Moving out west need some HELP!!!

[1MEX]

Come to Ogden Utah. You would be close to all your options on riding places. We are in the middle of some of the good spots to ride in utah, idaho and wyoming. with your education, jobs will be here for you. We ride the Tony Grove through Logan, Cub river on the Idaho border, the Uinta mountains and as south as Fairview. Alpine Wyoming is good too. Endless bdk to the big hills that will test your skills. I like it here for the fact that every week is a diferent place to ride. Best of all Farmington is a 20 minute drive. You'll see the towers when you come buy and will know what i'm talking about. But you don't have to take my word for it. Go to the Utah forum and ask around. GOOD LUCK!

 

[greenspeed]

IMO, look into somewhere in Washington like spokane or seatlle, or portland oregon, maybe bend, or further south in OR.

i live 20 min. north of Portland Or, and we ride Mt St Helens and Mt Adams, Mt hood is supposed to be good aswell. (1-1.5 hrs from the good ol' west riding ) not to mention all the good gravel roads and etc.

oregon has alot of wheelin and offroad places too, like tillimook state forest has some amazing forest wheelin (mud, rocks, roots and LOTS of trees!) and some sweet *** dunes for sand toys

heres a little taste of what you'll get here in the Pacific NorthWest

check out my pics here http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i295/willywonka420/?start=all to see more pics of snow, sand, rocks and mud..

I got goosebumps looking at that pic!!! It's sweet. I will check out the photobucket when I get home from work...I will find myself browsing for an hour I fear LOL.

I also never considered Washington or Oregon as canidates and they slipped my mind.

I guess a good question now would be...is snow fall greater on the west side of the rocky's or east side?

I will also cruise some of the western states threads and read and work my thought process out!

THanks a lot so far I am still considerate to opinions...

Is there any places out west where you can ride open plains where there's a lot of snow? Thats about how riding is in the UP and I'm not always about going up huge hills as sometimes I like to just bust a carve on a field and look back at my O I just made

 

[Wade]

I moved out west. Love it. Boise is kinda in the center of the snowmobile world. If you can find a job in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Northern Nevada, Even Washington or Oregon, you'll be in a different world. It's all great from where your standing.

Don't worry about mountain riding. Every mountain region has different levels of steep. Just pick your friends carefully. Once you've been up on a tall mountain on a clear day, you won't even remember why you liked riding flatland.

Oh, and forget the whole riding out of your house thing (it's possible, but not likely), we ride public land around here, and a trailer is the only way to go. You'll get used to it.

 

[Squeal]

Try Timberlakes if you want to drive out of your garage. It is just outside Heber City.

 

[greenspeed]

I'm beginning to realize that riding out west isn't really out your garage riding by what everyone is saying. I will just need to take what info I am getting from here to plan my trip

 

[Bubba700]

I'm beginning to realize that riding out west isn't really out your garage riding by what everyone is saying. I will just need to take what info I am getting from here to plan my trip

Actually live in Rexburg on the edge of town and I caught some powder days right from the garage on to the dry farms. One day 24in and the other was closer to 3. Just gotta watch for the cops in the short 1/2 mile to the fields. But the majority of the place you gotta plan on trailering.

 

[hilinerider]

seeley you can ride in town

 

[Mainer]

greenspeed, what your doing right now is my dream. i too will be graduating college next year and i dream of moving west but the oppurtunity is so good for me here. my family owns a successful construction and earthwork company and i have decided that this is what i want to do with my life. i know that since i want to be in earth work it makes sense to stay here but part of me still wants to head west. like you, i have done alot of looking. now if hunting and fishing is as important to you as sledding, or if u just like outdoorsy towns then check out the Outdoor Life top 200 places for sportsmen to live list. http://www.outdoorlife.com/article/Destinations/Top-200-Towns-for-Outdoorsman
i just picked towns off the list then researched them to see where they were and what else i could find. if u can get a copy of last months issue of outdoor life (the one this was in) they give more info than this list does.

ive spent 2 weeks total in colorado (summer time) and 1 week outside salt lake. even though ive never rode sleds out west these 2 trips alone were enough to see what i was missing.

im pretty sure i want to live in maine and be in on the family buisness as far as everythign but sledding goes.

I'm really thinking about spending a winter out west within the next few years and just seeing where it leads. im too young to go from school to putting my life into the buisness without seeing some sights and testing the waters. you only live once.

best of luck and hope this helps you. dont hold back

 

[greenspeed]

greenspeed, what your doing right now is my dream. i too will be graduating college next year and i dream of moving west but the oppurtunity is so good for me here. my family owns a successful construction and earthwork company and i have decided that this is what i want to do with my life. i know that since i want to be in earth work it makes sense to stay here but part of me still wants to head west. like you, i have done alot of looking. now if hunting and fishing is as important to you as sledding, or if u just like outdoorsy towns then check out the Outdoor Life top 200 places for sportsmen to live list. http://www.outdoorlife.com/article/Destinations/Top-200-Towns-for-Outdoorsman
i just picked towns off the list then researched them to see where they were and what else i could find. if u can get a copy of last months issue of outdoor life (the one this was in) they give more info than this list does.

ive spent 2 weeks total in colorado (summer time) and 1 week outside salt lake. even though ive never rode sleds out west these 2 trips alone were enough to see what i was missing.

im pretty sure i want to live in maine and be in on the family buisness as far as everythign but sledding goes.

I'm really thinking about spending a winter out west within the next few years and just seeing where it leads. im too young to go from school to putting my life into the buisness without seeing some sights and testing the waters. you only live once.

best of luck and hope this helps you. dont hold back

Inspiring cause I agree with you I plan on trying out banking so jobs are easy to find.

You're making a good choice. Good luck

 

[donbrown]

I guess a good question now would be...is snow fall greater on the west side of the rocky's or east side?



Is there any places out west where you can ride open plains where there's a lot of snow? Thats about how riding is in the UP and I'm not always about going up huge hills as sometimes I like to just bust a carve on a field and look back at my O I just made

Storms typically come from the west and move east.

There are no "plains" in the west. But there are open mountain Basin areas. Typically a lake bed that went dry over the summer or a meadow. I would say in the Sierra mountains it is typical to have open meadows of a few acreas with lake areas as big as a couple square miles.

Trees start getting thin after 10,000 feet and the more rocks and steeper the less trees. So at this elevation you get big open areas.

But since we ride mountains the question is ... what side of the mountain is best and how to approach it?

Where the snow falls most West or east??? Out west on the states bordering the ocean the most important thing is elevation. The good snow is above 6000 to 8000 feet.

Sure we get storms with snow down to a few thousand feet but there is no base and it melts real fast. I went on a ride with well over a foot on the ground starting from 5000 feet and after riding in elevation much higher all day, came back down and there was only a few inches on the ground with bald spots.

Since you are riding on the mountain the snow tends to melt and be more icy on the south side of the mountain.

The best "powder " riding is typically the north side of the mountain with the least sun exposure.

Riding at the beginning of the season is more treacherous because of the hidden dangers under the snow, logs, stumps, creeks, and bushes acting like air pockets . You can ride over these bushes but stop on it and now you waist deep with sled in the bush with snow all around.

Once you get a good base ... depending on the area, 3 to 6 plus feet the riding gets good cause your not hitting anything under the powder.

So after the base is formed people ride the powder ontop the base.

Of course trail riding is the same here as back east ... except at elevation the snow is much deeper.

As far as sleds go most here ride 141inch or bigger for off trail and on trail only a 136 track. Not many would use a 121 track. Remember most riding is done at elevation and the trails can have 6 feet of packed snow which can get to be a couple feet of slush in the sun.

 

[phatty]

what kind of work would you be doing? what are you getting your degree in? give us more details on that...

 

[snengineer]

West coast gets more snow then anywhere in the U.S. This year I hear has been especially deep in the Northwest. The Eastern part of the rockies gets much less snow then the Coastal Mtns but there is a difference that sway many to ride the Central and Eastern Rockies, Snow Quality.

Take your pick Quantity; Cali, Oregon, Washington.
Or Quality; Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado.

 

[svensdream]

i tried boise, it blows cowder, can you spell HOT in the summer, i couldn't think straight it was so hot, i have friends in bozeman its not much better. I know it sounds funny but seattle isn't bad, lots of riding/ boondocking within an hour or less, several mod shops,lots of work to be found for good wages unlike before mentioned towns, and the climate is not so extreme in contrasting seasons

 

[atmosfear]

I live in Washington...if you like being taxed to death (6th highest in the nation) huge property taxes and very over priced housing market(on the west side of the mountains) not to mention the large amounts of tree huggers in this state that are trying to shut us down all the time.

I hate to high jack the thread, but I couldn't resist. I'm going to be in the same situation in about a year or so I'm thoroughly enjoying this post. Anyways, could you go into more detail about Washington? The economy, the tree huggers and their effect on riding, the job market, the riding situation, and anything else that may fit in with thread. I'm going to be getting into business/computers as well so I'll more than likely be living in the vicinity of Seattle. Is there still good riding within an hour or two radius of the city? Thanks a ton, Fred.

 

[76FOMOCO]

i tried boise, it blows cowder, can you spell HOT in the summer, i couldn't think straight it was so hot, i have friends in bozeman its not much better. I know it sounds funny but seattle isn't bad, lots of riding/ boondocking within an hour or less, several mod shops,lots of work to be found for good wages unlike before mentioned towns, and the climate is not so extreme in contrasting seasons

LOL good choice to stay away from.

 

[JHG]

You should defiantly stay away from Bozeman, having mountains in three different directions all with in 30 minutes or so is a really pain. The Montana laws that allow you to do pretty much whatever you want as long as it’s not hurting anyone is always a hassle. And then you have to deal with the easy access to West Yellowstone and the Gallatin Canyon, we all know how terrible the riding is there. The housing market is still strong so you won't get to deal with owning a house you can't sell, and Gallatin County is the #9 fastest growing county in the US so employment might be sparse. There are tree huggers here but I think you'll have a hard time finding a descent place to live out west without them. The upside of having tree huggers for you is we have a sweet Subaru dealership. If you like to hunt and fish you should probably stay away as well, things just haven't been the same since they filmed A River Runs Through It here. Everyone has their opinion and they are all valid, I just have to stand up for my home town because no one else has. Good luck in your search and if you end up around Bozo let me know and we'll go ride!

 

[Dogmeat]

I'm actually sitting in about as good of place to sled as I possibly could be right now.

Last winter had the potential to be the most amazing winter ever for me, but then my f*cking sled never ran right the whole winter

We had enough snow last winter that I could literally ride 15 minutes outside of town the same places we ride dirt bikes and quads in the summer, or head all the way up to the mountains ..... Strawberry is 2 hours west, rabbit ears is 3 hours east, CDST is probably 6 hours north ...

If we get as much snow next year as we did this year I'm going to be in sledding paradise next winter

 

[untouchable]

You should defiantly stay away from Bozeman, having mountains in three different directions all with in 30 minutes or so is a really pain. The Montana laws that allow you to do pretty much whatever you want as long as it’s not hurting anyone is always a hassle. And then you have to deal with the easy access to West Yellowstone and the Gallatin Canyon, we all know how terrible the riding is there. The housing market is still strong so you won't get to deal with owning a house you can't sell, and Gallatin County is the #9 fastest growing county in the US so employment might be sparse. There are tree huggers here but I think you'll have a hard time finding a descent place to live out west without them. The upside of having tree huggers for you is we have a sweet Subaru dealership. If you like to hunt and fish you should probably stay away as well, things just haven't been the same since they filmed A River Runs Through It here. Everyone has their opinion and they are all valid, I just have to stand up for my home town because no one else has. Good luck in your search and if you end up around Bozo let me know and we'll go ride!

Not to mention all the hot college girls that do nothing but distract us guys, the things they wear should be illegal

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

girlfriend is going to bozo for college next year... i will be over in butte... bozo is a love or hate place... i dont mind it at alll.

 

[cjohnson]

I just graduated from bozeman last month and it is definitely a love-hate place. While there are three mtn ranges 30 min from town, I wouldnt get to excited about the riding. Bridgers will be shut down soon and the only decent riding is buck cr., good boondocking, not much climbing. Yellowstone is way overrated with all of the tours going through, although I never rode Island Park. Cooke is relatively close, so thats a major plus. Nightlife is questionable. Good for Montana, but if your from Chicago dont expect too much. Also, how about those college girls? While there are some good looking girls, I believe its a 65:35 split dudes to chicks (dont quote me on that but its close) so be prepared for a dude fest most nights downtown. The housing market is severely inflated because of the close proximity to Big Sky and Yellowstone. If you want to live in Bozo, expect to pay an easy $250k+ for a 2bd duplex. Belgrade is more reasonable, but it can be expensive as well. If youre looking for a $100k job in MT, you must have had your beer goggles on when you did your research cause they dont exist unless you own your own business. Billings maybe, but not anywhere else. Fly fishing is probably the best in the world and elk hunting in gardiner is a cake walk if you can draw a tag. No lakes either, so either get used to tubing rivers with a thousand other people or hike alot in the summers. Dont get me wrong, I had some fun times in Bozo, but it just isnt what I was looking for. I guess I was spoiled because I grew up next to Glacier Park. Lakes everywhere, excellent riding literally 5 min away from my door(Lost Johnny) and awesome riding elsewhere a short drive away. I personally am looking at the Spokane-CDA area. Similar to the flathead valley except with larger towns, which is exactly what Im looking for. If you want any info on either Bozo or Kalispell let me know and Ill try to help.