Trip Report: Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area (AOAA)

So I finally got the chance to test out the new suspension and tires and get a good coating of mud all over the 4Runner (including the inside thanks to a certain dumbass on the trip…)

This was my first trip to AOAA and honestly, it was absolutely fantastic. For where I was coming from, it was a bit further than Rausch Creek, but if you are looking for a more mild off-roading experience, then it is 100% worth it. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of hard trails at AOAA, but I feel that it has a better diversity of easier trails for more stock vehicles allowing everyone to get in on the fun. One thing to keep in mind however is that AOAA is not just for 4x4s; dirt bikes, ATVs, and other side-bys are allowed to be on the trails as well, so not only do you need to keep an eye out for them, but you also need to make sure you don’t accidentally end up on any of the ATV-only trails!

Seeing as this was my first trip out, I wanted to take it easy and really test everything out. I was joined by a like-minded buddy that has a Jeep Wrangler JKU lifted up 3.5” and sitting on 35s. He loves to wheel his Jeep, but he also knows he has to drive it home. The other buddy could not have been more of the opposite. He has a heavily modified Jeep Grand Cherokee WK, and heavily-modified might be putting it lightly. His Jeep is up on 37” KO2s, a 6” SuperLift, home-brew sliders, an ARB front bumper, some skid plates, and a completely reckless mindset because he trailers it with his Dodge Ram pickup. Must be nice….

With all that being said, we hit the trails fairly early in the morning and despite the cold temperatures, there were quite a few people out on dirt bikes and ATVs. Made me appreciate having some heated seats in the 4Runner! I took my 33” KO2s down to about 17-18 PSI and gave the King suspension a few extra clicks of firmness to make sure things weren’t going to be too soft.

We started our day on the main trail/road, and I have to say, AOAA is worth going to just for that trail alone. It is a mile or two long, about the size of a 3-4 lane highway, and relatively smooth with sections of ruts/whoops and puddles to bomb through. You can easily bomb your way through this section (keeping an eye out for others) and really test out your suspension. Throughout the day, we must have done this trail at least a dozen times simply because it was fun to pick up some speed and splash some mud around.

After that, we went through some of the easier trails that took you up in to the cornfields. These trails branch off in to a small network of connecting trails, but all of them are relatively easy. There is a nice mix of rocky climbs, rutted descents, and mud puddles to get things a bit dirty. I certainly had the least amount of clearance on this trip, but there was never really a time that I felt limited based on the trails we went on. The only thing that held me back a bit was my lack of sliders (stay tuned!). There were some tight sections with pitched turns that led to some close encounters between some rocks and my rocker panels!

While we primarily stayed on some of the easier trails, our reckless buddy in the Grand Cherokee decided to hit a short trail called Lower Anthracite. This is a black diamond trail and we thought it would be good fun for him to go through. Turns out it was, but it took quite a bit of time. The top of trail is a STEEP, rocky descent that opened up to a massive rock garden that he had to work his way through. All pretty standard black diamond stuff so far. But then we hit the big leagues. The main course for this trail was a set of back to back to back drop offs with water running through them. The drop offs were easily 1.5-2 feet and you could clearly see the carnage on the rocks from previous travelers. It is safe to say that you need some high clearance and sliders at the absolute bare minimum. We spent about 45 minutes getting him through this section and he did not come away unscathed. The first rock drop brought him down hard on the sliders, giving him a good gouge in them. The second drop slipped him off to the side, denting his rear quarter panel when he hit a small tree. And the third brought him down directly on to his trailer hitch, but luckily there was not damage to that (just a really loud BANG!)

For the latter half of the day, we hit the powerline trail and went through a couple of green and blue trails through there. The trails were definitely a good bit of fun, and there were some awesome other rigs out there. We got to see an old LR Defender 110 and an FJ40 looking absolutely incredible hitting some of the easier trails. In one of the little valleys, we ran in to one small hiccup; our friend’s Grand Cherokee had suddenly become much louder. We shut the rig off and looked under it only to find the problem immediately. At some point (likely during Lower Anthracite) his exhaust must have caught on something and ripped the hangers off. Luckily this thing is a beater, so we grabbed a BFH and a crowbar and ripped that thing off. We threw some water on it to cool it down, and then we threw it on a tarp in the back of the Cherokee and went on our way.

We ended the day by hitting the main trail/road again to get some final thrills, and then we went on our way. All in all, it was a really solid trip and I cannot wait to get back to AOAA for another round of wheeling. If you are looking to take your rig out for the first time, either stock or not, I highly recommend you check out AOAA if you are on the East Coast!