First Trip to Tahuya Off Road Park
Yellowjacket Hill
First Time Wheeling in Tahuya, WA
It had been a wet month leading up to our little day trip to Tahuya, so I was expecting a LOT of mud. I prepped the Jeep on Friday before the adventure—and nearly set my shop on fire. I have 15 LED 4’ shop lights mounted on the ceiling; one burned out, another literally melted and was hanging six inches down, blackened. Luckily, I managed to avert disaster and continued packing food for the next day.
Look closely at the far trailer in the photos—see that dark spot at the back? That was under water when we unloaded. The trailer was about ten feet back, water over the hubs. Good-sized puddles that day!
Saturday morning, my wife opted for a craft-shopping trip with a friend, so I met up with my son Tommy and his buddies in Belfair, WA, at 10 a.m. We drove up to the Tahuya ORV staging area, where I aired down my tires for the trails ahead. Looking around at the other rigs—all fresh off trailers—I realized I had the smallest setup, running 33-inch tires. I felt a bit out of place, but I was there for the trails, not the rock gardens.
As we walked back to the rigs, Tommy laughed at my Jeep: “We haven’t even hit the trails yet, and we gotta fix your pile!” Sure enough, my electric fan had dropped, hanging only by the wiring. A few zip ties later, it was secure enough to hit the trails (and yes, it’s properly fixed now).
Gatekeeper & Yellow Jacket Hill
Tommy unloaded his Toyota on 37-inch Yokohama XMTs and pointed to the first obstacle: the “gatekeeper.” A rock garden right at the entrance. “Don’t worry,” he said, “there are bypasses. I did it in my Ranger on 33s—you can do it in the Jeep.”
Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper was surprisingly easy, even wet and muddy. Most of the “mud” was just water holes anyway. Not far in, we reached the first optional obstacle: a steep rock climb known as Yellow Jacket Hill. Tommy had done this in his Toyota over the summer, dry, and called it easy—but with locked front and rear differentials on 37s. I wasn’t touching it this time, but watching others was a blast. Everyone made it, though none had it easy.
Buggy Hill & Whoops
Next, we climbed a steep incline, navigated past a couple broken rigs, and dropped into a crevice to start Buggy Hill. Again, I parked and watched. Tommy and his buddies handled it—one in a YJ on 40s, the other in a purpose-built buggy on 37s. I might have tried it if my Jeep had an 8.8 rear and it was dry, but not today.
YouTube links for Buggy Hill
Another Buggy Hill clip
After Buggy Hill, we hit the “whoops”—tight, hole-filled tracks that could swallow rigs. Near the end, there was another rock garden, or a narrow bypass with a rock on one side and a drop-off on the other. Full-size trucks? Good luck. In the Jeep, it was a blast.
We continued through more trails, water crossings (time to check the differentials for water intrusion), and tight tracks. Eventually, we reached another rock garden climb that Tommy hadn’t attempted before. A Jeep JK was stuck midway up; a Toyota rescued it with a tow strap. Another rig snapped an axle while being winched. We ate sandwiches while watching and then rolled on to finish the day, staying out another 45 minutes on some tight, fun trails.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I had a great time in Tahuya. I was hoping for more mud rather than puddles up to the doors. There’s a lot of gravel, and the water doesn’t drain well. Capitol Forest has the sticky, gooey mud I love.
Will I go back? Absolutely. I want to watch my son tackle those hills and eventually conquer the last obstacle. That said, Tahuya can get crowded. Dirt bikes have hundreds of miles to play, but some still wander into the 4WD area. A few quads and dirt bike riders were disrespectful, which was disappointing—back in the day, everyone out in the dirt respected each other. Not so much anymore, at least here.
