# Carriage roads?



## shiningjewel (Aug 1, 2010)

What do you think about there being more roads for carriage driving? I had this idea that rather than creating riding trails, and cross country jumps, that I'd rather see more trails geared to challenging drivers. Such as a private property full of bridges, winding roads, forest, field etc, to enjoy driving on.. And further more to have a place to do what trail riders do.. Like geocaching, poker rides, theme rides, and going against the clock, except for drivers! 

When I look up carriage roads, sure, I see people making use of public trails and roads, but the closest I find to what I have in mind is the Acadia national park in Maine. They seem very carriage friendly. 

I'd love to be enlightened if more such places exist for drivers, and where? And if not, why doesn't this work, and even become popular? 

Thanks guys


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## DiverDoug1978 (Aug 25, 2015)

There are several carriage road properties in the DC Area.

Temple Hall Farm - Leesburg VA
Blandy Experimental Farm - VA Aboretum
Fair Hill NRMA - Elkton MD

These have great carriage driving roads with loops for short and long drives.

Nice variety of scenery and terrain.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

North Carolina has all kinds of carriage trails. We also have a National Park in the smokey mountains called Moses Cone that has over 25 miles of roads dedicated to carriages. Here is the map

http://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/upload/Cone Park Carriage Trails.pdf


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

That would be really cool to have these in more places. 
I'm not usually a negative person but here it goes. First carriage roads and bridges are created. Yay, way cool!!!! Pretty soon people want to walk these roads because they are so beautiful. Ok, no big deal. Then the bicycles come. Well, ok. 30 years from now the walkers and bikers are complaining that they stepped in horse poop and want the horses off of them.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

LoriF said:


> That would be really cool to have these in more places.
> I'm not usually a negative person but here it goes. First carriage roads and bridges are created. Yay, way cool!!!! Pretty soon people want to walk these roads because they are so beautiful. Ok, no big deal. Then the bicycles come. Well, ok. 30 years from now the walkers and bikers are complaining that they stepped in horse poop and want the horses off of them.


 We have a nice trail near my home for horses and I take my carriage. The issue for me is bikers that are not courteous and loose dogs with people not seeming to care about a leash law. It would be very expensive to have a private facility and not many billionaires carriage drive that are spread around the country for many to enjoy.
There are places like Black Prong that may fit what you are looking for or Grand Oaks both in FL but expensive for a day pass.


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## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

The American Driving Society has a Trail Guide for places that are friendly to carriages. Typically with small carts, any even, debris-free trail that allows horses is one you can drive on. But as mentioned before me, there's always risks with things like bike riders (many of whom seem to believe the trail systems are theirs alone) and loose dogs, so a well-trained horse who is OK dealing with those things is paramount.


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