Withlacoochee State Forest: Croom Section

Trail is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Small trailhead on side of road. Mostly flat and wide single track. Really nice and pretty easy to follow. Network out and back kind of trail. Nothing near by so bring what you need. Some minor roots and no features to speak of. Excellent for those that like to spin or a beginner. Plenty of miles for the more advanced rider to get in some distance.

Rode the blue trail one day and the yellow trail the next. 95 % is flat cross country single tract similar to other trails I have ridden in florida. On the blue trail they maximized the use of sinks and gulley's to provide some fun at the 9 mile mark for about 4 miles. Then on the back side there was a short climb and brief down hill roll. There was a bit of soft sand here and there, but not too much. The yellow trail had almost no features, the last mile of that trail was the nicest part with firmer trail a few roots and some mild ups and downs. Felt like I should have brought an ornament for the bicycle man. Overall well maintained and marked, great for cross country riding, with some features for the trail bike on blue trail. Thanks to the swamp team for their efforts.

Rode the 24 mile blue loop today Christmas Eve. The trails were in great shape! We'd had rain the past 2 days and I was hesitant to ride. But the sandy soil must drain well as I had no reservations riding here so soon after the rain. Trails are very well marked. There are intersecting horse trails and motorcycle/ATV trails (I think). So long as you stay on the Blue blazes you will be fine. there are blazes frequently placed on the trail. If you ride a bit and dont see the blaze/trail marker good chance you are off the trail. There are bypasses for the more difficult / technical sections. A beginner can ride the blue trail with no issues. A couple of small hills might be a challenge. The SWAMP club does a great job maintaining the trails.

Great job SWAMP on the new trails and overall grooming on DM. Had a blast today. 3 other riders were also stoked about the recent mods! Thank you!

nice wide open trail, great for working out. not many steep hills except in the technical areas such as Drunken Monkey. Nobody else on the trail and several bailout points where you can cross the road and get on the paved trail to take you back quickly to the trailhead. I rode in wintertime, I could imagine this would be very hot during summer time. also there are quite a few sandy spots that feel as though you are loosing control.

Took my wife out for her first time. Kicked her butt, but she got to learn so much. Ride yellow so she learned some of what a blue may have and then enjoyed the yellow to learn the basics. She works out all the time but never felt like this after. The gym will work all areas but not at the same time. She loved it!!!

My favorite part of Croom! It has great climbs, dips, drops, and roots. A very flowy section of trail. Some parts of this trail fork into harder/easier sides, for those who want something more challenging.

Sweet trail! Got some nice dropins and short climbs.

A BLAST!!!!! Nice flowy trails, most of which I would consider beginner to low intermediate. The blue trail that starts at Croom-Nobleton is my favorite. For the first 10 miles you get some nice, fast, smooth singletrack with some light climbs and descents. Nothing technical except for a couple small sections at around 2 miles and a couple small climbs around 5 or 6 miles(I think). At about 9 miles or so you get Drunken Monkey, which is a more advanced section that can be avoided if you didn't want to take it. BUT YOU SHOULD TAKE IT! It's awesome! Nice climbs and descents more akin to what you might find in Balm Boyette trails rather than rocky, rooty trails like Santos. Between the 10 and 14 mile markers is my absolute favorite section! BEAUTIFUL scenery with some more advanced riding. Again, it's very flowy and you can hit it with some speed. Not toooo rocky or rooty. A couple sections with serious consequences for falling off the side(30 foot drops). Also, there is a bmx track in that section that's fun. When you find yourself just before Tired Hole, take the trail to the left to get to the track.... Over 50 miles of riding at Croom! Yet, it is still a little known gem. I frequent as often as I can. Shred, rinse, repeat!

Lots of fun with sections for any skill level. Yellow trail north of Croom Rd. is fairly easy but with quite a bit of sugar sand. Someone thoughtfully nailed a crying towel to a tree on one of the long sandy grades so ya gotta laugh. Mostly good signage though I got off trail several times, relying on topo in Singletracks app to reorient myself. Only real concern is that when riding the NE blue trail between bailouts 10 & 14, I did not appreciate ahead of time how significant the consequences of failure could be...there is a very narrow, curving section that if you go off, you drop almost strait down 30' into a pond. No one's walking out of that fall. Also a long steep climb but able to portage it. Exhausting and energizing!

If you haven't ridden Croom recently, then you may not know what you're missing out on. I can't believe anyone who rode where I was would rate this gem a 3 star. Park in area 1 just east of the croom/nobleton intersection. Ride north on nobleton to the second bailout (there's maps by the parking area and again at major points on the trail, snap a pic) and then head north on the trail to where every section has a name. Add legs and enjoy.

Good beginner trail, does have a few roots, and after hard rain storms some sections retain water. Along with some wash out after heavy rain. Good Starter area and I like to take my kids out here not to technical it's just fun for them.

Great place to put in some miles. Some technical parts near the back. Pretty Sandy if it hasn't rained recently but overall a good place to get your XC fix with some nice FL backcountry scenery.

Many miles of singletrack with natural elevation changes, which can be a refreshing change of pace from the other more technical Florida trails found on abandoned mine lands. The trails flow well here with a ton of long gradual ups / downs (by Fl standards of-course). There are certainly some sandy sections but nothing completely unrideable. There are several technical sections but nothing too serious or unavoidable. This is definitely the place to go if you are looking to log some miles.

Was on vacation to FL last week. Rode the Tucker Hill section. Very easy, but a very nice 11 or so miles.

Croom has a great range of riding available. Some up-hill, some down-hill, flat, straight, and turns. If you are adventurous I would say that you should go to "The Pits". Bailout points and connector trails make is so you can ride just about any distance. The worst thing there is that it does have some sugar-sand. Not a lot, but it is there. Mostly hardpack and very scenic. Fun for everyone.

Mostly stayed on the beginner trails. We had the dog and we were heading to a state park for camping. Only did about twelve miles. Peaceful a lot of u and down hills. Were looking forward to going back for the intermediate courses

Rode the yellow 12 mile loop 11/22/11 well marked got on at Tucker Hill @the fire tower on Croom rd a little sugar sand but not bad very scenic nxt time ill ride the 32 mile blue trail it has big lime pits to ride through

Rode the Croom 35 mile Challenge. I felt like there were a fair share of gradual climbs which made a long distance endurance race challenging. Some of the technical areas were surprising, as you would ride for long periods with nothing but cross-country trails and then all-of-a-sudden - here's a major gully. I enjoyed it, but don't ride it alone because this is out in the middle of nowhere. Also, alot of signs of ATV's and hunters...

Lonely and sandy. Not a lot of people go here it is so far out of the way which has it's pros and cons. Pro's being quiet enjoyable deep Florida woods. Con's are that the trails don't get run enough so they are getting hard to follow in certain areas and the spiders, these huge fricken banana spiders (I'm reading that the North American version is not poisonous enough to hurt humans), keep building webs across the paths, not so fun. Also, the sand can make some parts miserable, just completely saps all your energy. Lots and lots of sand. Some interesting parts around what I guess are old phosphate mines and mounds. Very pretty deep woods but something that disturbs me is complete lack of any wildlife what-so-ever. I think i saw a squirrel and 1 armadillo last time I went for 4 hours. Just eerie quiet, devoid of life (except for the spiders). I guess the hunters have completely wiped the place out or it wasn't a good time of year, pretty sad actually, all that space and no wildlife.* Review edited 10/15/2009* Review edited 10/15/2009* Review edited 10/15/2009* Review edited 10/15/2009