UP Riding
- Thread starter farmall400
- Start date
Even the trails over here in the Sault are real hard. Sleds are running hot even with scratchers on them. Like running on a sheet of ice right now
I had a fun week in Michigan. Stayed by twin lakes, ride between Greenland and Houghton west of 26. Not many people seem to go west from Twin Lakes, we found some fun untouched spots off the trail. Rode west of the Mosquito and went several miles back. Found an epic spot east of 26 not far from the highway but it was tracked up.
How do you know if it's ok to ride on the off trail areas? We figured we were good where there were other tracks but we pushed pretty deep in places. Figured we were good off fire roads which we found a lot of untouched with deep snow.
Anyway, cool trip. Met a lot of people from Chicago riding. I'm itching to get back to the Keweenaw in the summer again.
How do you know if it's ok to ride on the off trail areas? We figured we were good where there were other tracks but we pushed pretty deep in places. Figured we were good off fire roads which we found a lot of untouched with deep snow.
Anyway, cool trip. Met a lot of people from Chicago riding. I'm itching to get back to the Keweenaw in the summer again.
At least on the east end, off trail will be very hard. I've been on short rides today and yesterday and needed scratchers to keep temps down. The snow was near cement solid.
D
danduvall
Well-known member
Huh?
There's lots of public land in MI that's perfectly legal to snowmobile on!
As long as there's snow on it! And that's all I'm concerned about at the moment! !
Kind of funny that the groomers are still trying to make things flat. Kind of wasteful in my eyes. If you can get out on the sunny days where the snow softens up for ya then it isn't too bad.
Some detail on cfr/cfa (commercial forest reserve/commercial forest act) of Michigan.
Per DNR website:
"Michigan's commercial forest program provides a tax incentive to landowners who manage their property for long-term timber production."
"Landowners are not required to allow motor vehicle access to the property."
"Landowners, however, may post the land to restrict other activities - birdwatching, camping, and off-road vehicle riding, for instance."
CFR land is PRIVATE land. It must be posted properly is the land owner does not want motorized vehicles on it.
This has zero impact on our right to ride in state or national forests. Off-trail riding in certain parts of the UP should be good for a few weeks to come. Wait for the weather to get above freezing for a few days for the best conditions.
So what lugs is saying is if there is nothing posted about no sleds then I wouldn't worry too much about it but if you have doubts it wouldn't hurt to find out who the owner of the land is and ask for permission or even sign a liability waiver. I have found that to be the best tool to getting on to some excellent riding. Once the owner knows they aren't liable then they can sit back and relax and you can grip it and rip it.
Thursday, April 2. Backcountry, north of Seney. At least 3' of snow in the woods. Great day of riding! Picking your days is critical this time of year. 24-36 hours of warm (mid-30's, low 40's) to soften snow, otherwise hard as a rock. Next weekend is looking good.
This is really the problem with off trail in the U.P. unless you do tons of research you chase tracks! Many of those tracks are trespassing. Assumptions get people into trouble! Certainly some spots that I would love to ride but have to sit on the edge looking in then drive away.
