Riding the Illinois Countryside at Harpole's Heartland Lodge
An amazing facility with scenic off-road trails If you find yourself looking for a new place to ride your ATV or Side-by-Side but you want to step out of the…
Read more
Kansas ATV Rider Finds a Way to Save Shut Down Trails
He's leasing the land from the city so ATVers can ride again Seven months after city council in Hutchinson, Kansas was asked to shut down an ATV riding area,…
Read more
A Motorhead's Second Home
When it comes to ATV-friendly places to stay that are loaded with amenities off-road riders want and need, Ontario'd Edgewater Park Lodge is tough to beat.
Read more
How To Introduce New Riders to ATVing
Two of my friends were eager to give ATV riding a try and I was bound and determined to make it an awesome experience, so I turned to the professionals.
Read more
Volunteers Clean up Trash at Table Mesa Recreation Area

On March 1, nearly 250 volunteers braved the rain to help pick up more than 10 tons of trash detracting from the beauty of the popular Table Mesa Recreation Area north of Phoenix. The cleanup project is part of a larger effort to ensure continued access to public lands in Arizona by promoting outdoor ethics.

The initiative – Respected Access is Open Access in Arizona – is supported by a coalition of partners including the Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Game and Fish Department, US Forest Service and Tread Lightly!, a national nonprofit organization that promotes responsible outdoor recreation through ethics education and stewardship programs.

Read more
Top 10 Places We Want To Ride in 2015
While we can't offer you an ATV ride on a sun-soaked trail, we can tease you with a look at where we want to ride this year.
Read more
U.S. Forest Service Reopens 31 Miles of Mississippi ATV Trails

While the threat of ATV trails closing gets a lot of attention, we are very pleased to report that the U.S. Forest Service has reopened 31 miles of ATV trails in Mississippi. The Rattlesnake Bay ATV Trails are located in the DeSoto National Forest.

Area riders can thank the Friends of Rattlesnake Bay, which worked to serve as a strong and unified voice for the trail users.

Read more
OHV Users May Lose Nine Million Acres of Utah Public Land

Bills that would shut down millions of acres of Utah land to OHVs are before Congress.

According to a report from the American Motorcyclist Association, bills that would close 9.1 million acres of Utah public land to off-highway vehicles have been introduced in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) introduced H.R. 1630, and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced S. 769, on April 18. Both bills are called America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act and would designate more than nine million acres of Utah public land as Wilderness. Once land is designated as Wilderness, no vehicles, including motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles or bicycles, are allowed on that land.

Included in the 9.1 million acres are existing OHV riding areas around Moab, the San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock. The AMA says these OHV areas are some of the most important remaining in Utah, and are some of the most popular with responsible OHV riders. The targeted areas also include existing roads and developments.

“It is outrageous that Rep. Holt of New Jersey and Sen. Durbin of Illinois would attempt to bypass the Utah congressional delegation to shut down nine million acres in Utah to just about everyone but hikers,” says Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations. “This legislation is also puzzling because much of the land in question doesn’t come close to meeting the definition of Wilderness that’s spelled out in federal law. According to the Wilderness Act of 1964, Wilderness can only apply to land ‘retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation.'”

Read more
Yamaha Approves More Than $75,000 for OHV Projects

Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.’s, OHV Access Initiative has approved new funding that will help seven different organizations across six states.

According to Yamaha, these organizations are helping to implement its mission of supporting safe, responsible riding and open, sustainable riding areas through a variety of projects on the ground level. Since its inception in 2008, the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative has funded nearly 200 such projects across the country.

To date, Yamaha has funded projects in 36 states in pursuit of its goal to support OHV access projects nationwide. This number continues to increase as Yamaha receives quality applications from around the country. New Hampshire received its first Yamaha GRANT (Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nation’s Trails) this cycle with funding provided to the North Country ATV club based in North Stratford.

Read more
Yamaha Approves Nine OHV GRANTs

Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.’s, OHV Access Initiative approved nine projects supporting responsible, safe OHV riding and open, sustainable OHV access to trails and riding areas across the country. The second quarter GRANTs (Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nation’s Trails) for 2012 exceeded $122,000, bringing Yamaha’s direct investment in the OHV community nationwide to more than $2 million since its inception in 2008.

The recent funding cycle for the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative featured a new national partner in the protection of recreational access to public lands. The National Wild Turkey Federation joins Yamaha’s growing list of national OHV industry and land stewardship leaders.

“Yamaha is proud to work with diverse organizations with a national reach to help bring needed attention to the concerns facing motorized recreation in this country,” says Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV and SxS marketing manager. “Organizations such as TreadLightly, the Off-Road Business Association and, now, the National Wild Turkey Federation, utilize their networks to identify OHV riding area projects across the country, bring them to our attention and coordinate resources to address issues large and small for the benefit of the larger OHV community.”

Read more
Michigan's 33 MotoSports Park Ready For Business

We hear so much bad news about ATV and off-road trails and ride areas being shut down, it’s nice to have a little good news to report. How good? How about an 80-acre complex with three different tracks, concessions and covered viewing areas that’s open for business starting May 5?

33 MotoSports Park is located in Northern Michigan and looks to be well on its way to being one of the best facilities in the country that caters to ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles and dirt bikes. Even more impressive is that it has all been constructed since October of 2011! This includes the design of three unique tracks, developing jumps, building the concession and registration facility with a full patio, fencing in infield and staging areas, and leveling, lime stoning and rolling out the parking area. Wow!

Read more
Applications Being Accepted for OHV Management Course Scholarship

If you are hoping to one day make a career out of the ATV and off-road industry (or just get more involved with your local club), the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) is currently taking applications for the Spring OHV Recreation Management Course at Marshall University.

The spring semester OHV Recreation Management courses are PLS 451/551: Planning and Design of OHV Parks; and PLS 453/553: Operation and Management of OHV Trails Systems. The information in these courses can be invaluable for both agency personnel as well as the enthusiasts. The winner of the scholarship will be able to choose one of the two offered courses for this spring’s semester.

The scholarship is being administered by the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council. The applications are due in the NOHVCC office on Dec. 23, 2011. NOHVCC will review the applications and choose a winner in the shortest amount of time possible. Spring courses begin Jan. 9, 2011.

Read more
Off-Road Riders Facing Two Fights

ATV and UTV enthusiasts are no doubt used to fighting for their right to ride and now they face two significant salvos – a potential end of the dedicated funding for recreational trails and a proposal that could block riding on public land in nine states.

We’ll look at the trail funding first. According to the American Motorcyclist Association, the U.S. Senate will vote on a bill that would end the dedicated funding for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), which is considered to be one of the most important and beneficial laws for off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders ever passed by Congress.

The RTP, which provides money to states to develop and maintain trails, would lose dedicated funding under provisions in a transportation funding authorization bill — S. 1813, “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” (MAP-21) — which was approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by an 18-0 vote on Nov. 9. It’s unknown when the full Senate will vote on the measure.

Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations, was shocked by the committee vote and noted that abolishing the RTP dedicated funding would effectively create a tax increase on OHV riders because the RTP funds would no longer be designated for a program that benefits motorized trail users.

Read more
Yamaha GRANTs Support 4,500 Miles of OHV Trails in 3rd Quarter 2011
Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.’s, OHV Access Initiative – Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nation’s Trails (GRANTs) – has announced a significant contribution to the nation’s OHV trail network with GRANTs funding five projects in the third quarter that support 4,500 miles of OHV trails across the country. Further, the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative announces the schedule of submission and decision deadlines for 2012 with a call to the OHV community to identify quality projects for consideration of support from the GRANT fund.

“More than 160 Yamaha GRANTs have been awarded since the Initiative’s inception in 2008, but we want to do more,” says Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV and SxS marketing manager. “The Yamaha OHV Access Initiative has grown into the number one industry resource for the OHV community in its support of riding areas across the country, and we encourage riders and public land managers to work together to identify and submit projects for consideration of a GRANT.”

Read more
Yamaha Employees Support OHV Areas in Southern California

Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. prides itself on its role in supporting safe, responsible riding and open, sustainable riding areas by GRANTing nearly $2 million through its OHV Access Initiative since 2008. This financial support has proven critical in areas such as building bridges over fish-baring streams, improving thousands of miles of trails, and renovating staging areas.

In addition to financial support from the OHV Access Initiative, Yamaha employees out of the company’s Cypress, Calif., headquarters have taken on a personal obligation to support this mission as well.

Earlier this October, more than 60 employees, family members and friends convened in the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) volunteering more than 200 work hours and kicking off a long-term restoration project at the popular Cactus Flats staging area near Big Bear Lake. Volunteers reached some initial restoration goals through weeding, grubbing, seed collecting, planting native shrubs, watering and other important clean-up projects.

“It’s exciting to see so many Yamaha employees volunteer their weekend and get their hands dirty in support of our local mountains and OHV areas,” says Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV and SxS group marketing manager, who participated in the volunteer project and helps spearhead the OHV Access Initiative. “The San Bernardino National Forest Association has a model OHV program that garners thousands of volunteer hours every year. We’re happy to do our small part for our local trails, and we encourage OHV enthusiasts across the country to continue to keep their riding areas safe and sustainable, as well as look to our OHV program for support.”

Read more