By Jim Oaks
I hadn’t been on the trails in Wellsville since 2006. Our Spring Round-Up this year was actually held at the Southington Offroad Park since the legal use of the trails here became questionable.
I decided to hold a Return To Wellsville Trail Ride on October 5th, 2013. At first it looked like there were some people in our forum planning to attend, but by the time the day arrived, it was just Myself, ‘mdn14’, and ‘sloth69mustang’. In the photo above, my Ford Ranger is the blue and white one in the background, mdn14 is the blue one to the left, and sloth69mustang is in front of that with the snorkel.
We came across a waterfall that guys were climbing on motorcycles. I asked them if I could give it a try, and then surprised them when I went all of the way up in the Ranger.
Heading up the trail on the powerline is always fun. It can be steep, deeply rutted, and have large loose rocks. I’m heading up the hill in the left of the photo below.
Here’s sloth69mustang below.
At one point, we came to a clearing at the top of a hill overlooking the Ohio River. In the photo below looking north, you can see Wellsville, Ohio to the left of the river, and Mountaineer Racetrack in West Virginia to the right.
Looking south you can see State Route 7 following the river, and the SR 213 Rest Area at the bend. The rest area was one of the places where people would meet before heading to the trail.
The rain had moved in, so we decided to head back to the front section and play in the mud.
mdn14 got stuck…….
I pulled him out……
Time to make the donuts…….
Even though it was just the three of us, we had fun. This would be the last trail ride I would ever have in Wellsville. I never realized until 2020 that I hadn’t featured this trail ride outside of the forum. In 2016 I moved from Ohio to Texas. And in 2019, I returned to Ohio to host a 20th Anniversary Trail Ride at Southington Offroad Park.
Links:
TRS 20th Anniversary Trail Ride
The Return To Wellsville 2013 Forum Discussion
More Photos:
Click the photos to enlarge.
About The Author
Jim Oaks is the founder of The Ranger Station, one of the longest-running Ford Ranger enthusiast communities on the web. He has spent over three decades owning, modifying, repairing, and driving Ford Rangers on the street, trail, and cross-country routes.
Since launching TheRangerStation.com in 1999, Jim has documented thousands of real-world Ranger builds, technical repairs, drivetrain swaps, suspension modifications, and off-road tests contributed by owners worldwide. His work has been referenced by enthusiasts, mechanics, and off-road builders looking for practical, experience-based information rather than theoretical advice.
Jim’s hands-on experience includes long-distance overland travel, trail use, drivetrain and axle upgrades, suspension tuning, and platform comparisons across multiple Ranger generations. The content published on The Ranger Station is grounded in first-hand experience and community-verified data, not marketing claims or generic specifications.
