Off-Road Motorcycle Trails Near Houston
You won't have to go far to find a good stretch of dirt where you can ride your motorcycle or dirt bike far from city traffic.
From roads winding through miles of forest to obstacle-strewn trails, you'll find places to ride for every ability level within a 90-minute drive of downtown.
1. Into the Forest
Head into the Sam Houston National Forest to ride 85 miles of trails. ATVs, horses, mountain bikers and hikers share the trails. Five trailheads throughout the forest near Cagle Recreation Area give you access to the trail system 60 miles north of Houston. Get a daily pass for a nominal charge or buy an annual pass for the same price you'd pay for five days of riding. You'll find vault toilets at all but the 234 Equestrian Trailhead, and camping is available at the Cagle Recreation Area or Kelly's Pond campgrounds.
2. The Piney Woods
Eighty miles north of Houston, General Sam's ATV and Off Road Park has more than 60 miles of trails winding through more than 700 acres of piney woods. Trucks, jeeps, ATVs and other off-road vehicles share the trails. The park is open Tuesday through Sunday, with night riding permitted. A weekend pass lets you enjoy the park Friday through Sunday and camp at a primitive site for no extra charge. Reserve an RV site with electric hookups for an additional fee. After riding, wash the road dust off in the park's showers, and rinse off your bike in the wash-down area.
3. Get Extreme
Thirty miles north of downtown Houston, Three Palms Extreme Sports Park has 4 miles of wooded trails in addition to four full-sized tracks and two pewee tracks. Trails run over 255 acres and around lakes where you can translate your love of motorsports onto the water and ride personal watercraft. Fish in the lakes or camp with RV hookups in the park's campground. You can also race radio-controlled cars on a 1/10-scale or 1/8-scale track at the park.
4. Open Practice
Practice your ride at one of several motocross tracks in the Houston area. Rio Bravo has tracks and trails exclusively for motorcycles. Motocross Park in the northeast part of the city has two main tracks, hare-scramble trails and a peewee track. Practice hours are Thursdays and weekends. Just west of downtown, Ultimate Motocross has a 1.2-mile loamy sand track with practice hours every day of the week. Other nearby motocross facilities include Ultimate Motocross in Alvin, Down South Off Road in Crosby and B&C Motocross in Huntsville.