Great pictures and great memories your grandson will never forget, good for you getting out like that. I wish we would've started riding years ago with our kids, but $$$ was not as available plus we had all 3 in a private christian school to a tune of 15,000 a year. Still wish we would've cut somewhere else and made it happen. Our hope is to someday take our grand kids should the Lord bless us with some. Do you folks get much for winter or can you ride throughout most of the year? I was noticing all the leaves still on the trees and it being October, all our leaves are gone off the trees, we have 4 in. of snow in the yard, it's snowing right now, and most of our trails are closed until June! Thank you for sharing, I love looking at pics of where others ride. FF

 

Trails closed until June? I wouldn't like that. There are millions of people headed up north Memorial Day weekend in Michigan, lots of them with boats or ATVs, but some people are riding sooner than that. Some trails here are open year round but some are only open to snowmobiles in the winter. Maybe from December through May, I'm not sure. A bunch of leaves finally fell off one neighbor's maple tree into my front yard a week ago today. I mowed my grass and mulched the leaves in the middle of the week, and it snowed 2 days since then. Another neighbors tree didn't drop any leaves until after I mowed and there are still leaves on some trees after it snowed and melted twice. A lot of people here put their toys away after Labor Day weekend. I imagine the riding season is longer in Missouri and I wouldn't be surprised if there are still lots of leaves on the trees there.

 

Yeah, if they open them up any earlier than that then the idiots go up, tear them to shreds so they're a mess through the summer, or they slide off and die. So the forest service makes sure they are dry enough and get all the trees that have fallen over the trails from heavy snow cut up and off of the trails. They also get the trees that are hanging over the trails (widow makers) down and out of the trees. There's always some idiot that gets around the gate some how before they open it up legally and rips things to shreds, then that trail is closed down either for the season or a good part of it while they go in with small equipment and repair the damage. The old adage that there's always someone that ruins if for everyone.

 

We can ride year round depending on the weather that day. I actually like riding in the fall and winter the most because you don't sweat at all and even though I like the green trees, in the winter when the leaves are gone, there is much better visibility.

 

That would be great to be able to do that, in our case our trees are not so much deciduous but more so conifer, Douglas Fir and pine trees, and sometimes so thick you can't see through them until you get to a meadow, a place where they have clear cut, or to an are that is above the tree line to a ridge. We do have areas of deciduous trees, Aspen, Paper birch and various kinds of bushy ground cover that are mixed in with the the pine trees that are absolutely beautiful in Fall, but for the most part it is Lodge pole pine and Douglas fir that make up our forest. Our base altitude is around 4500 ft so the snow line moves down pretty early and once here doesn't even begin to start melting out of our yard until end of March. Trees usually start budding mid to late April.

Fun to ride through difficult to see.

Probably can't see more than 50 - 60 ft into the trees.

That's what makes it so fun, to ride through the thick trees to an opening or park like this and get these views.

Those mountains in the Background are the mountains we rode in and Hiked in from the Hiking trails too! Thread.

 

I always liked riding in the fall for the same reasons, but when the sun goes down it can get really cold. Winter riding is great if you're dressed for it. There have been times I rode in the winter and there wasn't a single track to be seen. I had the whole trail to myself. The ride is nicer when all the holes and bumps and roots are covered with a solid layer of old snow then soft new snow falls on it. And no mosquitoes or ticks, and no dirt bikes flying around the curves to meet you. Too bad the guys I ride with all have snowmobiles and don't ride ATVs in the winter anymore.

 

I know this is an old thread, but hoping I can find out some information about it.

I live just just south of the area and have always wanted to ride up there.

Where do you purchase the $10 permit at?

 

Sorry haven't been on here in awhile. You can purchase the permit at Sportsman's Corner which is a few miles north of Roaring River.