Great Places for Extreme Bashing

Great Places for Extreme Bashing

Although some “serious” hobbyists only drive their RC cars and trucks at the track, the fact remains that the majority of RC vehicles are “backyard bashers” that tear up the streets, forests and extreme areas around the country. Warning! What you are about to read should not necessarily be attempted at home. Whenever bashing, always be mindful of local laws, ordinances, as well as the safety of yourself and those around you—including animals. With that disclaimer out of the way, here are some great places to bash:

Skate parks
Although you are almost certain to damage your vehicle at some point, driving at a skate park can be tons of fun. Skate parks feature high-speed concrete surfaces, ramps, quarter-pipes, half-pipes, vertical sections, and much more. You can grab crazy air and fine tune your stunt driving. Bring lots of spare parts, because you’ll need them, but you’ll have so much fun that you won’t even care!

Industrial parking lots
If your town has an industrial area, you are likely to find huge parking lots and super-long strips of asphalt. These areas are usually empty and give you a great opportunity for wide-open driving. Some of the best high-speed testing can be done in these areas, because they offer 500+ feet of uninterrupted real estate.

ATV trails
There are a lot of public areas around the country that have large plots of land where people drive ATVs and dirt bikes. These places are excellent for off-road bashing because they have fast, hard-packed surfaces with long straights, sweeping turns, uphill climbs, downhill descents, and jumps—all are perfect for some RC mayhem—especially for large-scale RC vehicles.

The beach
Although lots of measures should be taken in preparation for sand driving, the beach offers a unique bashing landscape. It is great seeing a big roost’ of sand fly up when you jam the throttle, and tackling sand dunes is equally rewarding and fun. And for great photo-ops, try driving right on the shore, where the sand is wet; it makes for some great images.

Reservoir dams
There aren’t too many places to do this nearby, but if you have ever visited a spillway reservoir, you probably wished that you brought your RC car. One such place that I have visited was in Iowa City, where the wall of the dam was over 100 feet high, with a gradually sloping incline, ending in almost a 90 degree angle. It was like driving on the biggest quarter-pipe known to man, and I have never smiled so much in my life!

State reserves
Some park lands have a million rules, and others have almost none. For the latter, you will find thousands of acres of primitive land, with nothing but wilderness and hard-packed, dirt service roads—which are perfect for high-speed rally racing. You will also find natural rock formations that are great for rock climbing, and plenty of natural obstacles to keep you busy for hours.

Local parks
First and foremost, never drive too close to children or pedestrians, as they tend to flock around RC cars when you bash around local parks. Parks have a myriad to RC challenges to take advantage of. There is usually plenty of hard-packed sand, wood chips, tennis courts, basketball courts, hills, and much more around parks.

Bicycle trails
Like every locale on this list, make sure that you are allowed to drive RC cars a bike trail first. If you are, keep your eyes peeled for cyclists, and let the fun begin! Bike trails range from tame to insane. They are usually well-manicured, resulting in high speeds, and have extreme elements like dips, steep hills, jumps and challenging single-track. Scout-out the area first, and choose a few places on the trail that you want to conquer. Then, let the games begin.

You don’t necessarily need to be on a track to have a good time in RC. In fact, for you adrenaline junkies, there are a number of great places to bash which feature extreme elements—plenty to keep you busy, interested, and running back to the local hobby shop to buy replacement parts. It is important not to break the rules, as driving RC cars is prohibited in many public and private areas. But as long as it doesn’t say “no trespassing” or “no motorized vehicles,” you’re probably good-to-go. Try out these crazy terrains, and see if you can discover more on your own.

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Updated: July 20, 2015 — 3:36 PM
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