Ride With A Guide – Take An ATV Tour
July 27, 2010 by Tom Kaiser
Saddling up for a backcountry adventure in unfamiliar territory can be a bit nerve-wracking, especially if you’re planning to be your own guide. Sure, you may be fine with directions and thoroughly prepared, but being your own guide to the unknown can be a recipe for frustration, back-tracking and wasting time that could/should have been spent riding. Luckily, ATV guide services have sprung up all over the United States and are there to take you and yours, safely and efficiently, to some of the most remote, exciting and exotic riding destinations reachable by trail.
Yogi Naresh, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, guided me and took the chance to explain our surroundings.
As Canadian physician Sir William Osler famously said, “a physicial who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” In some cases, this is true when riding without help, a really good map or GPS in unfamiliar terrain.
Where have you always wanted to ride? Some lasting “wish list” places for me include seeing glaciers in Alaska, the dunes of Oregon, volcanic mountains in Hawaii, upstate New York, the St. Anthony Dunes in Idaho, the tall peaks of northern New Mexico, the ocean sands along Mexico’s Baja California and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
Some of these places are easily accessible, like the St. Anthony and Oregon dunes, but others – especially the Baja – are best experienced with the experienced assistance of a local guide. I’ve taken many guided rides, most of the places I visit, actually. While some may think having a guide tag along could take away from the trip, I’ve often found my guides to be one of the best parts of a trip – and I always come away knowing a lot more about the trails and the area I’m visiting.
I would've never been able to reach the U.S.-Canadian border on sleds without my expert guides.
Last year I traveled to remote northwestern Maine and met up with Kevin Cavanaugh who offers guide services and ATV rentals in the town of Jackman. I had never met Kevin, but after two days of fantastic riding I felt like I had made a good friend. Kevin’s an engaging guide who rides at my pace, and he told me so much about the area and its history. Enough so, in fact, that I wanted more and came back later that year for some wintertime snowmobile riding on the Canadian border.
I also worked with an excellent guided trip on vacation up in Coeur d’Alene, idaho – Yogi Naresh of Adventure Sport Rentals/Mt. Spokane Rentals. Yogi and his brother Jeremy took us all over the Canfield Mountain Trail System, up to a hidden-away observation tower and took us to an excellent trail-side restaurant called the Wolf Lodge Inn – still one of the best meals I’ve had while riding. Having a high-quality guide can make a good trip a superb one.
Our truck is parked that way, right?
One notable journey without a guide was John Prusak and I’s memorable trip to the Jawbone OHV Area in Southern California’s Mojave Desert. We both agree it one of the best trips we’ve taken, and the trails were a lot of fun – we just got a bit turned around on our way back to the truck, that’s all. John and I make a great team out on the trails, and have rode together all over the country. Out in the Mojave, though, our teamwork briefly failed us finding our way back. Phoning a Google Maps-equipped friend (thanks Cliff!) got us back to the trailhead before we ran out of gas or, worse, before… Well, let’s just say one of us needed to find a restroom.
Getting lost is no fun, but fear of the unknown is no reason to shy away from exploring some truly rugged, isolated places aboard your quad. They are great tools for working around the yard or on the farm, but I feel an ATV’s true potential lies in its ability to take you nearly anywhere you want to go. How many things in life can do that? Maybe a float plane…
A quick search on the web for “ATV tours” brings up a hugely varied list of options: Mexico, Kauai, Zion National Park, South Africa, Costa Rica, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Denver, Bryce Canyon and Arizona – just on the first few pages. Looking for an affordable, family- and friend-friendly getaway? Want to take the ultimate, far-flung trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go? The sky’s the limit – and your ATV is the ticket.
Pettison Falls - near Ironwood, Michigan.
Outside of riding, I’m fresh off some vacation time up in northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Some friends, family and I explored the waterfalls of the U.P., went kayaking on a remote river and camped out at a place called Lake of the Falls County Park near Mercer, WI. It’s the annual trip I look forward to all year, and this one was the best yet.
If I would’ve stayed home in Minneapolis, though, I would’ve gone down to the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul for the Red Bull Flugtag competition, where somebody set the new world record for longest flight. Check out the entertaining YouTube video of all the experimental aircraft and the record-setting voyage HERE.
Wear a helmet, respect the trails and ride safely!
— Tom Kaiser
Last 5 posts by Tom Kaiser
- Rec UTVs: We Test, You Decide - August 27th, 2010
- Load Up The Trucks! - August 20th, 2010
- Stalking Bill Gates - August 13th, 2010
- Going To Extremes - August 6th, 2010
- Putting Utility Quads To The Test - July 21st, 2010
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This looks like it would be so fun to participate in.