn't perfect (few people didn't know how to signal or get over, a few had beers at stops, one single sxs came around a turn a little faster than probably should have)... but overall nothing to complain about over 3 long, high-mileage days of riding! Happy riding!

You bet; hope you had a good ride!

Yeah; I'm glad it was pretty dry when we were there; wet clay just sucks up so much energy to ride...

I was just there yesterday for the first time, trail 23 and 35 have really nice views, great trails imo.

Thanks! Riding with a group definitely helped... between scouting and just giving a hand to each other, it helped. Solo would have been miserable.

Yeah, I'm right there, too... it's about 2:15 for me to get to the Cliffs.

This trail angered me. They say 101-149 is "more difficult" with 150-199 being "most difficult, but I expected it to be a gradient with 190s being more difficult than 150s. It was on this trail that I realized that isn't how it worked... I would put some of the 180s as easier than trail 150, for example.

Not the longest trail but a nice fun one for sure.

You need to either stop by the Village of Tilton Village Hall (1001 Tilton Road) when they are open during normal business hours, or you need to call the Hall when they are open (217-477-0800). If you call, they can email you the form you need to fill out and send back to to them -- and take your credit card over the phone. If you do it in person it's all immediate, but if you register over phone/email, they'll mail you your registration sticker. The registration is yearly only, $50 for a person or $75 for a family. Riding is only Wed-Sun, as there is a gun range in the park that operates Mon/Tues. When you arrive to ride, you park at the designated lot by the baseball fields and you unload and ride. There is no attendant or anyone working the gates, just unload and go. The registration sticker they be put in the dash of your auto in the parking lot. Municipal police will patrol the lot but you should consider yourself "on your own" once you hit the trails, so I'd recommend taking it easy or not riding solo. Hope that helps!

@@blaynem i live like 10 minutes away and always wondered how this place even works. i’ll definitely have to give it a try soon! thanks for the awesome video man

You bet, and thanks! Happy riding! I like Tilton; pure timber riding. Sure Badlands is not far away, but then you're dealing with a ton of SXS traffic, busy lots, and not much for timber trails. Being able to go to Tilton Wed-Sun whenever you want, often not see anyone else, not have to pay each visit... I think is pretty cool.

@@blaynem have you been to mill creek park in marshall il? don’t see any vids in it and wondering how it is

@@marklukas2252 I have not been. I had a buddy camp and ride there a couple years ago and said it was pretty boring, though a few more opinions online have been mixed. There are only 3 main trail loops marked but I get the impression there are a good bit of trails off those... Yet I haven't gotten perspective as online the acreage is only mentioned for the entire park complex not just the riding part.

I appreciate the note! I know my videos aren't going to get big views being basic "boring" clips without drama, crashes, or exciting voiceovers, but riders like you and me who might be looking to simply see what a trail is really about is why I put these out there. Happy riding!

The elevation isn't quite as perfect as I'd like; it gives a good feel for changes but if you watch it close it bounces around a little oddly second to second. The map I use myself more than I expected; once I figured out how to do that inlay, to be able to look back and figure out where tough spots are on the trail is pretty handy as when riding I sometimes don't realize if I've ridden 1 mile or 5 miles...