Blog – The Off-Road Way

Badlands Off-Road Park (ORP) is located in Indiana. A friend introduced us to it in the summer of 2022. We’ve only been once, but definitely will return.

Trail Difficulty:

Novice to experienced

Camping:

Full hookup–water, sewer, electric

Primitive gravel lot

New shower and restroom houses

Website:

https://www.badlandsoffroad.com/

Address:

3968 N. Xavier Rd.
Attica, IN 47918

County:

Fountain County

Review

Badlands is a great park. They are very rule-heavy, so there are… ahem… certain personality types that may not enjoy this experience. We were there during the week, so it was pretty quiet.

There hours for riding are pretty limited, even if camping on-site, so make sure you check them before you go.

This is not a mountain area, but the terrain varies plenty to be interesting from sandy, pea gravel-like, rocky creek bed, and woods. The quarry area has the toughest trails, but we had no problems in our SxS. The signs leading to this trail say no ATVs and no dirt bikes. It would be tough on an ATV (vs. UTV or SxS) or a dirt bike and we definitely wouldn’t recommend it.

Attica allows you to ride into town to local stores if you have the necessary permit. We were told even without, they don’t seem to care as long as you’re following the posted speed limits and not operating recklessly or noisily. Regardless, we always recommend playing it safe and right. Permit information can be found here:

Wildcat Adventures Off-Road Park (ORP) is a great option in Kentucky. A friend introduced us to it in the fall of 2020.

Trail Difficulty:

Novice to Experienced

Camping:

Full hookup–water, sewer, electric

Primitive parking lot

Stall cold water showers

Port-a-Pots

Flush toilets and running water bathrooms at office

Website:

https://wildcatoffroadpark.com

Address:

7800 N US Highway 25
East Bernstadt, KY 40729-6741

County:

Laurel County

Review

Wildcat Adventures ORP is one of our favorite places to ride. The trails are well-maintained. (Though they were a lot rougher in July of 2022 than previous visits during summer in July of 2021 and fall of 2020.) There are some good sights to see including large rocks, water features, and an overlook.

The overlook is above Interstate 75 and looks out over Wood Creek Lake. You will want to watch kids very closely as they can get to the edge very quickly. Wildcat put up a wire fence to prevent getting close to the edge since the first time we were there, but people unfortunately already trampled it down. Please, please respect the rules and property. I’ve heard no rumor of this, but I fear they will have to cut off access to this point if people don’t stop. The last time we were there in the summer of 2022, there was something splattered on I-75 that looked like someone had thrown something from up top. This is incredibly dangerous for drivers below.

Another place people might get into trouble is crossing the railroad tracks onto other property. We hear there are some cool sights to see, but this is illegal and dangerous. There are definitely trains that pass through there as we saw one last time we were there. We were on the correct side/Wildcat side, and the engineer smiled and waved at us. But, I can’t imagine the fear they might have passing through there each time that someone could be crossing or stuck on the tracks.

Stick to the trails, and you should have a great time. They have good maps available at the check-in office. The property is big enough, but not so big that you feel like you’ll easily get lost, especially with the map in hand.