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Riding Area Suggestions

2K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  mroldstyle 
#1 ·
I have been going on week long ATV trips for the past few years. I have been to Taylor Park CO a few times, Moab UT once, and the Black Hills SD a bunch of times. I am looking for new areas that will have about a weeks worth of trail riding in the area. Our group prefers the more technical riding and really not interested in riding on the boring forest roads. Let me know if there are other areas out there that offer the weeks worth of technical riding with great views. I personally like the Taylor Park area as it has great views and technical riding so looking for more areas like it.


Chad
 
#2 ·
For me it's like beer..There are some beers that I prefer but none that I won't drink..Just need to ride!! Make the most out of each trail.

Hatfield McCoy early spring or fall one week before the trail festival. 500+ miles great trails plus Hammerhead.

Ride Royal Blue....Ripped up, SxS rutted trails with lots of slimy mud mixed with rock shelf hops makes them kind techie. Terrain similar to Black Hills (not as high) but a little more challenging and way more slime. Don't ride on the Friday or Saturday near the campground..they let the misfits out. Head for the outlaw trails. They like night riding, basically to see other machines coming on the very narrow trails.

Haven't rode Windrock or Brimestone in the same area as RRB. I understand they are more challenging.
 
#12 ·
For me it's like beer..There are some beers that I prefer but none that I won't drink..Just need to ride!! Make the most out of each trail.

Hatfield McCoy early spring or fall one week before the trail festival. 500+ miles great trails plus Hammerhead.

Ride Royal Blue....Ripped up, SxS rutted trails with lots of slimy mud mixed with rock shelf hops makes them kind techie. Terrain similar to Black Hills (not as high) but a little more challenging and way more slime. Don't ride on the Friday or Saturday near the campground..they let the misfits out. Head for the outlaw trails. They like night riding, basically to see other machines coming on the very narrow trails.

Haven't rode Windrock or Brimestone in the same area as RRB. I understand they are more challenging.


Hatfield is on my bucket list but it is soooo far to drive and you need a helmet to ride I think. We will hit that up in a few years for sure but right now we are looking for the technical riding since we are still young and our bodies can take the beating.
 
#3 ·
What area are you traveling from?

I've personally wanted to hit the Paiute trail system in UT. Sounds like another location of what you're looking for.
 
#5 ·
reo,

That could be a possibility. If I'm not mistaken, doesn't the Paiute meander at more of a higher altitude and is more mountainous terrain... than when compared to Moab? Just wondering if an April and possibly May timeframe would be a bit early where some of the higher parts of the trail may still be blocked by snow?

I'm at 7700 feet and we just got a couple inches of snow last night and a full snow storm is forecast for this Saturday. Forecast for Sat is changing back and forth from 12" to right now at 5"-8". Higher elevations near here are still getting semi-regular snow.
 
#6 ·
Hatfield: nice trail system, the most miles of trails but they are not all connected. This is a an ATV, dirt bike, and SxS only trail system. lots of places to rent cabins and camp. The 7 trail heads are broken up into 3 different systems: 1) Indian ridge, pinnacle creek, and Pocahontas (there are also alot of outlaw trails that are not part of the hatfield system) 2) Rockhouse, buffalo mountain, and devil anse 3) Bearwallow. my group has ridden down there (we have been staying at Ashland) 4 times in the past 3 years. we are heading down next wednesday to ride rockhouse, buffalo mountain, and devil anse.

Windrock: another nice trail system, largest continuous trail system out of all the ones here. only down side is they let jeeps and trucks down the same trails as ATV's and SxS. trails are maintained but not groomed on a weekly basis. They do have a nice campground and cabins onsite, the trail head is located about 5miles outside of a good sized town so you have all the convenience of town close by. trail system consists of trails you could let a 3-year-old ride down to trails that will take you all take to traverse. i want to say that have 300+ miles of trails, you could definitely ride for 7 days and not go down the same trail twice.

Royal Blue: its been about 6 years since my last visit. they also have a camp ground onsite. if recall the trails are not difficult (for experienced riders) in comparison to windrock and hatfield.

Brimstone: its been about 7 years since my last visit. no real info to provide, killed a few to many brain cells since i have been there. i do not recall the trails being difficult at this system either.
 
#8 ·
albow77- Did you ride the Iron Chest trail near St Elmo, that's pretty knarly, especially if you like technical riding.
 
#10 ·
I think we did. If I remember correctly there are a crap load of boulders that you need to ride over to get to the mine. Once at the mine you can still try to summit the mountain. We tried to summit but didn't quite make it to the top. That was one of the toughest trails that we found in Taylor Park. We still need to hit Grizzly Lake that is right in the same area. I just have issues trying to find the trail. We will hit Grizzly Lake this year along with the Mt. Antero trial at 14,000 feet plus.
 
#9 ·
My vote would goto Paiute system in Utah. We were there last fall for a week and hardly touched the surface!! We are experienced fast riders to boot. The Paiute system is connected to other systems(Arapeen, Great Western trail & others). So basically you end up with over 2000 miles of riding and beautiful country!!
 
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#13 ·
You are required to wear a helmet at HM. No Problem for us our group always wears helmets. We bust a lot of brush and don't like getting slapped with tree limbs, other thorny vegetation. Like my 700 my helmet has plenty of war paint on it.

Not to start a helmet debate... As I do agree with Jimi Hendricks.. who wrote "I'm the one that gotta die when it's time for me to die".
Our state had 19 atv/utv related deaths last year.. 18 were not wearing helmets.
 
#18 ·
You are required to wear a helmet at HM. No Problem for us our group always wears helmets. We bust a lot of brush and don't like getting slapped with tree limbs, other thorny vegetation. Like my 700 my helmet has plenty of war paint on it.

Not to start a helmet debate... As I do agree with Jimi Hendricks.. who wrote "I'm the one that gotta die when it's time for me to die".
Our state had 19 atv/utv related deaths last year.. 18 were not wearing helmets.
and 15 involved alcohol :frown2:
2016 ATV/UTV fatality summary - Wisconsin DNR
 
#16 ·
I have ridden the Paiute Trail System a number of times. The best time is the last week in September and the first week in October as the Aspen will be turning shades of burnished gold. There is a chance of an early snow above 9,000 feet. Get the National Geographic Map (yes, they make an ATV map). It rates the trails on difficulty. I have done a few of the black diamonds which offer a bit of a challenge. If you stay in Marysvale, you can ride to over 11,000 feet on both sides of the valley. While you are out there, go to the Henry Mountains (11,522 elev) south of Hanksville where you can go on a buffalo hunt--at least with your camera. I found them last fall. There is a real hunt in December. Until recently, it was the only wild herd outside of a park or ranch.
 
#17 ·
The San Juan mountains in Colorado have the highest concentration of 14'ers and 13'ers in North America. Alaska has much taller mountains, but these are the biggest outside AK, and they are much tighter together. The entire area is steep, with lots of great technical terrain. Ouray is known as the Switzerland of America. There are great rides starting from Telluride, Ridgway, Ouray, Rico, Silverton, and more, all which Ridgway could tell you more about than I.

The through passes here can be handled by an intermediate, but there's lots of optional side trails that get as technical as you want. The scenery is spectacular. While Black Bear pass isn't that technical, it will get your heart beating as it's narrow and it switches back many times making it's way down a cliff with waterfalls. You can see straight down into the town of Telluride for pretty much the whole way from the top. The entire area is the most stunning scenery I've ever seen outside of just a scant few of the top national parks. The towns are all historic 19th century mining towns, and they are still small. There are no major cities nearby, so you can really get away from it all, unlike so many heavily visited mountain areas in Colorado.

The other bonus is that Moab is under three hours from Telluride, so there's always options.
 
#19 ·
Hey..mroldstyle... True. one guy was @ .38 something.. or was that a snowmobiler..they drink more and run higher speeds than ATVer.

Brian..How are you guys? Where you doing the Memorial ride this year?
 
#21 · (Edited)
Hey..mroldstyle... True. one guy was @ .38 something.. or was that a snowmobiler..they drink more and run higher speeds than ATVer.

Brian..How are you guys? Where you doing the Memorial ride this year?
Rick were doing good. Anxiously awaiting some warmer temps and drier weather:laugh: Were going over to Glidden this year, ride the Dead Horse and NF trails. Never know maybe head your way one day! This will be the tenth anniversary ride
Ride On!
 
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