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This is the 3rd year i've come up fishing here and my third year with my bronco (yellow; badlands, lux package, 2.4 manual) figured i'd finally write a trip report in case anyone else with a Bronco wanted to know how the trails are up in this part of north central/north east Minnesota.
Also i'm not like... a super driver or anything. I live in Nebraska and while i've owned 4x4s mainly never done much outside snow/farm work with them. So, this is basically from perspective of "super beginner who occasionally has watched videos on 4 wheeling on youtube".
Iron Range
This is located in an old iron mine area and is... pretty intense and cool. The area has a wash station which you will want to use, get oto that later, and a park ranger station where you can buy the pass you need . I believe there are techniclally over 100 miles of trails although not all are open to OHV vehicles and some.. well. I dont think a stock bronco can make. I think I paid like $50 for a 2 year pass. The trails here range from sure no problem to you absolutely need a dedicated rock crawler rig to even attempt them. They are clearly marked. The easiest (green) I would suggest anyone even without much 4 wheeling experience you can put your bronco into mud ruts and just have a good time. No worries about getting stuck or breaking anything. The blue (harder) are where you need some experience and where you can, if you screw up, get yourself stuck/broken pretty easily. The _black_ I would never attempt honestly. They are beyond my skill level.
This is an example of a black - hercules hill. It's 150' at i dont know, 50? vertical.
Or you have stuff like "tipsy" which you could ... maybe.. do a bronco through but i uh wouldn't.
Now the good parts. A lot of good wheeling. There's a connector trail that runs between the two areas that will definitely test your skills. It's a few miles long and basically nothing but 4-10 inch rock and a lot of very fast vertical ascents/descents. You also get stunning views although note the very iron stain on the bronco. That took me a year to get off the plastic molded bits because I didn't follow the adivce of the rangers/locals and _immediately_ wash the vehicle because it looked cool (it does look cool). I spent basically the entire 3 hours I was there in mud/ruts mode and using and abusing the crawler gear. it works fantastic and really if you just pay attention to the basics - your clearances, keeping your tires on the rocks, etc it's all really doable and enjoyable. I dropped my tire pressure down to 30 psi for this course. There's a free app that will plot out the courses for you and all the rangers will help out a bunch if you have questions.
There was a pretty gnarly straight up into mud to axle section which I was legitimately suprised bronco made it through buried up to its axle in mud and kicking up rooster tails but it did. The trails tend to be in short sections - maybe 1, 2 miles _at most_ before it dumps you back on the main road.
The only thing I did not attempt - on advice of the rangers - was the mud run. They thought i'd _probably_ be fine but suggested a winch as a tow if you got stuck was going to be ... pricey.
Spider Lake
This was the first OHV course I ever tried in the bronco and it remains one of my favorite. it's 29 miles of trails in sandy/rocky terrain. I spend most of the time in mud/ruts mode with the occasional shift into sandy for the "dune" parts of the course. This is just fun wheeling, the only thing I would suggest or might be intimidating is there are a _lot_ of little ponds you got to drive through and the depth can be ... deceptive. One we hit and the water went well over the bumper and nearly to the hood until we floated a bit and hit the other side. That was unexpected!
For the most part though you're dealing with mud, ruts, tight turns lot of sandy soil and a LOT of straight up verticals and straight down descents relying on the trail cam and the crawler gear to get you up/down.You do share the road with a decent amount of ATVs and side by sides. The trails here can run for miles before you run back to the main road. Also... the breakover angles can get you if you're not paying attention so helllo skid plates.
Over all this isnt necessarily _challenging_ outside the water dangers and the straight vertical ascents. Really, put the bronco in mud ruts and keep your tires on the big rocks and just let it go. My 77 year old uncle and my brother, having never driven a bronco, took turns in here and all found it super fun with only moderate amonts of screaming.
About biggest negative is it's a forest in minnesota. You _can_ leave the top down but god save your soul if you stop for very long you get eaten alive by mosquitos.
Also i'm not like... a super driver or anything. I live in Nebraska and while i've owned 4x4s mainly never done much outside snow/farm work with them. So, this is basically from perspective of "super beginner who occasionally has watched videos on 4 wheeling on youtube".
Iron Range
This is located in an old iron mine area and is... pretty intense and cool. The area has a wash station which you will want to use, get oto that later, and a park ranger station where you can buy the pass you need . I believe there are techniclally over 100 miles of trails although not all are open to OHV vehicles and some.. well. I dont think a stock bronco can make. I think I paid like $50 for a 2 year pass. The trails here range from sure no problem to you absolutely need a dedicated rock crawler rig to even attempt them. They are clearly marked. The easiest (green) I would suggest anyone even without much 4 wheeling experience you can put your bronco into mud ruts and just have a good time. No worries about getting stuck or breaking anything. The blue (harder) are where you need some experience and where you can, if you screw up, get yourself stuck/broken pretty easily. The _black_ I would never attempt honestly. They are beyond my skill level.
This is an example of a black - hercules hill. It's 150' at i dont know, 50? vertical.
Or you have stuff like "tipsy" which you could ... maybe.. do a bronco through but i uh wouldn't.
Now the good parts. A lot of good wheeling. There's a connector trail that runs between the two areas that will definitely test your skills. It's a few miles long and basically nothing but 4-10 inch rock and a lot of very fast vertical ascents/descents. You also get stunning views although note the very iron stain on the bronco. That took me a year to get off the plastic molded bits because I didn't follow the adivce of the rangers/locals and _immediately_ wash the vehicle because it looked cool (it does look cool). I spent basically the entire 3 hours I was there in mud/ruts mode and using and abusing the crawler gear. it works fantastic and really if you just pay attention to the basics - your clearances, keeping your tires on the rocks, etc it's all really doable and enjoyable. I dropped my tire pressure down to 30 psi for this course. There's a free app that will plot out the courses for you and all the rangers will help out a bunch if you have questions.
There was a pretty gnarly straight up into mud to axle section which I was legitimately suprised bronco made it through buried up to its axle in mud and kicking up rooster tails but it did. The trails tend to be in short sections - maybe 1, 2 miles _at most_ before it dumps you back on the main road.
The only thing I did not attempt - on advice of the rangers - was the mud run. They thought i'd _probably_ be fine but suggested a winch as a tow if you got stuck was going to be ... pricey.
Spider Lake
This was the first OHV course I ever tried in the bronco and it remains one of my favorite. it's 29 miles of trails in sandy/rocky terrain. I spend most of the time in mud/ruts mode with the occasional shift into sandy for the "dune" parts of the course. This is just fun wheeling, the only thing I would suggest or might be intimidating is there are a _lot_ of little ponds you got to drive through and the depth can be ... deceptive. One we hit and the water went well over the bumper and nearly to the hood until we floated a bit and hit the other side. That was unexpected!
For the most part though you're dealing with mud, ruts, tight turns lot of sandy soil and a LOT of straight up verticals and straight down descents relying on the trail cam and the crawler gear to get you up/down.You do share the road with a decent amount of ATVs and side by sides. The trails here can run for miles before you run back to the main road. Also... the breakover angles can get you if you're not paying attention so helllo skid plates.
Over all this isnt necessarily _challenging_ outside the water dangers and the straight vertical ascents. Really, put the bronco in mud ruts and keep your tires on the big rocks and just let it go. My 77 year old uncle and my brother, having never driven a bronco, took turns in here and all found it super fun with only moderate amonts of screaming.
About biggest negative is it's a forest in minnesota. You _can_ leave the top down but god save your soul if you stop for very long you get eaten alive by mosquitos.
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