Even though Xplor and Zorro could not make the trip to Silver Lake, me and my riding buddies went anyway. We had an awesome time. It had rained there Friday morning, so the dunes were pretty fresh when we arrived on Friday afternoon. It wasn't crowded at all on Friday, which allowed us to explore around and learn how to climb the sand hills. That northwest wind coming off the lake was cold though. Saturday was more crowded, but the parking lot never got overcrowded enough that they denied anyone a parking voucher. The sand was much dryer and deeper, making the big hill climbs more difficult. It took me a while to get used to jumping the my new 400ex, but I was getting the hang of it by the end of the first day, except for the occasional nose dive. My buddy had his scrambler 500 2x4 up there and we traded several times. There are things about both the 400ex and the scrambler that I like and dislike, but both are well suited for dunes riding. My other buddy brought his 200x three wheeler. The dunes were no place for this machine. It was too underpowered for the hills and did not handle the soft sand well. Overall we had a blast and plan on making this an annual trip. The Michigan parks do a great job running the facilty and the park rangers were all very polite and didn't go out of there way to harass the riders. The voucher system is a little confusing at first, but seems to be a good way of dealing with more demand than supply. If you live anywhere near Michigan, I strongly recommend making the trip up there.

 

Hey I was there this weekend too!! Rode all day Saturday(till closing), and the morning of today(sunday). Was with a Raptor and a Honda 300 utility machine.

Rainman

 

Rainman

Where were you parked? We were in the third row toward the entrance. We rode till about 5:00 pm on Saturday before heading out. Probably passed you on the dunes a few times. There was plenty of Raptors out there. My riding buddies got a lesson in lake winds as I was the only one to bring enough warm clothes. They froze riding Friday night and Saturday morning.

 

We were by the bathrooms(good ones), about two rows from the end. My buddy has a Tahoe and an enclosed trailer(red and white). We would be the ones with the raptor all apart(see throttle problems in yamaha forum).

Rainman

 

Glad to see you had a great time. I managed to go ride a bit at my camp on Sunday. It was definately not Silver Lake but I did learn to wheelie...

Brian