Looking to get your thoughts on this...

I am a snowmobiler first & foremost and would prefer to ride my sled anyday over the quad. I want the other sledders/ATV users to give their preference and why.

Next thing I am wondering about revolves around the ongoing battle between quad & sledders around use of groomed trails in the winter and the fact that quad users go on what is the groomed trail system when there is no snow causing rutting & other sorts of damage which the snowmobile clubs then have to fix prior to winter grooming. Now where I live we do not have groomed trails so its not an issue but personally I feel there should be a cooperative effort between quad & sled clubs to develop a dual user trail system. From what I read on snowmobile forums this is quite a hot topic of negative discussion towards ATV users. Give me your thoughts on the issue.

 

In massachusetts, the state forests are ony open to atv's from may 1 to november 1. it keeps the atv's off the groomed and maintained trails during the winter. i don't agree with it totally(i have had snowmobiles and love them also) because like last year-our area had no sustainable snowfall so no one was riding anything for 6 months. the stupid state has no flexibility built into their policy. atv's should stay off the groomed trails when they are usable for sleds but should have access otherwise. one last thing-atv tracks do mess up the trails, the ruts make sleds dart left and right and can be hard to fill in with the groomer.

 

The problem here in MN is that the snowmobile trails are over swamps and fields that are frozen or not used in winter months. This was a bad idea from the beginning if you ask me. We have not had a good frozen, snowy winter in years and the snowmobiles alone ruin the trails. The whole system needs to be reworked and made for snowmobiles and atv's and use money from both sides/clubs to update the trails. There is almost as many or more atv's in MN as there is snowmobiles. I use to like my snomobile, but about 4 years ago I sold mine and bought another atv. I never looked back and glad I did it when I did. The snomobile market is in the hole big time. Now that more people are going to atv's there is less area to ride and the places there is to ride, they get beat up much more with more riders. Something needs to be proposed and I'm sure riders will help out any way they could just to make the use of atv's better.
Atvam has been working on this for years along with the dnr, but more things need to get done to get the member list they are striving for. Like they say, "If you build it, they will come".
Near my cabin in NE MN, there is a little store in a small town that would love to have more people coming and buying gas, food, etc. but the trails are not made yet. The most business they get is during hunting season. I'm sure there are many places like this, and alot of people could benefit from new trails.

 

I prefer the ATV route myself. Although sleds are fun, here in PA there is a 4-1 ratio of no snow to snow most of the time, and my sportsman can go thru either[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img].

As for the trails, there are more open for just sleds in the winter but I think either should be able to use them. Why pay for a registration and ins. if we have nowhere to ride???

 

Its like saying what do you prefer "blonds or Brunettes" I love them both ( the red heads are the ATV's with Tracks, you never tried one, but you would sure like to take one for a ride[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img])
I love snowmobiling in the winter time and hait riding the ATV during the winter months....they get stuck, there cold, and slow in the snow.
As for ATV on trails ( I'm a BIG NO, on a mild winter day with a good base and ATV with dig ruts so bad in the snow its not funny! But I would say YES to the (Red Heads) ATV with tracks (witch are currently NOT alowed on Ontario Trail systems)
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See my pixs of ATV winter time use

 

On the snowmobile forums that I visit they hate ATV users. They don't want anything to do with a joint user system and their main reason being that the snowmobile trails were developed first and why should they have to have their past work and financial input be used by those pesky ATVs. Now there are ATV users who tear up the trails and ride abusively where they should not but the sled clubs seem to lump all ATV users into this category. Even though there is no trail system where I live I am a big supporter of a joint system where everyone benefits from the strength, innovation and financial input of many as oppossed to having an exclusionary system. My favorite sled forum hates it when I post on this topic.

In my neck of the woods we have the best of both worlds. Little or no government/environmentalist intervention, abundant snow in the winter and an attitude that everyone has the right to use their machine whenever & basically wherever they want. So I have 12 month access to the country and use whatever of my toys that is applicable on any given day.

And Spydey4...your Sportsman or any other ATV will not be going through the amount of snow that we have here. Believe me...many have tried and many have gotten stuck trying. The worst day for ATVs getting stuck is always the first day of the ice fishing season. It is almost painful to watch what some of those guys go through on their ATVs when trying to get back to their favorite fishing hole.

 

Most;if not all, the snowmobile trails in or area cross private land owners. They will give the right to use there land in the winter for snowmobiling, but can you see them giving the same right for ATVing during the summer.........NO ...I can not see that happening....The trail system here simply will not connect with out these landowners. (ex.crown land).Besides have any of you noticed why it takes several snowfalls to open the trails ......well this is my first year ATVing......and now I know why......Huge rocks, swamps, holes need filled in, One spot we stop in the winter on the sleds is about a 10-12 foot deep swamp in the summer....Just my thoughts.....I still get more of a RUSH with the sled then the ATV.....................................squeeze that throttle......................

 

just to shed a little light on the subject #1 for the second year in a row atv registration has passed sleds that means more money from atv users towards trail maintenace than from sled owners and yes there are alot more trails that are dual use only in winter time so what happens is a lot more of atv money goes towards atv and sled trails than atv only where as in summer there are very few of the multi use trails open. #2 have you ever had a atv and a sled line up and nail the gas well i have and youd be suprised because there is a lot more groomed trail damage from the sled. after all when your riding your sled all day and all you see are sleds and just a handful of atvs out there who the heck do you think screwed all those trails up? i was a snowmobiler long before atver so i cant see why we all cant get along.things are changing with the short snow seasons and lack of sled money . that is why the atv trail system is getting so big. so next time your riding and all pi$$#% off because that atv is going so slow think about how much safer he is on the trail going 50 rather than you going 90 remember that when you come around that corner and also remember that atv s are putting more towards the trails than sleds so lets get along

 

Yea...nothing gives the rush of being the first to run across virgin snow after a heavy snowfall. Private landowners aren't a problem here on The Rock as we run 99% on Crown land. Oh the thrill of it...zooming across ponds & lakes, blasting along old woods roads & abandoned railway tracks, roosting along open barrens or trying to follow the transmission lines and my personal favorite of just picked my way through the woods to new destinations. I have ridden groomed trails a few times but find them boring, almost like driving a vehicle across Alberta where the road is only there to go from point A to point B...no challenge to your skills or opportunity to discover new areas in the country. For the most part me & my buddies decide on a destination and just head there using a GPS for guidance. Only another 6 very long months to go...

 

I feel that ATVs are going to almost eradicate the sled usage in most of the united states for the simple fact that our winters are becoming shorter and have alot less snow to cover the trails. Also my wife worked in a hospital in central wisconsin and she saw more sled accidents come in over the few months (or weeks if you live around here) that the sled trails were open, then she saw the whole year that people ride their ATVs. I know Its an adrenalin rush to be going 90-120 down the trails but at that speed you wouldnt be able to stop fast enough if a deer or some other distraction got in the way.