Experience Off-Road Fun with the Whole Family

"Free Driving" in forests and fields isn't just prohibited by the green conscience in this country. Legal regulations also make it difficult for off-road enthusiasts to find legal routes. If you want to venture off-road with a motorized vehicle, the best place to do so in Germany is one of the numerous off-road parks. Here you can test your limits without having to fear a complaint or an angry farmer. These parks even comply with environmental protection regulations. You can find information here.

We've long since become accustomed to the sight of large SUVs on the roads. But these popular "family vehicles" can do more than just get us from A to B in comfort. If you want to test the vehicle's off-road capabilities, an off-road park offers you the full range of 4x4 driving pleasure. For example, you can put your driving skills to the test on soft sandy ground on a former East German Army (NVA) site near Berlin. Off-road parks offer routes of varying difficulty, the easier ones being suitable for more roadworthy vehicles.

An off-road park is the perfect opportunity if you want to gain experience driving off-road with your off-road vehicle. But the terrain offers more than just the pleasure of driving a 4x4. Depending on the size of the off-road park, the different routes lead through hills, meadows, and forests. Various obstacles and challenges await you that you might have to struggle to find in the wild. In short: an off-road park is a botanical garden of a different kind. However, it is just as carefully tended and maintained.

No two off-road parks are the same. Former gravel pits are popular. Here, it is comparatively easy for the owner to create beautiful and varyingly challenging hilly landscapes with inclines. Other off-road parks blend into the natural landscape. There are plenty of forests, streams, and, of course, the obligatory inclines. If that's not enough of an adrenaline rush for you, you can venture into off-road parks with deep water holes or challenging banked sections. However, you should already know your vehicle inside and out under these difficult conditions.

Especially in larger areas, several trails await you, prepared at varying levels of difficulty. These off-road parks cater to both beginners and seasoned off-roaders. Many parks also offer opportunities for youngsters to get a taste of off-road life on a bike or other small vehicle.

Of course, it can happen in an off-road park that you overestimate your vehicle's ground clearance or get stuck. If you're stuck in a mud hole or stuck in a sand trap, you usually don't have to wait long for help. In these cases, the operators of off-road parks usually have powerful vehicles on hand to assist you with rescue.

Most drivers drive their own vehicles around the various tracks in an off-road park. This helps you get to know your vehicle inside and out. This is usually an off-road vehicle or an off-road camper. If you venture off-road in an SUV, you should carefully check the vehicle's gradient and approach angle. Ground clearance is also an important parameter to keep in mind.

Many parks allow quads and off-road motorcycles, such as trail bikes or enduros, in addition to SUVs and off-road vehicles. Not everyone who wants to drive there is already the proud owner of an off-road vehicle. Therefore, some park operators offer vehicles for rent. In some parks, you even have the option of driving a tank or truck on the terrain.

Racing down gravel roads at full speed is a lot of fun. However, rockfalls are inevitable. Scratches on the vehicle are also unavoidable. It's even possible for a vehicle to tip over or get stuck in rough terrain. Driving in off-road terrain is therefore not comparable to driving on a conventional road on public land. It's therefore important to clarify with your insurance company beforehand what damages they will and will not cover. Whether you're a regular off-road driver or this is your first time, it's important to be careful.

Off-road training is a great option, especially for beginners. Under professional guidance, you'll explore the terrain alone or in a team. After just a short time, you'll be able to confidently tackle challenges like steep descents or banked turns. This way, you'll also learn, among other things, how to get out of a deep mud hole under your own steam. The whole adventure is a much more relaxed affair thanks to the qualified guidance.

The parks aren't just a place where you can improve your driving skills on your own and find fun off-road. Most parks also offer various events and courses for off-road enthusiasts throughout the year. Special driving training in small groups offers ideal conditions, especially for beginners, for safely controlling the vehicle even under difficult conditions. Experienced guides accompany participants through the terrain and support the drivers with driving, orientation, and, of course, vehicle recovery.

Intensive off-road training courses are a perfect opportunity to deepen and refine learned techniques and methods through personal experience and application. This includes, among other things, the use of an electric winch, the correct use of special off-road tools such as the Hi-Lift, or proper instruction in off-road situations when the driving situation is particularly tricky.

Off-road driving training courses are, of course, not just for 4x4 vehicles. Touring through distant countries on a large touring enduro or even participating in an event like the GS Trophy: The requirements for enduro training at your local off-road park can be diverse. The course offerings from the organizers are equally diverse. The selection ranges from basic training for riders with little or no off-road driving experience to intensive training for professionals.

There's no question that driving in an off-road park is fun. Here, you'll not only get to know your vehicle better, improve your skills, or learn new techniques. During driver training, you'll be gradually introduced to the various levels of off-road difficulty and learn how to overcome obstacles safely and with as little wear and tear as possible.

Even though the tracks can be quite sporty at times, with some people speeding along gravel or sandy tracks, an off-road park isn't a sports field. Its heart lies in the community of off-road enthusiasts. Special events like championships or simply cozy barbecues with like-minded people strengthen this wonderful sense of togetherness.