Olympia, WA area wheelin'

Skysthelimit · Dec 29, 2010

I may be moving to Olympia, WA from Bend, OR in about a year, and am wondering about the 4-wheelin' in the area. Where I live it's pretty dry most of the year, and my wheelin' is mostly rock crawlin and some trail stuff, and then deep snow in the winter. I really don't like the rain, and don't like wheelin' in the mud, but moving to Olympia, its obviously going to be wetter and muddier than Bend. Is there any good wheelin' spots around Olympia, and if so, is it all going to be mud stuff, or is it just going to be the wet version of the stuff I do in Bend? If nothing around Olympia, how far do I have to go for a day of wheelin'? I really don't wanna give up the sport because I have to move. Thanks for the help. Any schooling on the good areas around here, how far they are from Oly, and what type of wheelin' they are, I'd appreciate. Thanks.

03 CON · Dec 29, 2010

Olympia as far as working out of there, has Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater as 3 cities all in one area. People as a standard live from as far north as Tacoma and a bit past Chehalis south, as far west as Monty, and east in the Roy area as a normal residence area. Sure some live farther away, but that is the majority of the bedroom area. Wheeling real local will be on private property, Evans Creek, Elby are kind of the norm as far as government property. Yes it will be wetter then what you have now......
As far as school, what kind of age are we talking about? (I don't have kids, but it will play into the answer as far as grade school/ collage)....

Skysthelimit · Dec 29, 2010

hehe, what I meant on "schooling on the good areas around here", I meant like Evans, where exactly is it, how far from Olympia, and what type of wheeling is it (mud stuff, rock crawling, trail riding, etc), like educate an Oregon boy on the Olympia Washington area stuff. Thanks for the response so far.

Totalled · Dec 29, 2010

Evans, Elbe, and Tahuya are all about an hour from the Oly area.

Jay Luke · Dec 29, 2010

If your rig is worth a ****...You will miss Bend a lot...Unless, you are into "muscle truckin" - Great phrase I read recently. Was looking for an excuse to use it.

OlyWaXj · Dec 29, 2010

Heh sorry to tell you but everybody I know goes to oregon to get any serious wheelin in. Theres nothing legal in the oly area. Tahuya is 3 rock piles and some rocks on a hill, Evans is not too bad if your into nice vistas, 33" or smaller tire it can be fun but bigger tires it's not too big a challenge. Elbe is the most challenging depending on the time of year it can be pretty heavy. There's also Naches, Rimrock and Walker valley.

Tahuya, Evans and Elbe are all about 1.5 hrs from oly. Naches,Rimrock and walker are 3 hrs. They way I look at it if I'm driving 3 hrs I just as soon go to Browns camp.

Stu

Skysthelimit · Dec 30, 2010

Damn, I may miss Bend a lot, then. I think my rig is worth a **** for sure. I'm a member of Deschutes County 4 Wheelers and there are only a couple of guys that have rigs that i can go out with and do similar things with, the rest, when I go with them, usually makes my day easier. I have a '92 YJ with a 4.6L stroker that's runnin' pretty hot, an auto, a d300 with 4:1, twin sticks, 32 spline outputs, 101" wheelbase, d60's front and rear, 5:38's, detroits, chromos, full cage, fuel cell, 40" MT/R's, KMC beadlocks, hydro assist, about 105:1 crawl ratio, some other ****. The thing flat works. I helped build the new trail that opened up at Hoodoo/Santiam Pass this last summer, the Quack Attack trail, and it's pretty damn fun, but not very difficult for my rig. anyway, that's an update on my rig. Sounds like there are some spots around, 1-1.5 hours away isn't horrible, but 3 hours away is kinda far, might as well go to Brown's Camp, like was mentioned. How far away is Naches, Funny Rocks/Moon Rocks, and those places? I don't know where **** is located at all in Washington. Was born in Portland, moved to Bend when I graduated college. Thanks for the help guys. Would like to go out with some of you if/when I move up here.

travisyota83 · Dec 30, 2010

naches is about 3 hours. stay away from tahuya

uke

you'll be bored in about 30 mins). Evans creek and Elbe are fun. Elbe has some more challenging stuff but its mostly muddy up there. there's lots of snow wheeling(and yes legal) in the area if you know where to go. where abouts in oly would you be moving?

boardbysled · Dec 30, 2010

Oh Canada....

Money Mark · Dec 30, 2010

For now, it's not where you go as much as who you know. If you click with the right folks, they'll show you the goods.

Binder · Dec 30, 2010

Do you have the jeep that did the backflip at the groundhog event last year? Any way you look at it you will have to do a bit of driving to find challenging wheeling. Even then the challenging wheeling won't be that much but there isn't that much in Bend either..

Skysthelimit · Dec 31, 2010

No, I don't have the Jeep that did the backflip at groundhog. I haven't run my rig in it yet. I just got done building it the weekend after groundhog, and have been running it as much as possible all summer, and it's running and working sweet. Sounds like there are some possibilities, but nothing really close. The Quack Attack Trail up on Santiam Pass at Hoodoo is about 45 minutes from me, and I can go to Schwartz Canyon out past Madras and that's getting into/past the hour range to get there. There is also groundhog rock pit, which is about an hour and 20 min, and those are the real challenging things locally, the rest I can get to in 35 minutes or less, and has challenging spots along the way during trail rides that my rig can do that the others in the club can't. Those trails are still fun, and it helps just being out with friends, and looking forward to the hard stuff in the trail, and it's a bonus the stuff is 30 minutes from my house.

As far as what part of Olympia, not sure exactly, would be moving for my wife's work, and she would travel around the Oly, Tacoma, Centralia, Chehalis, etc. area, so somewhere in and around that area. Any suggestions on what area to live in in that generalized area (just for quality of living in general, wheelin' aside)? Thanks guys.

shrek1 · Dec 31, 2010

South Thurston or Lewis county.More for your money and less trafic,people better schools

RusM · Dec 31, 2010

Stay away from Lacey and you'll be fine. Plenty of deals on housing right now and if you need a realtor, I know a guy. :cheer:

OlyWaXj · Dec 31, 2010

shrek said:
South Thurston or Lewis county.More for your money and less trafic,people better schools

Agreed, I'm in tumwater anything south of me is good, east oly's not too bad.

Stu

chainsaw · Dec 31, 2010

Hilltop in Tacoma.:awesomework:

Skysthelimit · Jan 1, 2011

so why not Lacey. Just cracked me up, you said stay away from Lacey and you'll be okay, and my in-laws live in Lacey, but they are transplants from Phoenix, lol. Anyway, was talking to the wife about it tonite, and she said she doesn't wanna live in a neighborhood any more, and I'm with her. I want some land and space so I can do stuff without pissing off the neighbors, and she wants space because neighbors always piss her off, lol. So, that being said, and the fact that I HATE the rain, where are some good spots to look to live? Still the same areas listed above, any specific, exact areas? Also, I'm a Nurse, so need a hospital nearby (or kinda close hopefully) for work when I get up there. Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it, keep it coming!