If you follow Washington Street all the way south to Sibley Park, you’ll see that it turns into what the county calls a No Maintenance road. They mean it. The wheel tracks in this road are cut so deep that my truck bottoms out if I slide into them, and I have 31-inch tires. They’re lot level, either. It’s a real riot going down this road, if you’re brave enough.

In the summer I take frequent trips down this road to the river bottoms, and I’m not alone. Sometimes I’ll take the truck, sometimes my dirt bike. It’s fun and there are plenty of photo opportunities down there. But when those ruts fill with snow? No way! I’m no stranger to offroading in deep, crusty snow, but this is a recipe for a chilly walk home.

The driver of the Jeep you see down the road a ways was having a grand old time, and even did something I’d never seen before: he hung a hard right and ventured off into the wilderness. I don’t know if he ever drove out of it, but to me that seemed like the craziest idea in recent off-roading memory. The fields on either side are full of fallen trees and soft, sandy soil…the perfect combination for even a big 4×4 to become hopelessly stuck. I hope they made it out okay.

Once the snow’s gone and the ground dries out I’ll be out on this road again. If you’re gutsy and have a truck, you may want to try it! But do so at your own risk.