SPRING IS UPON US AND SO IS THE FEVER TO GO FOR A SPIN. MOST OF THE TRAILS IN MINNESOTA WON'T OPEN TILL APRIL 1ST, BUT IF ANYBODY KNOWS OF SOME PLACES THAT ARE OPEN NOW I SURE LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THEM.
THANKS,
SPARKE

 

Check out NW Wis. Great trails and friendly people who LIKE 4 wheelers... honest
50 mile radius just east of Danbury offers great trails and crosscountry opp. in clear cut forested areas.Some steep hills and plenty of muddin too!!
Good Luck and look for big yellow...

 

I was just riding in that area this last weekend. Trails were real wet from all the rain and runoff. Still, they are always a good time. We went for about 6 hours on Saturday. Most of the swamps and such are still pretty well frozen, so we rode right over the deep mud that would have normally slowed things down. In Douglas County, a lot of the sled trails are open to ATV's in the winter. Same with Bayfield County.

 

Go to the DNR's site, I think you can get there from this site. They list about 20 trails in the state and the dates in which you can ride them, some even have maps. Most are from April 1 - Nov. 1, but there are a few that are open year round. I'm thinking of trying the Ripley ATV trail this weekend if our weather holds up like it has been. The Ripley trail is just South of Brainerd on 371 and there are about 23 miles of trail. Most of the time I go to Isle and ride on the Red Top trail which is off of the Soo Line trail. It's a pretty nice loop with lots of water and mud. There are also some fast woods trails and they just added the Ten Bruin trail last year which is kind of tight for my Grizzly, (I might have scraped a couple dozen trees), but it's pretty fun. There is also a Amaco station off the Soo Line if you need gas and a little cafe next door too if your hungry.

 

sparke, What I would do, while your waiting for those trails to open is just go up north. Say from
duluth and any where north. There is lots of national, state and county land. You could look for those off the beaten path dirt roads, logging roads. They may not go from point a to b like a trip but you did say, you just wanted to take a spin. Im sure you want to do that often. Well thats what I do.

rangerchet polaris expedition 425 cc 5 speed.

 

GRIZZLYJIM, I HAVE RIDDEN THAT RIPLEY TRAIL AND IT WAS OK FOR A SPIN, BUT IT RIDES DIRECTLY ALONG SIDE OF 371 NOT MUCH FOR EXCITEMENT.
I WILL TRY THOSE TRAILS BY ISLE THOUGH HOW MANY MILES DO THEY HAVE UP THERE? I'VE ALSO HAD A REALLY GOOD TIME UP BY PINE CITY. MAJOR, MAJOR MUD. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WINCH OR FRIENDS WITH 4-WHEELERS IF YOU TRY THIS RUN. SPARKE

 

Thanks for the info on the Ripley, Sparke. I just went to the DNR's site and looked for a trail that was open all year and saw the Ripley, maybe I won't go there this weekend? The Red Top is listed as something like 12.5 miles, but it's more than that. The trail is about 5 miles down the Soo Line from the parking lot in Isle. The last time I was there was in late October with a buddy from work and we rode 62 miles that day, alot of that was going back and forth on the same trails but there are some other loops that branch off of the main loop. The Red Top doesn't open til April 1 though so about 4 more weeks.