Was wondering if anyone has been to bad lands in Indiana? I hear it is a pretty good place. would like to go check it out but trying to see how it is before making the drive.

 

well i make about 7--10 trips a year there.and the place is huge planty of variety,but it's definately seeing some bigtime wear down on the hiilsides and stuff.and there is so many people that ride there that all the dirt gets moved around and things change alot..just make sure sure you have skid plate protection cause there are some pretty big rocks around there.
there is another place only an hour east of there it's called haspin acres inlaurel indiana outside if indy.i haven't been there yet but i'm plannin on going this summer for sure .i've been told that it's bigger then the badlands and the terrain is better too.less sand more dirt .and they have on site campogrounds and little shcks that you can rent.and they also have two motocross tracks .one is suppose to be real nice and the other one is for the rookies i guess.haspinacres has a website.www.haspinacres.com.good luck .maybe you can give me a shout when you're going that way to ride and i can meet up with you if the time frame is right. good luck.

 

I practically live at both places all year - Badlands and Haspin Acres. Badlands is an hour west of Indy, Haspin is an hour and a half east. At least two and a half hours between them.

Badlands is around 800 acres, 500 sand, rest woods. The sand is dirty and gritty, not like dune sand, no paddles needed or wanted since you'll be zooming in and out of woods dirt, rocky trails, creek crossings, and all that sand. Its a blast, but like killerkx said, it changes constantly because the sand doesn't drift and repair itslef - too heavy. $15 a day, $25 two day pass, no alcohol, consession stand on weekends only. No showers, portolets only.

Haspin Acres is all woods, except the MX tracks and the drag strip. Clay soil - slick as snot after rain, mucky cakey mud, hard as a rock when its dry. Lots of trails, big hills 4 times the size of badlands woods hills, you can just about get lost in this place. No actual campsites, its a camp-where-you-want-to kinda place, kinda messy and abused. No facilities. I didn't know they had cabins to rent, not sure about that. $10 to ride, camping included I think. Alcohol is not banned, at least it still wasn't the last time I was there.

Badlands is my favorite, we all love it around here. Its Indiana's finest.

 

I would have to agree with Hightower on both places. I like both, but I wouldn't recommend camping at Haspin unless you've got a big chain to lock everything down. I think they said they had over 400 quads stolen from their grounds in 2001! Talk about hillbillies, they are everywhere and yes you can drink and ride, so be careful if you go to Haspin. Haspin is quite a bit more challenging also.

 

Yep ~ I ride with Hitower and a bunch others at The Badlands and Haspin Acres.

We ride there about 10-12 times a year. About once a month. Except the months that we attend some dunes somewhere.

 

I ride at the Badlands a great deal as well. It's a great place to ride. If possible, I recommend going during the week. Not near as busy. We usually go anywhere from 10-20 times a year. I have not ever been to Haspin. I've heard good and bad. Everyone here seems to like it pretty well. There is a fairly new place that is about 12 miles south of Bloomington. I have not made it down there either, however plan to very soon. I can't remember the name of the place. I came across it in a fairly recent Dirt Wheels, I think it was Dirt Wheels anyway.

 

The name of the place in LAWRENCE CO. RECREATIONAL PARK. It is run by A.B.A.T.E. of Indiana. It is about 400 acres of woods trails and wide open praries. Some hills to climb but not very many challenging ones.

When I was last there (about a year ago now) the trails were not well groomed yet due to being farely new. It's an okay place. May be even better now-a-days! Like I said, it has open praries where you can top out your quad if you like. There isn't many places where you can do that around here.

Here is the link to there website:
Lawrence Co. Recreational Park

 

Never been to Badlands, but have lived at Hapsins for about 15 yrs. now. I grew up 10 mins. from it. That place ROCKS. Yes there are some trashy spots, and yes you can drink. They have been working on a new building for about a year now, and it is supposed to be open sometime this month. Hopefully before Memorial Day. It is 750 acres and has anything you can want other than sand. A few tough rocky sections, allot of pretty good hills, two MX tracks, drag strip, and woods galore. You can spend an entire weekend doing casual trail riding or serious mudding and never have to hit the same spot twice. There's also a fire road that loops the entire property so if you get lost, just keep riding and you will eventually find it. Hit he fire trial and it will take you wherever you need to go. My favorite thing about Haspins is that you can do pretty much whatever you want down there. We have taken cars, SUV's, trucks, buggies, quads, and combinations of each (such as a Capri w/ 32" tires and a 302.)
I plan on checking out the Badlands some day, but from WHAT I HEAR it's going to seem restrictive since I have never had to follow any real rules before.
As for the 400 quads being stolen and there being all these idiots down there... of course there are idiots... but they don't cause any more trouble here than anywhere else. Ann THERE WERE NOT 400 QUADS STOLEN LAST YEAR. That is a line that someone is making up cause they probably had something stolen and were ticked off. My entire group of friends have been riding there for years, have never locked anything up at camp, and have never had anything stolen. This includes our annual trip over Memorial Day weekend, when we spends 3-4 days there and our camp has never been bothered.
TRUST ME... try it out... you won't regret it!!!

 

Thanks eRAPTOID!!

 

No prob there STEBOB!

Hey ROB660, I would be glad to hook up with ya and go riding sometime. I have not been to Big Rock in Mayesville, but have heard about it. You say it is a great place huh? Is that the place that has the cabins or is that a different place all together? Have you been to Moutain Parkway in Ky? I understand it is huge with some great riding too. I haven't been there either. Our group of riders (9 of us)has talked about going somewhere down in KY SOON for some riding. But want to choose the best location first.