Southington off road park affectionately known as SORP is a 1,500 acre multi use facility open to full size 4x4 one weekend a month. This property includes a 30 acre pond, pistol and rifle range out to 1,000 yards. They also do government firearm training.
I left home with the jeep in tow and my co-pilot for the weekend Hunter at 3 pm. We met Mark at the Ontario rest stop on i90. We planned on meeting the Beyers (Chris & Jodi) in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Erie, Pa just a stone's throw from Splash Lagoon. As we pulled in the parking lot at 5pm ish we got a text stating the Beyers would be arriving about 617pm. I spotted a Steak and Shake, but they were closed. Luck would have it, there was a Quaker Steak and lube right next to where we parked. Mark suggested we try there. We dined with cars and motorcycles hanging from the walls and ceiling. With BELLIES full and bathroom breaks done we headed outside just as Chris and Jodi pulled in.
As we pulled across the Ohio border we stopped at Truck World for [emoji618]. The Beyers took the lead, as they had heard about a bridge that was closed on the route GPS was trying to make us take. They found what I would describe as a dirt driveway. While pulling down the "driveway" we saw a set of headlights heading our way and as they got closer they started flashing their lights. We stopped and Chris spoke to them, and we continued on down the road trying to make the cut-off for checking, but to no avail. We pulled up the main cabin at about 905pm and registration stopped at 9pm. Chris got out and stated that the car that stopped was actually the girls that do the checking at the main lodge. He was told to meet a person named Botchy. We got swarmed by all the blood sucking mosquitos in Ohio and eventually met Botchy . He was trying to figure out where to park us, so we would have one electric site and two primitive sites for Mark and I. We asked some more questions about using a generator, and it was decided that as long as it was an inverter type and wasn't loud, we could camp anywhere. We chose a hilltop right by the cabin. After setting up camp, we a fire was made and after a little while and a losing battle to the pests we headed off to bed.
The next morning brought great sun shine. And you guessed it, more mosquitos. I tried to use some fogger from a can the Jodi had to help keep them at bay while I made maple sausage and hash brown omelets for breakfast. As we waited for my friends (Josh and Ashley from off-road Ohio) to arrive, Jodi made monkey bread. After e a ting the delicious sticky bread we met Josh and Ashley who I tasked with showing us their home Park.
We checked in after the line died down and asked if we could play on the 30ft rock pile that sat just off the main driveway for the Campground and office and was told sure. After initial introduction had been made, we were off to see what the park had in-store for us. We made our way around and ran upper rim and lower rim. These are the two Main trails used to reach obstacles just off the main trail. While running one of the trails, we kept getting bottlenecks and finally found a solid axle swapped Jeep Liberty that had a bent and cracked drag link. We made the decision to back up to a bypass, only to find out Chris had a broken tie rod end on his Roxor. He made a very quick repair just off the side of the trail. Everyone that had passed us had stopped to make sure we were good. Just as he finished up the repair, Ashley had seen the liberty make it off the trail, so we jumped back in and finished out the trail. We had to turn around at the end and run it back, which was one long trail back to the firing range. From there, we hit upper rim and drove around the 30 acre pond, seeing the owner's house that looked more like a half underground bunker with a tower overlooking the huge pond. We ended up on a small beach and played on the few ledges. We also ran what they call the dunes, and it was nothing but a sandpit with a few trees and bushes dotting about 4 acres, with some more sand hill climbs through the woods. This area was very dusty and most people felt they owned prerunners in the Mint 400. From there we found some obstacles made from concrete ad played there for a while, letting everyone have their fill. It started to sprinkle on us and only lasted about 20 min.
At some point I heard some clicking in my front end and found an u-joint cap was starting to vacate its home, so I hammered it in and made my way back to camp to swap the shaft with a spare. At this point, it was high into the 80s and was scorching hot. I finished in record time as others sat in the shade trying to stay cool. Jodi stayed back at camp when we set back to the trails. Josh said we saw most of the park already and only had the backwoods left. We followed him deep into the woods only to find the trails were getting wetter by the second and eventually turned to soupy ruts we were plowing through. We made one loop on a trail and called it quits for dinner, since the 4 of us New Yorkers had our fill of mess.
Back at camp I made Hunter and I some mashed potatoes and steak as Jodi had whipped up an awe-inspiring meal of sausages onion and peppers, Mac and cheese, and a salad of some sort. As we all finished dinner it had started to rain, so everyone made a dash with a chair to the welcoming trailer of Jodi and Chris where we sat and conversed out of the rain and in some sweet A/C. As the rain stopped, our Ohio friends left to go home.
This trip was very laid back. I would rate this park a 6 and the camping an 8. Besides the camping with a few electric sites, they also have a concession stand for lunch with decent tasting food and ice cream. The bath house was a huge plus to wash away all the mud and sand.
The trails are very doable for stock and lightly molded 4x4. If you show up with stickies and a passion for rocks, it would be a let-down. But for the average overland and jeeps on 37 and under it will be a great time. The consensus was this park should be visited at least twice a year.
Thanks for the great fellowship, awesome food and fond memories. Please enjoy poem about the WEEKEND
OFF-ROAD
SCORCHING SUMMERTIME
A MANY, FANCY FRIENDS DRIVE
BETRAYED BY THE ROCKS