I guess I'm pretty lucky when it comes to available " public " access off roading. The Wharton, Brenden Byrne, Belle Plain State Forests as well as the Pinelands National Reserve are all connected by tiny and completely unmaintained two tracks leading through beautiful forests and wetlands here in New Jersey. Combined total of over 1,000,000 acres. Access is only 30 minutes from my house. You can go on for days and miles and miles and if you know your way can make the trip from Atsion in the western part almost all the way to the Atlantic ocean on the eastern side. It's all open to STREET LEGAL, registered vehicles. If it weren't for all the stinkin developement it would be possible to make it to the ocean.
We have the same problem here with a few aholes ruining it for everyone. You don't need a full blown crawler on 44's to get around here, to the contrary, a smaller rig with a little footprint is actually much better, but people insist on bringing their giant trucks and BIG heeps into the forest and tearing up the trails, digging big holes in the wet parts of the trails, smashing up the trees, and getting stuck, bringing unwanted and unfavorable attention to off roaders. I'm always finding trash, beer bottles and empty beer cartons in some of the most beautiful areas. Without fail, almost every time I'm out there I find some jackoff stuck in a waterhole he shouldn't have been in to begin with. Lately I've just turned around and gone the other way, leaving them to there own devices. It won't be long before even street legal vehicles will be banned here. I'm going to enjoy it while I can.