Shad Road

Trail Overview

The two ends of Shad Road that connect to Hurricane Gap are rather misleading. While it starts out as a relatively tame gravel two-track, the middle section is much more difficult than you may be lead to believe in the first half mile at each end. There are a few campsites scattered along each end, but none are available in the middle section of the trail. Expect very tight sections of rhododendron, washouts, and water-filled holes, some of which have soft bottoms. Many of the rutted sections will require either large tires and upgraded suspensions, or driving with a tire on each side of the washout. In places the trail is narrow, larger vehicles might have a harder time picking a line. A few of the deeper holes have drive arounds, but these are narrow.

Difficulty

I had to use 4 low several times, and even then with aired down MT tires a few of the holes and washes were challenging. This trail can be very misleading and someone could be in over their head before they realized it. It also offers very few places to turn around. Without a spotter it takes a very slow pace and a decently outfitted truck.

Technical Rating