The Best Places to Ride

[dhedge]

Looking for great easy rides of long distance. Must be scenic.

[ELK_HUN10]

Head south, check out the petrified forest. Go west and go rim walking along the Grand Canyon. Circle around and check out the redwoods. Turn left and catch the ocean and dig a few clams. Head north and see Mt. St. Helens. Go east and see the Sawtooths. Drop down into Utah and see Bryce Canyon. Go North and see Yellowstone. Head east and see the four rocks. (Mt. Rushmore) This is the western tour. Someone else will have to offer advice on the eastern tour.

[GRAZOR]

It will help if you ad some info in your profile so we know where you are located and looking to ride.

Here in the east, the best place I know of is the Hatfield McCoy trail system in WV. Most of the North Eastern states are pretty much anti ATV so it is very hard to find good places unless you pay to ride in established parks that cater to ORVs.

Gary

[Z71]

We have over a 1,000 miles of trails in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. But they are seasonal, from April 1 to Dec 1.

[UBINHAD]

Originally Posted by GRAZOR

It will help if you ad some info in your profile so we know where you are located and looking to ride.

Here in the east, the best place I know of is the Hatfield McCoy trail system in WV. Most of the North Eastern states are pretty much anti ATV so it is very hard to find good places unless you pay to ride in established parks that cater to ORVs.

Gary

Anti ATV? Thats crazy! I've lived in WV for 35 years and every Tom, Dick and Harry have an ATV in the garage or on the porch. I can Pull outa the driveway and 2 minutes later Im in the woods and can ride all day and never cross the same trail. We've got a ton of riding in WV... and it's

[GRAZOR]

I'm pretty sure I noted that WV and the Hatfield McCoy trails are great places to ride.

Nothing "Crazy" about the rest of my info so just stay in WV and you will be fine. Go North and East of WV and there is a very real chance you won't find many places it is legal to ride.

PA, NJ, NY, VT, NH, and Maine all have some tough regs on ATV riding and limit it severely to particular areas or not at all.

Gary

[UBINHAD]

Originally Posted by GRAZOR

I'm pretty sure I noted that WV and the Hatfield McCoy trails are great places to ride.

Nothing "Crazy" about the rest of my info so just stay in WV and you will be fine. Go North and East of WV and there is a very real chance you won't find many places it is legal to ride.

PA, NJ, NY, VT, NH, and Maine all have some tough regs on ATV riding and limit it severely to particular areas or not at all.

Gary

And Im pretty sure it's statements like this that is the reason nobody is posting in here? Trust me, I'll stay in WV and you can stay wherever it is that you ride. As for places legal to ride I've riddin from PA all the way down to FL and never had a problem. Maybe it's just you......

[GRAZOR]

, Nice to see that after 8 posts in this forum you have your finger directly on the pulse of it.

I won't argue that you could ride from Pa. all the way to Florida. What I will argue and what I am saying is just don't get caught!

I lived and worked in WV and KY and you are 100% correct it is a very PRO ATV area with thousands of miles to ride. On the other hand, if you live in NY or PA and get caught riding on private property or on state owned lands and forests you could have your machine impounded and face some very stiff fines.

Unlike you in WV, I can't say to my buddies or any members here at this or any other forum to come to NY to ride unless I preface it with bring your check book and a get out of jail free card. It is also very wrong for any forum centered around our sport and our love of ATVs and off road riding to promote "Renegade riding" where you could end up in a bunch of legal trouble.

As I clearly stated, If you ride north of WV then you better be sure the area you are riding in allows off road riding or at the very least, looks the other way. The facts are the facts and if you don't own the land you are riding on or you are not riding with the permission of the owner then you are trespassing on the land and that is the law in every state. What you say you can do in WV, ride for miles upon miles is all great but the fact of the matter is any one of those land owners has every right to deny access to off road vehicles and any form of trespassing.

Where I live I can enter the woods from my back yard and ride all day long through some gorgeous forests loaded with old coach paths and logging roads. I can also find my rear in jail and my machine impounded and it would cost me big bucks if I get caught and I am not alone as the same could happen in just about any state including WV. You go ahead and enjoy yourself but just don't get yourself up in one of them there hollers where they have a cash crop growing because you might be running from a bunch of lead while some feller picks on his banjo. There is a big difference between what you can do and what you can do legally! That is my only point.

Gary

[Z71]

We are having some major problems in my area with ATV's the past 2 summers. I know one land owner who cannot stop them from crossing his land. Not only do they always find a way around his barricades, the purposely cause damage and write F.U on his signs. He has had people drive right past signs saying Private Property, drive up to his house and ask directions. He asked on group why they did not obey the sign on his road entrance. They said, a bunch of local riders down at the bar said that it was alright to go as it was a state owned trail (lie spread around) and the land owner can't stop you. They also repeated slurs the guys at the bar had to say about this land owner.

[GRAZOR]

That is the size of it Z71. My hunting club leases over 3,000 acres and we all enjoy having a place to ride and hunt. We all have insurance in case one of us gets hurt and the land owners are protected.

Most members went out and built nice tree stands and platforms that we hunt from. We always had local guys, Non members, cutting through our land and riding our trails that we maintain and we never said or did much of anything with them until this year. A group of these renegades went in and cut down the trees our stands were built in. A few weeks later they started a major forest fire and left one spot by the stream loaded with trash and beer cans and broken bottles. One land owner who leases us 1200 acres almost pulled our lease but has so far allowed us to stay as long as we patrol the property and have trespassers arrested when we catch them. It sucks because these guys are our neighbors and we don't like doing it but we want to keep our hunting property. So far 4 locals have been busted and not by us but by the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation, (DEC). The law here is pretty clear, if you don't own the property then you must have written permission from the owner in your possession at the time. You also must have your machine licensed and insured if you take it off your property. It cost one guy over $2,000 to get his machine back and to pay all the fines. The judge asked just one question when the guy got to court, did you bring your check book? Most folks who own 1200 acres are usually pretty friendly with the judges.

BTW, West Virginia is no different. I lived there and I ran a very large ATV shop along the Hatfield McCoy trail system. It is very true that they are ATV friendly down there but not at all true that you can ride where ever you want. Even they have rules and private property and land owners who have every right to just say NO.

UBINHAD is dead wrong with his portrayal of the facts and we owe it to our members to set the facts straight. If this is a reason to not enjoy this site then good riddens to you! Respecting the land owners is the only way we will ever promote our sport.

You can drive your ATV right down the road in McDowell county, WV and right through the middle of town to go get gas or food, they appreciate our business. Do it on your rear wheels and let a cop see you and then show us the tickets you get! Do a few donuts in a parking lot and about any other dumb S.H.I.T. and come on back and tell us all about it. We all tread on some very thin ice and it is sad that we have many who seem to think they have some imaginary right to do as they please but can't afford to pay the freight. The rest of us suffer for it!

UBIN-TOLD!

Gary