Greetings and welcome!
I have tried a couple of poll plugins and they are not working. For now leave a comment if you are so inclined. So far they are running 4-1 against ATVs on the trail.
Original post-
Someone brought it up and it was a topic of frequent conversation Saturday, so let’s talk about ATVs on the snowmobile trail system.
I saw some riders out Saturday and thought to myself, “Wow.. those guys sure aren’t making friends.”. I heard riders complain about getting crowded off of the trail, ruts in the trail, and having them churn up dirt that mixes with the snow and melts the trail faster when the sun comes out. Quite a few complained that they mess up the trail and don’t even need a trail pass/pay less for registration. I really heard a lot about it Saturday with the warm weather.
First of all there is not a statewide rule about ATVs on the trail system over a certain temperature. Many counties ( the closest being Florence) do not allow ATVs on snowmobile trails if it is over 28 degrees and many clubs have the same rule.
On the flip side many of our local clubs like Red Arrow, Dun-Good, and Near North are snowmobile AND ATV clubs and probably are not in a big hurry to ban them at a certain temperature.
At the end of the day you folks are the ones that matter. Here is a chance to let your voice be known publicly
Best wishes-
Ray
Take out people who drive like idiots snowmobiles or atv/utv. When the trails are soft there is a difference between how a 15 inch track and and 8-9 inch tire affects the trail driving responsible, and anyone who says the tires don’t leave ruts is either dishonest or just plain stupid. I believe in full disclosure if you are going to defend and promote atv/utv use year round make it known you are a dealer giving you a vested interest in having year round use. And if these atv/utv riders are truly responsible riders I think they would be more than willing to buy a snowmobile trail pass like the sleds do since they are riding snowmobile trail developed by the snowmobile clubs, or let atv/utv develop there own winter trails.
I live in Athelstane and I do not snowmobile on trails where they allow UTV traffic.I will go to Oconto county. I ride my UTV in the summer when they shoukd be ridden.
They are too wide. It’s that simple. I drive cautiously around blind corners but if it’s a giant UTV I am probably going to die. The trails are simply not wide enough for a UTV to tackle a blind corner on the outside edge, and still provide enough room for a sled to go past them.
Maximum width is 65″ for utvs and 50″ for atvs.
I do not ride very much in the areas that allow ATV’s & UTV’s, I usually lead so that means 8 to 10 sleds are not going into those areas. UTV’s so not be allow on any snowmobile trial during the winter unless they are under the 48″ rule, sleds can not be over 48″. they also should not be on the trial if the temps are to be predicted over 20 for the day. Snowmobilers should have full use of the trails for the 3 months and then let the ATV/UTV on them when we are done for the season. They are causing more trail base issue to the ground which then requires more snow to cover the rocks and gravel before we ride, the ATV clubs should be repairing the trail base in late fall with dirt and wood chips instead of gravel and rocks, then we would be able to ride with less snow. I do missing riding in the Dunbar area and Marinette county, but will continue to ride in Oconto, Langlade and Forest until they keep the UTV & ATV off. This is just a side note, why do the AVT clubs real that they need to ride on the sled trails but then turn around a prevent off road dirt bikes on their trails?
No ATV’s during the winter. To much damage to the trails regardless of the temp. I have sleds and ATV’s and ride them when appropriate. Spring, Summer and Fall ATV’s Winter Sleds.
I’m against having them on the trail as well. The trails aren’t wide enough for utv’s and most aren’t very respectful when it comes to trail conditions. They’ve got 8 months of the year to ride.
Red Arrow Snowmobile/ATV Club does not allow winter ATV/UTV use on the trails- only from May- November. Nowhere in Oconto County is winter ATV/UTV allowed. We have ridden sleds in Northern Marinette trails many times and have not seen any more trail damage than we did yesterday (and many other days) in Langlade County where some throttle jockey with a heavy thumb and studded track tore through every corner- leaving a brown streak down to the gravel on every turn.
ATVs can ride the trails the other 8 months of the year. Stay off the snowmobile trails Dec through March please!! I own both and want only snowmobiles on in the winter.
My brother and I had snowmobiled all of our lives. This year, we both bought new UTVs and sold all of the snowmobiles. Part of the reason was costs involved with snowmobiles, part of the reason was feeling older (we aren’t sore after a day of riding UTVs). The main reason was the bad winters and ability to use a UTV throughout most of the year vs having a snowmobile for 3 months (if that) and a separate 4 wheeler. We have noticed increased 4 wheeler/UTV use the past few years while still on snowmobiles. Our opinion was not that the trails were ripped up by 4 wheelers. Sure, there were those that spun their wheels a lot and left a bad impression, but we have seen just as many worn down stripes all the way down the trails from someone spinning their snowmobile track. It involves the respect of the driver more than the type of vehicle. We drive in all wheel drive on the snow and have retraced our tracks on the way back and could not tell the difference that we ever went through. We drive slow and cautious through blind trails to try to avoid the snowmobile throttle jockeys (same as when we were on snowmobiles). In conversations with member business owners within the Iron Snowshoe system, so far their opinion is that ALL the trails should be open to ATV/UTVs in the winter. From a tourism aspect, Marinette County is winning, and Oconto County is losing business as we are not allowed over there. Over the past month, we have enjoyed the trails on our UTVs which looked pretty ugly for snowmobiles; no more concern for changing slide rails or damaging parts.
I agree they flat out ruin the snowmobile trailes. They have all summer to tear the shit out of everything stay off the trails in the winter!!!
I ride a lot in athelstane. We have had to avoid the shared atv trails for a couple years. It has made the group I ride with start going to different areas in the state. The shared trails always have ruts or more sand mixed into the snow.
atv’s should not be allowed on snowmobile trails during winter,we all know why they shouldn’t be.there should be separate trail system for them in winter if they want to ride…