Off Road in Northeast Ohio: 2024 Summer Camp

Located along the northeast Ohio border, Southington Hunt Club is home to more than 1500 acres dedicated to the pursuit of outdoor firearm training and off-road vehicle use. On the first weekend of every month, the Hunt Club doubles as “Southington Offroad” (SOR) and hosts camping and off- roading for 4x4 vehicles. These weekends are well attended by 4x4 enthusiasts mainly comprised of Jeep owners. Southington Off-Road was once called Jeep Skool (pre 2012) and has played host to various Land Rover related events in decades past.

On July 26-27, 2024 the Cuyahoga Valley Land Rovers convened at Southington Offroad for a private Land Rover only weekend. This was the first overnight event and campout for the group. A volunteer team from CVLR worked with the Southington Off-Road owners to set up the event and navigate facility use. The final cost to attendees was 65$ per truck which could be paid in cash at the event or purchased in advance online via an Eventbrite registration webpage. The attendees’ costs went directly to Southington Offroad to cover the cost of the staff, facilities, campsites, and trails. The remaining balance of the venue was covered by anonymous sponsorships.

The weekend weather was perfect. When the gates opened at 4pm the temperature was warm but not hot and with low humidity. The sky was blue with the occasional white clouds rolling by. I pulled in the gate shortly after 4pm and immediately found myself behind the first attendees to arrive: Dave and Kris Whaling from Pennsylvania. They came prepared in their black RV and matching black Discovery 2. The camp host, Cheryl, met each driver at the check-in cabin and directed the attendees to the campsite. The campsites are laid out in a large oval with at least twenty sites between mature deciduous and coniferous trees. Each site had electrical hook ups as well as fire pits and a nice flat area for ground tents. Several yards to the west of the campsites is a large outdoor pavilion with picnic tables that seat at least 50 people. A plastic child’s play set flanks the pavilion to entertain children that come to SOR off-road weekends. To the east of the campsites is a brick modern bathhouse split for men and women with well serviced toilets, sinks, and hot showers. Just beyond the pavilion the beginning of several trails can be found. As the club members arrived Friday afternoon tents were set up, tables laid out, firewood collected, and pleasantries exchanged among the attendees.

Southington’s owner Dale came by in his gator to greet the attendees with camp host Cheryl and to make sure everyone was comfortable. Dale and Cheryl visited and shared stories of prior land rover events in decades past. After the club members had settled and camps were set up, an evening trail ride kicked off the event. A one-mile loop through sand, mud, and up a rocky climb led to the upper rim trail. The climb up the hill allowed the drivers an opportunity to test their vehicles abilities to climb up steep, unstable, and off camber ground. Once every rover had reached the top of the climb we caravanned back to camp on the upper rim trail with occasional stops to take photos along the rim overlook. The evening ride lasted about an hour. Once back to the check-in cabin the first- impression smiles could only be matched by the group’s eagerness for dinner.

A group dinner was shared under the cabin’s large porch where hot dogs and burnt hamburgers were grilled. After dinner, Kris Whaling graciously offered to handle cooking for the next event (no doubt spurred by my suboptimal management of the grill temperature)! Following dinner and homemade brownies provided by Kris, the crew sauntered back to the campsites where Tom Martin had prepared a roaring fire. Camp chairs soon found themselves circled around the fire pit where stories of past adventures and dreams for upcoming trips were shared. Two more rovers rolled in while the group sat around the fire: Mike Nizami’s LS swapped disco and his Range Rover Classic driven by his friend Carlos Aveilis. In total eight rovers and ten campers attended: Tom and Cora Martin and their L322 Range Rover and G4 Discovery, Gene Paulin and his P38 Range Rover, Mike Nizami and Carlos Aveilis in the LS swapped Discovery and Range Rover Classic, Dave and Kris Whaling and their Discovery 2, Aaron Bucco in his classic Defender 110, and DJ Harvey in his Discovery 2. The campfire served as an excellent place to congregate and engage in great conversation and camaraderie that lasted past 11pm.

The night was quiet and peaceful. The sleeping temperature was comfortable and there were minimal bugs. The morning sun rose but did not heat up the tents due to the tree cover at the campsite. Morning birdsong was a welcome greeting. Everyone supplied their own breakfast but before long grills and fire pits and eggs and coffee were shared among attendees. Following breakfast a driver’s meeting was held at 9AM. In addition to guidelines for safe driving, gifts bags were provided containing clubs shirts, notepads, pens, coffee mugs, and an event sticker. The group then set out to prepare their trucks for the trails as well as dedicating ten minutes to campsite litter clean up as a sign of appreciation for our hosts. As the trucks lined up to hit the first trails, the property owner and camp host personally greeted the group with a fly by in Dale’s gyrocopter!

The attendees then hit the trails starting with a repeat of the lower and upper rim trails conquered the night before. This gave an opportunity for everyone to practice and reinforce the previous night ‘s experience. Once up the prior evening’s climb, confidence was established and the upper rim trail was tackled. A couple of trucks with more experienced drivers detoured off the upper rim trail to the backwoods trails. Meeting back up at the cabin the crew then ventured to the southern half of the park to visit the lake (see the cover photo). Several trucks took a a more challenging route that involved moderate mud, rocks, climbs, and descents. At the lake the rovers drove to the water’s edge where the drivers and passengers had a snack break and photo op. Mike Nizami had a chance to deploy his drone for some great shots of the rovers. We then drove to the sand dunes where sand driving technique instruction and tips were able to be shared as the sand attempted to capture a few rovers. Near the sand dunes various vehicles attempted hills climbs of varying difficulties. Once the hill climbs were completed the drivers and riders were ready for a late lunch. The summer heat finally set in and several drivers were ready to make the drive home or to other weekend activities after eating.

With lunch completed and several attendees on their way home, the stragglers Tom and Cora Martin, Mike Nizami, and DJ Harvey were not ready to call it a day and they revisited additional trails in the “Back Woods” where plenty of mud and challenging trails were found. Winch recovery was performed more than once to recover the discoveries and range rover classic. After a few hours of trails, mud, and recovery the remaining vehicles returned to camp to pack up. Tents, chair, and flags were put away, the trash was placed in the dumpsters and a final sweep of the grounds was made to ensure the venue was left better than we found it. The first club campout was by all measures a success, with the group experiencing group meals, campfires, and trails of varying difficulties that challenged both beginner and experienced drivers. The more challenging trails were left unattempted this trip. Cuyahoga Valley Land Rovers is already in talks with Southington Offroad for a repeat event in 2025. We hope to see you next year at the Cuyahoga Valley Land Rover Campout!