There’s a certain kind of expectation that comes with vehicles designed to capture the free-spirit nature of the great outdoors. Usually, these vehicles of the open-air variety need a lot of room to breathe. The 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport are perfect examples of these kinds of rough and tumble 4x4s that give drivers the urge to explore off the beaten path and soak in nature like never before. Of course, if you picked up a 2021 Bronco from Future Ford of Sacramento, your Citrus Heights Ford dealership, and live in the area, you’re probably itching to put the popular off-road vehicle through its paces. Well, you’re in luck because there are some nifty trails and recreational parks for you to visit to make full use of the Bronco’s features.
We have a list here of a few key areas you may want to visit with your new 2021 Bronco or Bronco Sport. Instead of staying cooped up on the urban roadways, these locations will give the vehicles some much needed exercise to flex their four-wheel drive capabilities. Whether you have the more casual Bronco Sport and plan on taking the family on a weekend vacation, or the enthusiast Bronco with the option to strip away the doors and roof for a full-on open-air experience, these are a few places you’ll definitely want to check out with your SUVs.
5. Saddleback Mountain Lookout
The Saddleback Mountain Lookout is a nice beginner-area off-road trail for those who want to give their Bronco or Bronco Sport a little bit of a workout through dirt trails, rocky roads, and a little stream crossing. Saddleback Mountain is a peak that travels down into a valley and back up the hills. It stretches across 29.2 miles, so you have a lot of room to explore. There is a very large and diverse amount of opportunities to venture to the limits of the Bronco and Bronco Sport.
Given that the Bronco Sport is designed to handle lighter off-road tasks than its beefier sibling, the Saddleback routes that aren’t as steep or contain as many uphill rock obstructions would probably be the better option for the Sport. In this way, you can still experience some great off-road opportunities without pushing the Sport too far into territory it may not be comfortable scaling. There’s just enough to give the 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter EcoBoost engines a nice little workout.
With the standard Bronco, you can make use of the various high-end off-roading capabilities for the more challenging aspects of Saddleback Mountain’s uphill climbs. This includes putting the electronically locking axles to use, as well as the 4×4 on-demand systems for improved traction control. Saddleback will give your Bronco or Bronco Sport a great workout, and it’s located just northeast of Citrus Heights, beyond the Tahoe National Forest, so it’s not too far away from home.
4: Knoxville OHV Park
The Knoxville OHV Park, located in Napa Valley, just west of Citrus Heights, has varying degrees of off-road trails to travel across, perfect for all trims of the Bronco and Bronco Sport. This includes some basic dirt paths that can prove to be quite the challenge when they get muddy. Even if you have just the base Bronco Sport trim, it’s enough to give Ford’s off-road-ready SUV a little bit of a workout.
There are quite a few routes you can explore both on the beaten path and further off the beaten path, depending on what sort of challenge you’re looking for. There aren’t as many rocky surfaces to deal with like Saddleback, so the hill climbing isn’t as challenging. However, there are still some steep, roaming mounds to give the Broncos’ EcoBoost powertrain room to flex its muscles. There are also plenty of opportunities to allow the Bronco’s large tires to grip the road and power up the inclines.
Whether you’re a veteran off-roader or a newbie, Knoxville OHV Park is a great way to exercise the Bronco’s open-air prowess. If you don’t feel like running the risk and dangers of crossing streams or dealing with rocky terrain, the mostly dirt and gravel trails present at the Knoxville park are a good way to explore some of California’s more picturesque locations. If you really want a big challenge, try taking on the Knoxville OHV Park trails after a rainstorm to see how well you can get the Bronco through the muddy hills.
3. The Rubicon Trail of El Dorado County
The Rubicon Trail of El Dorado County is an off-highway vehicle trail designed to give all manner of off-road vehicles a great challenge across a number of different scenarios. This includes a variety of basic trails, hill climbs, rock climbs, and ledges. This is definitely a more enthusiast-based trail park, with a lot of challenging areas to really put the Bronco through a rough and tumble session.
Given the steep inclines and rocky passages in the mountainous area, those who decided to go with a more hardcore version of the Bronco, such as the Badlands trim or the Wildtrak, will be able to put trim packages to good use. Each of the park’s various areas basically increases in challenge depending on what you’re looking for out of an off-road experience. The majority of the park’s offerings for off-road vehicles are not easy, but it’s a great way to see how well vehicles like the Bronco can handle the more treacherous terrain that mother nature can conjure up.
In fact, there are a lot of areas designed to really test the mettle of the Bronco’s Sasquatch Package, which consists of 35-inch tires and Bilstein monotube shocks. You’ll need a lot of patience, skill, and sturdy skid plates to get through the Rubicon Trail of El Dorado County. If you’re up for the challenge, the Rubicon Trail offers plenty of ways to squeeze every bit of performance out of the 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport.
2: Leviathan Mine Road
Located at the border of California and Nevada, far east of Citrus Heights, Leviathan Mine Road is an interesting location for off-highway vehicles. While Leviathan Mine Road can be dangerous and filled with steep descents and razor-thin pathways, it’s also designed to accommodate a variety of 4x4s of different calibers. In fact, no matter which trim or model you go with, the Bronco and Bronco Sport will be able to handle some of the trails and pathways that Leviathan Mine Road has to offer.
There are some basic trails for beginners, consisting mostly of just dirt roads and gravel pathways. If you don’t feel very confident in taking the Bronco or Bronco Sport into the more uneven territory, you can just stick to the paths most traveled. It will still give you a nice off-road experience, but without worrying about all the undulations and rocky routes.
If you’re feeling a little more confident in your abilities, you can easily opt to go on the paths less traveled. There are some river crossings, some inclines, some declines, and lots of great lookout areas. These routes are perfect for the Bronco, where you can soak in the sun with the open-air design and really make use of the specially tuned suspension designed to handle whatever the Leviathan can throw at it.
1: Prairie City SVRA
One of the most popular and well-known recreational parks in California, the Prairie City SVRA, is a great staging ground and outdoor location for off-road vehicles. There are a variety of different off-road challenges, areas, and trails, perfect for drivers of all skill levels. If you need to get your feet wet in the off-road lifestyle, Prairie City is the perfect place to do so.
If you have a base Bronco Sport trim, you can load the family up and scout through some of the basic dirt trails while soaking in the wildlife and environment. If you have the base Bronco with one of the more extreme trims, you can definitely up the ante and attempt to conquer some of the more challenging areas that Prairie City has available. There are a lot of rocky areas perfect for putting the Bronco’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine through its paces and the 400 pound-feet of torque to work.
The best part about it is that Prairie City SVRA is located just southeast of Citrus Heights. So if you had planned on taking the Bronco to a nearby location to test your off-roading skills, Prairie City is the perfect place to do so. If you’re still unsure about diving into the off-roading lifestyle, be sure to visit Future Ford of Sacramento to find out more about how you can better enjoy the great outdoors with a 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport.
