The whole crew celebrating a great day at DOMOOK, I had a little help thanks to OnX Off-road trail guides and the capability of the Bronco Badlands, but still, I DID THIS.My friend Meagan asked me how the day was off-roading at DOMO Motorsports off-road park outside Waco, Texas.I grinned and giggling a bit said, “It was fun as shit!” Something I never say, because mostly I don’t cuss. But I just did something else I never do: Off-road by myself. To be fair, I was driving an extremely capable Ford Bronco Badlands, which starts at about $49K and fully loaded tops out at $70K, one of the most capable Broncos you can buy. And using Apple CarPlay, I had the OnX Off-Road trail maps loaded on the Bronco’s touch screen so I could see where the trail was taking me, mark my favorite spots to return, and drop a link to the DOMO team if I got stuck and needed a bit of help.AdvertisementAdvertisementThankfully, I never needed that.This story is 100% human-researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks.Have you subscribed to our newsletter yet?Learning to Test Your Off-Road Skills Is…ThrillingCameron behind the wheel of the Ford Bronco at DOMO Motorsports Park – Credit: Scotty ReissAlso to be fair, I wasn’t completely alone. Riding along with me was my daughter Cameron, Beth Brennan from OnX and Toan Leung from DOMO; in a chase truck were DOMO employees Lonnie and Scott, plus Cameron’s boyfriend Adam, who also drove the Bronco part of the day.Behind the wheel, though, I learned that when facing a daunting creek bed and muddy hill on a black trail, that none of my passengers were off-roaders and none, even Toan, had driven this particular trail.AdvertisementAdvertisementSo there I sat, looking at a muddy slope down to the creek (seemed OK), the rocky creek bed (looked easy), and a steep, slick 30-foot bank accented by a craggy, dented ridge line at the top with barely enough room between the trees to get through and thought, this is nuts.But the alternative wasn’t much better: Find an another route (maybe just as challenging, since the ridge was long and tall) or turn around and backtrack (no fun) and find another trail.Meet women who are changing the auto industry in our weekly podcast!Continue or Backtrack? And How to TellTHE hill. It was much more daunting in person than it looks here – Credit: Scotty ReissSo I continued to look, sizing up the steep rise of the hill and decided to give it a try. The worst case is I’d have to back down and backtrack to another trail.I tapped the front view camera and gave the Bronco’s accelerator a firm nudge and headed down into the creek, then a little more pressure on the accelerator to get momentum up the hill, pointing the left tire toward the craggy left side of ridge where there was a sizable divot missing; it was the only option for cresting the ridge.AdvertisementAdvertisementHalfway up, the wheels lost grip, the Bronco sliding backward a bit. I leaned on the brake to recover control, then reversed back to the creek bed. Maybe this was too much.“You do have it in 4 low, don’t you?” Toan asked.Read: Meet 40 of the Most Badass Women: Ladies-Only Ford Bronco Off-Roadeo Oh, That: 4WD Saves The Day—and EmbarrassmentThat wall of dirt is one of the trails we took, a clear but high climb – Credit: Scotty ReissUh, no. We’d been driving moderate and challenging trails all day…in normal mode. While the Bronco’s GOAT modes give you great capability, I hadn’t really felt a need for them. Only once, in the morning when Adam was driving, did we need to tap the button to lock the rear differential for added capability on a hill. Otherwise, we drove in normal mode. Thinking back, we could have gone for rock crawl, mud/ruts, sand or slippery mode for added capability. But we didn’t really need it. Until we did.Resting in the creek bed, I shifted to neutral and dialed the 4WD selector over to 4L, then watched as the indicator on the driver’s display signaled the system making the adjustment. For a bit of extra help I tapped the locking rear differential button, too, so I would have better control to hit my left tire on the divot at the top of the hill, which I knew would be critical to getting over the ridge. I didn’t have to turn on the camera; it comes on automatically in 4L.AdvertisementAdvertisementThen it was time to try again. I eased onto the accelerator and powered up the hill, this time feeling the Bronco’s wheels gripping the mud and pulling us up the hill. As we got to the top I was nervous that the craggy ridge would pose a problem underneath, that the left wheel may be too low and the angle too sharp to make it over the top. I worried we’d get stuck, though if we did, we could drop a pin and call for help thanks to the OnX app, which lets you share your location with others.Read: Breaking Down Toyota’s Off-Roading Packages With The 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD ProA Last Blast of Power From the Ford Bronco Was NeededI took a bit of DOMO Motorsports Park home with me – Credit: Scotty ReissAdvertisementAdvertisementSteady on the accelerator and not letting up, even though my instinct told me to slow toward the ridge, we powered up and over the hill and as we did, I could hear a huge collective sigh of relief from Beth, Cameron and Toan, then a whoop of hollers as we pulled away from the ridge. If my drive mates were questioning my ability to make the crest, I appreciated their silence and confidence while I figured it out.Confidence is the key word here, and what I gained throughout the day driving essentially solo since I was the one in the car with the most off-roading experience—though to be fair, Adam is pretty experienced and Cameron has had to come to his rescue.Read: The Rebelle Rally Is Much More Than an Off-Roading CompetitionGaining Confidence in Myself on the Off-Road TrailThe Ford Bronco Badlands prepped for our day – Credit: Scotty ReissMy experience has been largely limited to curated courses with spotters and experts on hand, guides to coach us through every drive mode and accessories to use and driving on trails that are well tested before my drive.Not this time. And that was really the point. Yes, I had people with me, and yes, there was a rescue team behind us in case we needed them; but any off-road park should in good conscience have rescue teams on hand.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut when I was behind the wheel, I was pretty much on my own. It was a chance to remember what I’ve learned over the years, to remember what the Bronco is capable of and to stretch my skills to see what I could really do. It was thrilling and fun, but even more, it was incredible to hear my drive mates cheering me on: You can do this! You got it! And conquering every obstacle with whoops of wooohoooo!!!Off-Road Trail Riding, Though, May Be The Most FunA sunny clearing at DOMO Motorsports Park before we got the Bronco muddy – Credit: Scotty ReissCrawling up those hills and through the creek beds is one thing. Driving a literal race track of dirt, rocks and mud is entirely a different, and in my opinion, more fun experience. DOMO has at its heart a traditionally shaped race track, a wide track with straightaways, hairpins, slaloms and because it’s off road, an section with the option of whoops, or short humps that are jolting fun but better at slower speeds.The track is flat and long, carving long loops across the grassiest part of the park. As with any track, it’s designed for mostly fast driving, so I took the suggestion and in two-high, which is two-wheel drive and the default for street driving, we took to the trail track.This is where you get to see the Bronco at its best, if you ask me; with speeds of up to 65 MPH, but mostly riding at about 45 MPH, it’s easy to see the drive line, or the line that takes you across the easiest part of the track so there’s less need to slow before hitting the apex of a turn. We had to slow for longer stretches dotted with rocks and had to decide: through the mud or around it (guess which one I chose?). We each took turns, pushing out of comfort zones and letting the Bronco do it’s thing.Don’t Let Trail Riding Fool You: It’s Harder Than It LooksWashing the mud off was actually part of the fun at the end of the day – Credit: Scotty ReissThis is my favorite part of off-roading and I reject the judgement: Most of the trails that are deemed “easy” or green are the ones that are ideal for trail riding. The real challenge is to drive it once or twice at lower speeds and observe, learn the terrain, any hills, rocks or obstacles; you don’t want these to pop up at 45MPH.AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd that’s one of the things I appreciated most about both the OnX app and DOMO park: with 10+ miles of spaghetti-bowl trails, it could be easy to get lost or not be able to find good trails for riding. But with the color-coded trails I could see which were longest and flattest, the track at the park’s center, and how to get back to base camp.What Else Does OnX Do?The OnX app displayed on Apple CarPlay – Credit: Scotty ReissAdvertisementAdvertisementOnX offers three versions of the app: A free version, a premium version ($35 a year) with color-coded trails, the ability to save maps, take a photo and store it as a waypoint, and cell service, weather and 3D maps; the elite version ($100 a year) adds sponsor perks, shows land ownership boundaries and has recent images of trails so you can see snow, mud slides, fire damage and other changes that may obstruct or change a trail. Recent updates allow Apple CarPlay to store OnX maps and display them even when you’re out of your cell service area. And if you buy a Ford, you get a year of OnX Elite for free.I found it helpful in preparing for our day, and now that I’ve driven DOMO’s trails, I can easily look back and see where we went and the trails we drove—really helpful in planing my next outing. And there will be a next.I really loved DOMO’s property for its free-range cattle, nicely fenced boundaries (so we didn’t impede on their neighbors) and clearly cut trails. DOMO is open to the public for fees that range from about $40 per vehicle to $95, depending on the vehicle and trails accessed, and for about $15-$25 per extra passenger. There are on-site cabins, camp sites and hotels nearby for those who want to make a weekend of it, and they have a restaurant, bar and barbecue at basecamp for post-ride R&R. And for those who want to live this life all year long, memberships allow you unfettered access to the property.And that might be the way to go. Because once you off-road solo, you’ll want to do it again, and again, and again.
+38 others
