Hey guys, I'm trying to plan a nice two or three day riding trip for my wife and I in the next couple of weeks and am pretty much down to Silver Lake or St. Joe state park in MO.
If we do end up hitting Silver Lake, do you guys have any tips on where to stay while we're there? Or maybe anything extra to bring that could be useful for sand riding.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Heres one tip that I will never forget. Always go slow over the crests of dunes!! ALWAYS. ESPECIALLY when its windy! The backsides of them can get so steep! ALWAYS take a trip over them slowly to get to know the terrain. and Oh yeh, HAVE A SPARK ARRESTOR! They check EVERY single time u go into the "park". If you have an aftermarket pipe, u can just take the back off, install some screen, and you are off to go. They poke it with like a fiberglass rod, so make sure its in there fairly good. Ive never stayed the night over there, but Im sure you could find a hotel in the area.

-Nick

 

GREAT CHOICE TO GO TO SILVER LAKE.....GREAT PLACE TO VISIT....NOT JUST TO RIDE EITHER.... IT'S A REALLY CLEAN PLACE ON THE BEACH, KINDA REMINDED ME OF FLORIDA....ANYWAY, I STAYED IN A HOTEL DOWN THE STREET ABOUT 7 MILES AWAY.....THE TOWN IS CALLED HART.....YOU CAN FIND THEM ON THE WEB, DO A SEARCH ON SILVERLAKE MICHIGAN AND LOOK FOR THE HART MOTEL, IT'S NOT NEW, NOT TOP OF THE LINE, BUT IT'S CLEAN AND CONVIENIENT.....I PLAN TO GO STAY AGAIN AND RIDE MORE THAN THE 1.5 HOURS I RODE TWO WEEKS AGO.....AS SOON AS I WAS HAVING FUN, AXLE BEARINGS BURNED UP! SUCKED TO BE ME?

SOME TIPS.....GO EARLY OR WAIT IN LINE ON THE WEEKENDS.....GET A FLAG AT THE PERFORMANCE SHOP NEXT TO THE ENTRANCE.....USE YOUR SPARK ARRESTER OR BUY A "SPARKYS" AT THE SHOP....GO SLOW AT FIRST, AND GUN IT UP THE HILLS UNTIL YOU GET TO THE TOP THEN BACK OFF AND COAST OVER.....BE AWARE THAT MOST OF THE DUNES ARE DIRECTIONAL, MEANING YOU CAN ONLY GO ONE WAY.....PAY ATTENTION.....HAVE SOME FUN!

 

Cool!
Thanks for the headsup on the spark arrestor issue, my 250R doesn't have one.
So, there are hotels nearby, get a spark arrestor, get flags, and don't launch off any dunes without looking first.

Would it be worth it to get some paddle tires? I don't know how often we may get all the way to MI to ride, but if I got them cheap enough off of Ebay I could always sell them again.

 

Paddle tires aren't a must, but very helpful in sand and with stock quads. I rode an EX with sh**** paddles and it struggled making it up the hills. If I could make a suggestion for paddles...go with scat tracs. They work great!!

 

you also need to get a voucher and a MI ORV sticker before you go in the dunes.

A voucher is a piece of paper that the dnr give out to keep records on how many people they let in the dunes. They only give out 220 parking lot vouchers in a day, after those are given out the parking lot is basicly full, they will then fill the parking lot with people that are waiting. If the parking lot is full you get to wait in line. The voucher center is about 1/4 mile from the entrance of the dunes. You should not have any problems getting one if it is not a holiday weekend. You can get a voucher at 900pm for the next day. They are free, it is just a way to end people camping in a line along the road on holiday weekends.You only need a voucher on the weekends, they start using them around mem. weekend and end using them around laborday weekend.

ORV stickers are 16.25 and you can get them at the dune entrance. Will also need state park pass, $4/vehicle daily or 20 annually.

Paddle tires are not needed, but help out a lot.

 

I'm watching some paddles on Ebay and they seem to be selling for cheap! Like, $100 cheap with wheels!!
How crowded does this place get on a normal weekend? Would it be better to go during the week? We're probably going to go in two weeks, making a mini-vacation out of the trip by stopping in Chicago to check out the aquarium and museums.

 

sat is the busiest day of the week. The parking lot is usually at least 3/4 of the way full on a nice sat.
Like I said before you shouldnt have any trouble geting in if not on a holiday.
If you want to go when it is not buisy go in on a weekday.

 

Great! Thank you all alot for the help, you've saved me quite a few headaches it sounds like.