Croom Motorcycle Area: Dirt Biking Brooksville, FL

Location: Croom Motorcycle Area, Withlacoochee State Forest, Florida

A dirt bike rider crossing a wide sand wash under a blue sky at the Croom Motorcycle Area in Brooksville, Florida

If you live anywhere near Tampa and you own a dirt bike, sooner or later you end up at Croom. It’s about an hour north, right off I-75 in Brooksville, and it’s 2,600 acres of sand, pine forest and old mining pits set aside for motorcycles and ATVs. In May 2016 I loaded up the bike and met my buddy Greg and one more friend there for a full day of riding.

The whole day is in the video below, helmet cam and all. Here’s the story behind it.

Location of this Adventure28.52698, -82.23767Open in Google Maps →

Unloading at the Croom Motorcycle Area

Croom isn’t a place you ride to. Anything that isn’t street legal has to come in on a trailer or in the back of a truck, so the staging area turns into a little pit row. Tailgates down, coolers open, gas cans lined up and bikes coming off the trucks under the oaks.

We geared up, checked each other’s bikes and rolled out before the day got too hot. May in Florida doesn’t give you a lot of cool hours to work with.

A pickup truck with the tailgate down, a cooler and gas can in the bed, and a dirt bike parked beside it at the Croom staging area

The sand is the whole game

Most of Croom is sand. Some of it is packed and fast, some of it is deep and loose, and it can change from one turn to the next. Under the trees you get shade, roots and tight lines between the pines. Out in the open you get sun, whoops and big sandy bowls.

If you grew up riding clay or rock, it takes a minute to trust the bike in here. The front end wanders, the back end steps out, and the trick is to stay loose and keep the throttle on instead of fighting it.

A rider ahead on a rutted sand whoops trail through the pine forest at Croom

Mind the mine pits

Croom had a life before the motorcycles. The area is full of pits left over from old mining operations, and some of them are DEEP. You can hear us talking about it in the video. Once we hit the start of the mines, we worked our way around the side instead of cutting straight through, because going in too early drops you into 20-foot pits.

That’s the part nobody tells you on the map. Know where you are before you point your bike at a hole you can’t see the bottom of.

Two dirt bikes riding the sandy floor of an old mine pit at the Croom Motorcycle Area

The one cornering tip worth stealing

At one of our breaks the guys walked me through corners, and it’s a tip I’d pass on to anybody who rides sand. Roll into the corner a little fast, and right when you’re about to start turning, drag your back brake a little. It sort of sets the bike into the corner. I could actually feel the difference on the next few turns.

After that it’s just practice. Everybody ends up with their own technique, so ride it until you find what you like.

Two riders on a Yamaha and a Kawasaki taking a break by a sand pile at Croom

Meet the tree

Not every lesson that day was that tidy. Right after getting passed, one of the guys ran straight into a tree. He got back on, finished the ride, and the tree became the story of the day, which is exactly how it should go when nobody gets hurt.

Croom’s trails squeeze between the pines in a lot of places. The moment you get distracted by the bike in front of you is the moment a trunk shows up.

A rider in red gear on a blue Yamaha carving a corner in a sand bowl at Croom

Wiped out, in the good way

By the end of the ride we were cooked. “I am wiped,” was the review, followed right away by “that’s my kind of riding though.” That’s Croom in two sentences. Tight trees, sand that never sits still and a long day in the Florida sun, and you still want to come back next weekend.

Points of Interest

Worth the Detour Around Croom

If you’re making a weekend of it, here’s what else is close by.

Withlacoochee State Trail OutdoorsA 47-mile paved rail-trail that runs right past the Croom area. It’s flat, shaded in spots and an easy way to ride the next day on a bicycle instead of a dirt bike.
Croom Off-Road Bicycle Trails OutdoorsMountain bike loops in the same forest, starting at the Tucker Hill fire tower trailhead. The Yellow loop is 12 miles and the Blue loop is 32, through longleaf pine, scrub oak hills and hardwood hammocks.
Silver Lake Recreation Area NearbyOn the north side of the Croom tract along the Withlacoochee River, with camping and picnic areas. A good spot to cool off after a sandy day.
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park NearbyStraight west on State Road 50 at US-19. Live mermaid shows have run there since 1947, and you can rent a kayak and float the crystal-clear Weeki Wachee River.

If You Go

Planning Your Own Croom Ride

Getting there: The gate is at 6420 La Rose Rd., Brooksville, off I-75 exit 301 at State Road 50. Anything that isn’t street legal has to be trailered or hauled in and out, so bring the truck.
Hours: Open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s daylight riding only, and the front gate closes promptly at 5, so plan to be loaded up before then.
Fees and permits: Every bike or ATV needs its own permit: $15 for a day or $80 for an annual pass that runs July 1 to June 30. The permit sticker goes on the left front of the bike. Pay at the gatehouse.
Bike and gear rules: Spark arrester and muffler required, DOT helmet on at all times, no double riding on motorcycles, and riders under 16 need direct adult supervision. ATVs max out at 55 inches wide and 1,500 pounds, and side-by-side ROVs aren’t allowed right now.
Where to camp: Buttgenbach Mine Campground sits inside the riding area with 51 sites with water and 30/50-amp power, plus bath houses. Sites 6 to 51 book through ReserveAmerica, sites 1 to 5 are walk-up, and you need to check in by 5 p.m. to get the gate combination.
Best time to go: I’d go October through March. We rode in May, and by the afternoon the heat was doing as much work as the sand. Bring more water than you think you need.
Leave at home: No alcohol and no pets in the riding area or the campground.

Details checked October 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with the Florida Forest Service before you go.

CONCLUSION

You don’t need to drive across the country to find good dirt. If you’re in Tampa Bay, Croom is an hour up I-75 and a $15 day permit. Bring a buddy, respect the mine pits, practice dragging that back brake into the corners and watch out for the trees. Hit play on the video above to ride along, and if you want more Croom, here’s my ride there from July 2015.

The full roll