Buy yourself the yearly pass. It's gonna cost almost the same anyways. Three days should just give you a good taste of the riding there. I don't know what kind of rims and tires you have on your machine, but the Douglas 190's on my Pred are great. I did manage to punch a hole in the side of the stock tires. I also had to ride 25 miles back to the parking lot on a flat front. No easy feat. Breaking down at Windrock is not a good thing. You really are out there. That's why I recommend not riding by yourself. You can get on some of those trails and not be able to get out on your own. So do be careful.

I'm not sure when the spring ride is down there, but unless you are meeting people that weekend, I'd recommend going another time. The crowds are unbelieveable. We avoid the spring and fall rides for that reason. Even on a regular weekend, I recommend getting there by 9 or so, to get a good parking spot.

So, take some spare gas, plugs and a tire pump. A cell phone that will work in the mountains isn't a bad idea either. Get yourself one of those maps. TAKE RAIN GEAR!! I bought some of those hunting waterproof pants from Meijers. I always wear them when I ride, it sure keeps the mud off me. Som decent waterproof boots will help to. Even though it's the south in March. It gets chilly, good gloves, prefereably waterproof ones will be a big help. We installed hand and thumb warmers on all our machines and they help out alot.

I think you will love it there, I know I do.

Scott

 

On December 27, we saw a deer that had been mauled and its guts eaten out by a bear. There was a nice bloody paw print on a rock next to it. It was a small deer, and the bear wasn't huge, either, according to the size of the paw print. It looked like the bear had ambushed it and dragged it about 1/8 of a mile up the creek. I believe it was on trail 12. It was early morning and blood was still coming out of the deer, so it couldn't have happened too long before we got there. Yuck! I took a couple of pics of it. I'll post them on my page when I get the time to update it.

 

Predator03,

I too live in Michigan (about 12 miles N of the Ohio line) and rarely ever ride here. I've been thinking about Windrock and have a few questions: how long of a drive is it and is it kid friendly? Both my kids have been riding for years and can do most anything I can. LMK

Thanks,

 

Predator the info is great for us first timers and many thanks.

We will be going April 28th throuth May 2nd and I have a couple of questions.

1. We will be doing the primitive camping thing with campers. Is it one big open area or like a camp ground with seperate spots off the road? We would like to be away from all the "pit racers" if you konw what I mean. Are ther secluded spots for say 3 RV's with trailers together?

2. How far away is a town with a dealership (kaw,hod,yam) or at least an autoparts store for parts?

We're all riding bigbore 4x4's and looking forward to the riding but not the 12 to 13hrs drive each way[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Windrock is great for the whole family. My Mom and Dad both in their 60's are hooked on riding there. Both of them have ridden some of the hardest trails to ride there and love it. My son and neice are 15/16 respectively, and rode there for the first time at 13.

We have been very fortunate to have the time to spend getting used to the riding and the terrain. All of us are pretty good riders now, which opens up more of the place to explore. There are still trails there that are not really ridable, but there is so much more, that's just a small part. If you start out on the easier trails and work your way up to to more moderate ones, there's plenty to keep you busy for a long time.

Having the Sportsman 500's have been a big bonus too. Those machines ride so well, and do so much of the work for you, that it's made riding alot easier for the kids and my parents. I ride a Predator sport quad, and I really enjoy it. It is ALOT more challenging though, and I suppose thats what makes it so much more fun, for me any ways.

If I'm in my truck, without the trailer, I can go from my house just north of Detroit to Windrock in exactly 8 hours. Considering it's around 4 hours to get to anywhere in Michigan worth riding, I'd lot rather go to Windrock. We are good friends with a good ole boy that lives down the street from Windrock, and he let's us keep our machines at his house. Saves us alot of work and expense.

You get off the highway at exit 122 in Tennessee. It's 38 miles into the state. It's another hour to Windrock from I-75. That should give you a better idea of how far it is from you.

Scott

 

Just wondering if anyone could tell me how the trail conditions are this time of year?

 

There is a lot set up at the lower end of the parking lot for campers. There's also another small lot just down the street, which is usually not crowded. We stay in the first one I mentioned. They have had problems with idiots racing up and down the driveway. You won't be affected by that, other than the noise and aggravation. That other lot would be a little more out of the way, and you'd probably enjoy it better. We kinda like to at least be able to see some of the action. Plus, we like everyone to know that those guys from Michigan are back....

Oliver Springs in the closes town to Windrock. Off the main road in Oliver Springs, is a paved road. It's about three miles down to the riding area. Oliver Springs has gas, a Food City, fast food, hardware store, most things a small town would have. There is a Kawasaki dealer within 10 miles or so of Windrock. It's close to Oak ridge, which is about 5 miles from Oliver Springs. I'm pretty sure it's called Greene's. J's atv's is in Clinton, about the same distance away. I've bought stuff from there before, they are good people. I bought my Predator in Jacksboro. Other than Polaris of Knoxville, it's the closest Polaris dealer. I'd recommend the Jacksboro guys to any Polaris owners. Those guys are the best. It's about 45 minutes from Windrock. There is a small Napa parts place in Oliver Springs, they don't have tons of stuff there. There is an Autozone or Advance in Oak Ridge. There are plenty of hotels in Oak Ridge too, and if you like sweet tea, go to Sagebrush. Oak Ridge is a good sized town, and you'll find just about whatever you're looking for there.

The real problem with primitive camping is water and electric. There isn't really any place to fill up your water tanks nearby. You might try talking to one of the gas stations or hotels. We have a secret source, sorry that's classified...lol. Actually, we modified our motorhome by adding another tank. We now have two forty gallon tanks plus the hot water. We took one of those 55 gallon plastic drums, glued pvc pipe to the bung, and bought a pump from Home Depot. We use that to fill the motorhome without having to move it. You can fill your propane tanks down in Oliver Springs. Greenes is right next to the railroad tracks.

The only thing bad about the long drive, is the fact that you have to go so far to ride. I wished it was alot closer to me, but it is well worth it. There are some guys from New Hampshire that come down there. They love it, and I feel bad they can't come more often because of that long drive.

That's all I can think of right now. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I'm always glad to help people learn about Windrock, it's a great place.

Scott

 

They have gotten alot of rain lately. Spring is a very wet time down there. The trails will be wet and muddy, normally. I had Maxxi Razrs on my Pred that were useless. I put Blackwaters on the back and that helped, but they wear down too quickly. If you have a more aggresive tire, it will help. You'll also need to adjust to the lack of ground clearance because of the ruts and rocks. Over time, your riding skills will over come alot of that.

You may also want to consider gearing your machine down for the ride. For the cost of a smaller sprocket in the front, it will help you ride there, at least at first. For a while, I didn't think I'd ever get better at riding my Pred. I kept stalling on the rocks and ruts. I dropped a tooth in the front and it helped me out a great deal. You're really not going to get a chance to wind it out very much there, so the lower end help is better, in my opinion.

Scott

 

Thanks again Scott. I will print this thread and keep for reference.

 

Wel I just got back and what a Ride many of the trails we rode were pretty tough on a sport quad. many of the hills where ruted out pretty bad and if we fel in the ruts we would be stuck. overall we had a great time. You were right when you said the trails on the north side aren't marked very good we had to do a lot of back trackin to find the right trail a few times