Backyard Adventures

BACKYARD ADVENTURES 2016 PIKE PUBLISHING 17 OFF-ROAD DIALIN' UP THE FUN. AT INTERLAKE Interlake has been the largest off-road riding area, with the widest variety of trails on public lands in Indiana since it opened in 2008. But it just keeps getting bigger and better. The largest off-roading area with the widest variety of trails on public lands in Indiana, and probably all of the Midwest, is located on the Pike-Warrick County Line east of Highway 61. "We are finishing up a 10 -mile trail project, We area rehabing about five miles and building about five miles of new trail," said Carman Jackson, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Of- froad Vehicle Project Manager. Interlake sits on 3,550 acres of former strip mine property. It has hills, drops, twisting double and single tracks through open areas. Tight double and single tracks through wooded areas, dry hard pack areas, wet muddy bogs, smooth unrutted trails, rutted, rug- ged and rocky trails. Trails you could take your kid on his first off-road ride or trails that will make you weak kneed. Rock crawl obstacles that you can brag about conquering and ones that have yet to be conquered. Interlake reopened in 2008 after a two-year long reclamation project was completed. Prior to that is was just an uncontrolled area that drew two and four wheelers of all kinds by the droves. It has been ridden by all types of AT Vs and mo- torcycles for decades, but in 2008 when it reopened it was set up as an off-roading paradise. It is an area whose reputation among off-roading enthusiasts of all persuasions are praising. "The great thing about Interlake is that there is something for everyone. As the President of Evansville Area Jeepers (EA J), I've spent a lot of time exploring the property. There's stuff for everything from complete stock Jeeps straight off the show room floor to highly built and customized rigs. The vast expanse of the property allows you to spend the day there and not hit the same thing twice, Ryan Sermersheim. Jackson said on any given Saturday there are between 150 to 175 people tak- ing advantage of the trail system and ter- rain parks. On Sundays there is between 75 to 100 people on the trails. It features almost 100 miles of trails from easy to extremely difficult. When it reopened in 2008 they had about 50 miles of trails, but since have added another 45 miles of trails. The area had a terrain park known as a rock crawl when it first opened. That feature is still there, but a second more extreme rock crawl was com- pleted in 2012. Jackson said the 181st Operating Engineers, who were located nearby, built the course that has four areas that get increasingly difficult. It starts with the "Grade School" area which features smaller rocks and a couple log crossings. It increases to bigger rocks with a water hole about four feet deep, but with less than a foot of water in it, which is the "High School" areas. Then it proceeds to much bigger rocks more like boulders in the three and four feet long and wide range. This is the "College" area. Jackson said she has only seen one vehicle make it so far. Then it gets ex- treme. Big rocks six to eight feet in size in piles with dramatic elevation changes makes up the "School of Hard Knocks." Jackson said as far as she knows no one has been able to complete this section. "The 181st did a great job on this. They really took a lot of pride in putting this together," said Jackson. A nice feature of the terrain park is its location. It is only about 100 feet from a shelterhouse off the main parking area, which also features male and female bathrooms. The shelterhouse was opened the first week of May, 2012. The STORY BY ANDY HEURING PHOTOS BY ANDY HEURING AND CONTRIBUTED SEE OFF-ROAD ON PAGE 19 Interlake has hills, drops, twisting double and single tracks through open areas. Tight double and single tracks through wooded areas, dry hard pack areas, wet muddy bogs, smooth unrutted trails, rutted, rugged and rocky trails. Evansville Area Jeepers snake their way along a trail at Interlake during one of the club's outings. Off-road Jeepers take their turns climbing a long hill at Interlake. Not your typical Sunday afternoon drive unless you are an off-road extremist. This is an extreme feature at Interlake to provide extreme challenge.

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