The Wheelin' Ranch owned and operated by Tim McGill is located in Nocona, TX.

It is strictly a 4 wheel drive park as the terrain is not conducive to ATV's and dirtbikes. In the past the off-road community of Texas has had very few places to practice their sport. But, as 4 wheeling has become a legitimate recreational sport, it has become apparent that the State needs places available for use. TPWD is working with the Texas Off-road Community to open parks throughout the state. Hopefully we will end up with an Off-road Park System consisting of private and public lands and monitored by a state agency.

Comparable to California's.

In the DFW metroplex area we have 3 legal places for the public to ride. Marshall Creek run by Trophy Club. Barnwell Mountain Recreational Area owned by Texas Motorized Trails Coalition. And now, The Wheelin' Ranch, A privately owned venture.

Tim opens his land on weekends for anyone interested in wheelin'. You do need
to call first 214-636-7231, or post on thewheelinranch.com and he needs a group of about 10 vehicles to open. It costs only $20 a day per vehicle.

The Wheelin' Ranch is such a rugged piece of land that the word is out in the 4x4 community that it is way too tough. Tim and his crew have built their rigs for the extreme stuff, so the first trails they built were just that....extreme. But for every extreme climb there is a bypass for those that need it. And he is building a whole network of easy and moderate trails to go along with the difficult stuff.

Tim has chosen a "Rock Racing" event between to rival Wheelers, The CowtownJeeps.com crew and The Red River Rock Runners for his Grand Opening. This will be a spectator only event for the general public. The trails will be opened to the general public after the event and on Sunday. The spectator fee from the event will be applied to the daily use fee.

Directions to The Wheelin' Ranch: thewheelinranch.com or call Tim McGill 214-636-7231. Email: thewheelinranch@earthlink.net

DIRECTIONS

From Hwy 82 and FM103 in Nocona, Go North on FM103 about 1 mile. Turn right on
FM1956. In about 9 miles turn left on FM3301(by Church with blue roof). Turn left into Nocona Hills in 3 miles. Nocona Hills motel is on the right, they will have info if needed. I think their rooms are booked for the weekend, but they also have campsites available. To get to the gate from Nocona Hills Motel....continue down the road past the Inn, past the fire station and turn left at the bottom of the hill. Take the first left(past the golf course) and the entrance will be visible on the right.

ROCK RACE AT THE WHEELIN RANCH:

Red River Rock Runners vs. CowtownJeeps.com

Below are the rules that will be used in the proposed event between the
high-toned, rich, pretty-boy, city dwellers, known as the CowtownJeeps.com and
the redkneck, hick, country boys from Gainesville, aka the Red River Rock
Runners.

Format is as follows (subject to change):

Date: Saturday Jan. 25th, 2003

Starting time: 9:00am

$100 per vehicle entry fee.

8 vehicles from each side.

2 spotters for each side.

Total purse $1600 to be divided by the winning team as they see fit.

Losing team gets nothing but abuse.

Spectator fee of $10 per individual/$20 per family (under 13 free)- proceeds
to go to the land owner.

This will be a "rock-racing" format with the fastest time on each of four
obstacles counting as each team's time. Lowest cumulative time for the 4
obstacles will win the event. To insure accuracy, two people will time each
competitor and the average time will be used as the official time. Each
vehicle will be allowed a designated maximum amount of time on each obstacle.

The event will be conducted in an elimination format. In other words, if a
vehicle does not finish an obstacle in the alloted amount of time or a vehicle
breaks, it is ineligible to run the remaining obstacles.

Likewise, each obstacle will be taped off to designate the boundaries for the
obstacle. If a participant breaks a taped-off boundary, that vehicle will be
assessed a 30 second penalty for each tape that is hit.

There will be no stacking of rocks allowed for the event. Spotters may assist
the vehicles manually. Straps will be allowed for safety concerns. Winching
will also be allowed but the time involved in winching will be it's own
penalty.

After the event, we will have a social gathering to toast the winners.

Texas Motorized Trails Coalition Outreach Director
www.texasmotorizedtrails.com

Texas Offroad Network Staff
www.texasoffroad.net