It’s Winter!
by Cindy Campbell
The riding season is still on for the hardiest of us, but if you are apt to getting a bit of Cabin Fever this time of year, we think we may have a cure for you.
ATV information, rides, events and socializing has slowed and some of our chapters have suspended meetings until better conditions prevail. Now is the perfect time to make riding summer plans. Dial up some ATV travel sites on the internet and begin searching for the perfect riding destination for you and your friends this summer. We do it every January. By the time our vacation date rolls around in the summer or fall, we have not only saved all the money we need for a good time, we have also picked out and paid for the lodging, chosen our riding friends to go with us, planned the route, and even decided what our meals will be for each day of our stay.
Keep in mind that a summer ATV vacation doesn’t have to be across the country. We are fortunate enough to have some of the best riding areas right here in our back yard.
Tall Pines ATV Park, is a new ATV riding area near Olean NY. From Tall Pines, it is just a hop, skip and jump to Majestic Lost Mountain Trails, or any one of the four Allegheny National Forest trails. Don’t forget that our own McKean trails are right down the road from any one of these places. Any combination of these places make for a great long weekend of riding.
A tad further east on rte. 6, you’ll find the Squehannock State Forest Trails. This is the best place I can think of for new riders and family riding. The trails are not only fairly smooth and easy trails, they are some of the prettiest trails in Pennsylvania.
South of the Susquenahhock State Forest trails is the SSRT, Snow Shoe Rails to Trails riding area in Clarence, Pa. You not only get to enjoy miles and miles of trails, if you are lucky, you might even get to see a few residence of the majestic Elk herd located in that area.
I can’t mention one of our Club trails without remember the others. All 5 of our chapters have trails to ride. Some more miles than others, but all of our trails are prized possessions for their perspective chapters. Contact any chapter president for directions to their trails.
Another 3 to 5 hour drive, (depending on where you live) is Ohio’s Wayne National Forest Trails located near Logan Ohio, east of Columbus.
An approximately 10 hour drive will take you to over 3,200 miles of ORV trails in Michigan, and entire, 5 county - 500 mile trail system in West Virginia and hundreds of miles of ATV trails in Canada, where you encounter hours and hours of scenic riding.
These are areas where I have personally ridden. I know there are other riding areas that I have left out. While online, visit ATV Forums, and ATV Club web sites for more places frequented by riders. Everyone is eager to relate ATV stories and tales-from-the-trails they have ridden. Let your fingers do the walking. Ask questions and learn from other riders. Get ready now, summer will be here before you know it.
