Levis-Trow questions

[ryno lite]

I'm going on a weekend trip to Levis this weekend (19-21st) and was wondering a couple of things.

1. Our group will range in ability from beginner to very good riders and I've heard that some of the singletrack is pretty crazy. Are the trails here too much for beginners? Are there plenty of options for all skill levels?

2. I've heard that you can camp at Russel Park to the south or you can even camp near the trailhead. I know there are showers and it's more developed at the Russel Park, but it would be nice to camp near the trailhead. Where is everyone's favorite camping location near Levis and why?

Thanks in advance!

[gopherhockey]

I can't answer the camping one, but from my visits to Levis I remember there being something for everyone. We started the day in th high areas and those were pretty tough, but the entire group got through it. The last half we rode longer stretches of more Intermediate trail - less up and down, more nice and windy trail.

The only prob with a variety of people is that it could split everyone up quite a bit. I remember how easy it was to lose sight of people out there.

I think we have a pretty good map online.

[jeffgude]

Russel Co park has nice facility including showers. Trailhead camping is pretty nice though, much more isolated.

There are definitely some trails there that beginners should avoid. There are a good number of sections that will not be a prblem, just heed the trail signage. Many of the tricky sections can be walked.

I assume you are familiar with this:

http://www.worba.org/nasti/map.html

Also this: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LevisMound

[tedsti]

The campgrounds at Russell will put any KOA to shame for campers per acre. I swear they had 10 sites in an area smaller than my backyard with 15 rednecks per site. You could literally walk from one end of the campground to the other walking only on trucks and ATVs.

We kept driving and stayed at a campground on the SE side of Lake Arbutus that was much more spread out. They had a mix of stinkies, flushies, and pretty nice (quarter operated) showers.

The sites at the trailhead were nice, but there are no showers.

There is a good mix of trails there for everyone.

[jeffgude]

The campgrounds at Russell will put any KOA to shame for campers per acre. I swear they had 10 sites in an area smaller than my backyard with 15 rednecks per site. You could literally walk from one end of the campground to the other walking only on trucks and ATVs.

Ted was obviously there during peak season. I was there after football season started, or maybe there was a NASCAR race somewhere, anyway the ATV guys were elsewhere.

[ryno lite]

I figured the trailhead campgrounds would be more isolated. I may be willing to give up showers to lose the ATV crowd.

[nigel]

I went with Jeff/James and a crew (sorry if i forget names) last year and we stayed at the trailhead, no showers but it was great! Hope to do it again this year.

[Mario]

I went to Levis a few weeks ago and it was great. The trail kicked our ass, but you could find some intermediate stuff which we had to. The trail head sites are nice, we ended up doing Levis on saturday then driving 20 miles to Black River State Forest, which has a few campgrounds and some nice trails as well(right from the campsite at Pigeon creek). Not crowded at all. We decided we needed to do some serious hill work and skills work before tackling Levis again. One thing you do have to worry about in state forests is hunting (last year we went during grouse and a few weeks ago it was turkey!). Wear orange or bright clothing.:shocked: