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SEE September Status Update Below

Off Road Truck Park

More Landowners are closing their property to off roaders every day making it harder and harder to find nice areas to enjoy the outdoors with our ORVs. I have always loved trail riding and decided to open my property for others to enjoy. I think most people will agree that this piece of land lends itself perfectly to the sport and that was a big reason I have gone forward with this project. This mountain was homesteaded in the late 1700's and the evidence is all around to the discerning eye. Rock walls that formed property boundaries can be found over the entire area as well as garden mounds and foot paths. I hope that all who come to Wicked Hills Off Road Park will have a wicked good time, stay safe and respect the property. We will offer trail maps to all who visit and we are working on a digital version for your hand held device. Please let us know if using your hand held device for trail maps is interesting to you and if so what type of handheld do you use? WickedHills@yahoo.com

4x4 Off Roading Trails

The trails within the park are a combination of old county roads, discontinued roads and tote roads. Most had not been used for a few years but cleared up nicely and will be great for this application. There are areas that have steep inclines that will be very challenging to the best hill climbers and other areas suited for first timers, there truly is something for everyone. When you are at the top of the mountain facing West on a clear day you can see the Presidential Mountain Range in New Hampshire which includes Mt. Washington, at center is Mt. Blue with its steep westerly edge, the Bigelow range, Sugarloaf and Saddleback Mountains and to the North lies Mt. Katadin. It is an awesome sight. White Tail Deer, Moose, Turkeys, Grouse & Woodcock, Bobcat, Coyote, Rabbit, Fox, Raccoon and all the other woodland animals are in the park and seen often. There are many large birds of prey here too including Owl, Osprey, Red Tail Hawk plus the Palliated Woodpecker and lesser woodpeckers. There is a lot of wildlife to see and enjoy.

We will do our very best to keep our trails clean and free of trash, protect our natural resource and make sure it is here for many to use and enjoy in the future. I ask that all visitors please do your best to protect the trees, land and wildlife. I want everyone to have a good time and tearing up some hills is fine, just use your judgment and try to have the least amount of impact you can.

For the first year we are open our plan is to provide off roading trails, pits, steep climbs and easy parking, just the basics. I need to find out how popular Wicked Hills Off Road Park will be. If we are busy we will move on to Phase 2. This will include camping sites, bathrooms & showers, pavilions to enjoy the views, have a picnic lunch or just hang-out. We will also have some very tasty food available during busy periods. Phase 2 will also see more trails and an obstacle course. And when the time comes for the next step Phase 3 will begin. This upgrade will include camper & motor home hook-ups, cabin rentals, a truck wash to rinse the mud and much more plus some events.


Click for Trail Map

 

September 2012 Update

The Town of China has asked me to follow their comprehensive permit application process which is quite detailed and attempts to leave no questions unanswered. At their request we have developed an Emergency Evacuation Plan in the event someone were to become seriously ill or injured on the trails. China Fire and Rescue worked with us to produce a simple and effective plan. A Hazardous Waste Spill Control Plan has also been developed with input from many places including Maine DEP. who I found to have a good “common sense” approach. We have described how our operation will work and how we will keep our customers safe. The permit process takes time but ultimately helps with the details that might be overlooked and cause problems at a later date.

As you read through the various pages on our site you will see that we will cater to a “Family oriented” clientele. Our rules and procedures are intended to keep everyone as safe as possible, please read through them before you come so there won’t be any surprises.

A “Public Hearing” was held at the China Town Office last night, 8-28-12 to discuss Wicked Hills Off Road Park. Abutters don’t want any development in the area, they complained about everything they could think of and said we would attract “Druggies, Alcoholics and Rednecks!” “They’ll be revving those loud engines at 5:00am til who knows when, speeding and burning rubba, people won’t be safe walking along the road anymore”, another guy said “property values will be dropping in at least a 10 mile radius”, another comment was” people will be pouring out their Pepsi half way and filling it with Vodka, you, can’t stop drinking” I was thinking to myself that he needs help with his drinking problem. The truth is this; I can’t control everyone but I will regulate our trails and every club I have been with regulates themselves. The State Police can’t stop everyone from drinking and driving either, should we all stop driving? Overall the biggest complaint was noise, I have never heard anyone complain about tractors in our fields, skidders or chain saws in our woods. I believe it is a non issue and only time will prove it to the abutters. I won’t go on but their comments are part of the public record of China Maine if you want some entertainment. It was held on Aug. 28, 2012. Tel 207-445-2014 for access info.

We are in a time when our rights are brought into question every day, these same people want to enjoy my land, sit in my driveways and watch the sunsets all the while throwing trash and crap all over the place. Not one of them has ever picked up even a bottle cap or said “thank you” but they don’t want me to use the land, that I pay huge taxes on, as I see fit. They want it to stay “pristine”, that word makes me puke! Almost all the people complaining come from somewhere else, they didn’t see this land before I bought it almost 20 years ago. It wasn’t so “pristine” then! It was a trash dump, pig farm with mobile homes strewn around.

There was a beautiful old barn at the homestead one of the abutters bought 4 or 5 years ago. They tore it down! You know, I liked that barn and enjoyed looking at it, I don’t think they should have torn it down. What if I had the ability to get the town to compel these landowners to restore it while it stood or force them to rebuild it now at their expense because I liked looking at it? Would that be right? We all know the answer! This is the USA, we have a thing called the US Constitution to prevent others from taking our rights away. ORV parks are popular and necessary because people are preventing off roaders access to trails for recreation.

There are a lot of great clubs and thousands of responsible off roaders who will come to China to enjoy awesome trails and beautiful views of the Appalachian mountains to the West. I will treat my guests to the best Maine can offer and I know visitors will work with me to make this a great Off Road Park. Your comments are welcome @ wickedhills@yahoo.com

June 2012 Update:

The Wetlands Engineering firm I have been working with did not find any problems with our plans. That was welcome news! We have a meeting scheduled with DEP next week and if all goes well we will be applying for the local permits which will take about 2 months. We have opened up several more tote roads in the past few weeks to add variety and challenge for daring off-roaders.

With a name like "Wicked Hills" I figured we had better have some of the wicked areas open, and we do! I hope to see some off roaders conquer our steepest terrain but I don't think many will try. Don't worry if you aren't into the steepies because there are plenty of wooded trails that you can play around on plus we will be expanding our trails to include more old tote roads that are away from any wetlands. Believe me there are plenty that are waiting to be reopened.

Look for an updated map next week that will include the newly opened trails.      Thanks, Jeff  

May 2012 Update:

Progress at Wicked Hills Off Road Park is moving ahead nicely and I am confident that we will be open for business this summer. We are in the woods full time and it looks awesome.

The opening is getting closer every day and all our energy is being used to get this park in operation. Thank you for being patient, I think you will agree that the wait will have been well worth it. To all who completed our survey, THANK YOU VERY MUCH ! I will be sending all of you emails inviting you to come and try out our new park. This will take place as soon as the DEP permits for stream crossings are approved. I have been working with a wetlands engineer to assist with the overall permitting process. His findings were positive and changes to the trails are minimal.

The trails vary from easy to all out insane terrain with wicked steep climbs and off camber trails. We also have some areas where there are ledge outcroppings that make for a challenge. There is some mud in some of the trails but it's spotty, there are no "mud runs" so to speak of but your rig will get dirty in some places.   We will be taking suggestions from our patrons to develop trails of different difficulty. I realize that everyone likes something a little different so I won't be able to accommodate everyone but I'll do my best!

                                                                THANK YOU, Jeff LaVerdiere

April 2012 Status:

Thanks to all who responded to our survey, your input has been vital to our planning. I will be posting dates when you can come and enjoy the terrain at Wicked Hills. Those who responded will be the first to come and check us out, if you can’t make it to our pre-opening don’t worry, you can come anytime we are open to receive your free pass. We are compiling the list and will let you know the details soon. Keep an eye out for an email update on “FREE PASSES” Progress at Wicked Hills: 9 more tote roads have been opened since September 2011 so the total is now 17. The terrain varies from beginner to very difficult with everything in between. My goal throughout has been to provide off-roading that  almost everyone will enjoy. The routes will be named and a difficulty level will also be displayed on the sign. Warnings will be posted on the most dangerous trails so all but experts may avoid them. I am very happy with the trails opened so far and the Two Clubs that each spent a day here were also impressed. There is the potential to open many more tote roads and provide new areas to explore in the future. I am working on some off camber roads for some added challenges plus some ledge climbing. We have a pit with some sand hills you can play around in for a little while too. I have been working with my engineer to get the necessary permits from DEP, I hoped to have this stage completed by now but that has not happened. Hopefully things will fall into place soon, in the meantime I am working like a dog clearing tote roads, working on maps and making the Wicked Hills Off Road Park a reality. I look forward to hosting all of you in the near future.

Sincerely, Jeff LaVerdiere, Owner WickedHills@yahoo.com

Thanks to all who responded to our questioner and helped us plan our park.

 

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