Ohio Newbie

[ChristineE]

My husband and I have a Pioneer 1000. We originally bought it as a work horse for our property, but have decided we wanted to take up trail riding as a hobby. As beginners, we are most interested in scenic trails. We are not opposed to getting muddy or wet, but I am opposed to being scared to death and am not ready for "extreme" off roading. Could anyone offer some suggestions for fun weekend trips (we are from Ohio and are willing to travel )that would offer great trails for our needs. We are looking for scenic rides, towns that are UTV friendly, and areas that have lodging options. Are travel options for a 3 day weekend would be Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, and or Tennesee. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[swsebek]

Welcome from Pa

 

[Chooglin]

Hatfield mccoy trails in West Virginia is a must.

Ride Royal blue
Wildcat
Windsrock
Mines and Meadows in PA , not real scenic but a fun family place to ride and camp !
Just to name a few.

I am also from Ohio NE........what part of Ohio you from ?

 

[lee]

OK, this is my 'where to ride in Ohio' rant:
I live in Springfield so I only know from I-70 south.
For stuff up north some one else will need to speak up.

So, starting on I-70 there are 2 pay to play places at the extremes of the state.
Haspen acres is in Laurel Indiana, just across the border.
Haspen is pretty much scorched earth, 640 acres that has been ridden on for years.
But I keep going there for one reason or another, they have some special events there from time to time.

Haspin Acres - home

At the east end of the state is Power Line Park.
Never been there, they host a GNCC woods race there late in the season.

Home Page

The state forest has 4 APV ride areas (Pike, Perry, Maumee and Richland Furnace).
The state has a 62" rule, but a P1000 should be able to skate on that.
Also, state APV registration is required but it's free to ride.

Pike is small but very scenic, great for a shake down cruse.
https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/portals/forestry/pdfs/SF/pike_apv.pdf

Perry is reclaimed strip mine.
Its advantage is that you don't need to stay on the trail.
https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/portals/forestry/pdfs/SF/perry_apv.pdf

I haven't been to the other two.
http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/forestry/PDFs/SF/richlandfurnace.pdf
https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/forestry/PDFs/SF/maumee.pdf

Wayne national forest also has trails but they are width restricted to 50".
I've never been but heard good things.
They require state APV registration and NF fee to ride.
The trails can get crowded on holidays and they are heavily patrolled.
Wayne National Forest - ATV

The other areas to consider are the Hatfield McCoy trails in West Virginia and the 3 systems in Tennessee (Royal Blue, Brimstone and Windrock).
All of these places offer very scenic riding and camping / cabins that are ride to the trails.

 

[ChristineE]

Hatfield mccoy trails in West Virginia is a must.

Ride Royal blue
Wildcat
Windsrock
Mines and Meadows in PA , not real scenic but a fun family place to ride and camp !
Just to name a few.

I am also from Ohio NE........what part of Ohio you from ?

We are from NW Ohio. Just trying to figure out areas to ride for beginners to get our feet wet. Thanks for the advise!

 

[ChristineE]

OK, this is my 'where to ride in Ohio' rant:
I live in Springfield so I only know from I-70 south.
For stuff up north some one else will need to speak up.

So, starting on I-70 there are 2 pay to play places at the extremes of the state.
Haspen acres is in Laurel Indiana, just across the border.
Haspen is pretty much scorched earth, 640 acres that has been ridden on for years.
But I keep going there for one reason or another, they have some special events there from time to time.

Haspin Acres - home

At the east end of the state is Power Line Park.
Never been there, they host a GNCC woods race there late in the season.

Home Page

The state forest has 4 APV ride areas (Pike, Perry, Maumee and Richland Furnace).
The state has a 62" rule, but a P1000 should be able to skate on that.
Also, state APV registration is required but it's free to ride.

Pike is small but very scenic, great for a shake down cruse.
https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/portals/forestry/pdfs/SF/pike_apv.pdf

Perry is reclaimed strip mine.
Its advantage is that you don't need to stay on the trail.
https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/portals/forestry/pdfs/SF/perry_apv.pdf

I haven't been to the other two.
http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/forestry/PDFs/SF/richlandfurnace.pdf
https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/forestry/PDFs/SF/maumee.pdf

Wayne national forest also has trails but they are width restricted to 50".
I've never been but heard good things.
They require state APV registration and NF fee to ride.
The trails can get crowded on holidays and they are heavily patrolled.
Wayne National Forest - ATV

The other areas to consider are the Hatfield McCoy trails in West Virginia and the 3 systems in Tennessee (Royal Blue, Brimstone and Windrock).
All of these places offer very scenic riding and camping / cabins that are ride to the trails.

We are from NW Ohio. Just trying to figure out areas to ride for beginners to get our feet wet. Thanks for the advise!

 

[NTCPrezJB]

We are from NW Ohio. Just trying to figure out areas to ride for beginners to get our feet wet. Thanks for the advise!

I'd recommend Mines & Meadows in Eastern PA. It is $25/rider for a day (other pricing options available clear up to annual membership). There is enough there to have fun for a full day. I've been twice now. I took my wife there as her first riding trip last weekend.

There is a small place called Bear Creek just south of Canton, OH. I think it is $20/rider for a day. You can ride every trail in it a couple of hours top. I've been there three or four times. It is local to me and I can't say it is worth a "trip" to go. I took my son there as his first riding trip (CRF110F for him).

Hatfield McCoy is a lot of fun. It is $50/rider per year. It is a drive, but if you know you can make two or more weekend trips in a year then it is definitely worth it.

A lot of the riding places I used to go seem to have been shutdown. Or maybe I became way more of a rule follower than I want to admit.