Maine ATV Trails and Resort

ATVSource.com recently carried a profile of Northern Outdoors including a  brief history and background on the company and its decision earlier this year to cater to ATV's and UTV's looking for a convenient base-camp from which to explore Maine's extensive network of ATV Trails.

Northern Outdoors is long established as one of Maine's most popular one-stop Snowmobile Resorts and is now aiming to appeal to powersports enthusiasts year-round with the addition of a spring / summer / fall spur trail which connects to Maine's extensive network of over 6,000 miles of dedicated ATV trails. 

For more information on Northern Outdoors visit www.NorthernOutdoors.com or call 800-765-7238

We've been thick into the ATV world for the past couple of days - hosting Taera McLean, and her camerman Doug, from DirtTrax TV as they film a DirtTrax TV segment on riding in Maine. Yesterday Jim Yearwood (Snowmobile trailmaster, ATV enthusiast, founder of our KBR brewery, and one of our owners) guided the group to Greenville and today they headed out to the new Moxie Falls trail. 

In this photo you can see Taera, doing her morning introduction with Jim Yearwood, in the background speaking to Joy and Alyssa Harvey from ATV Maine. We invited ATV Maine to join the filming to give their perspective on the developing statewide ATV Trail system and current issues effecting the sport here in Maine.  (see last summer's blog interviews with Jim Lane for more info on ATV Maine.)

This afternoon, I checked out the course for the fun run component of the upcoming Kennebec River Brewery, Raft ‘n Draft weekend. With all the dry weather we’ve had this past few weeks I have to report there’s not a lot of mud in sight, although Wednesday and Thursday it looks as if it will rain, so things could change dramatically.

The 3.7 mile run starts in the campground at Northern Outdoors at 10.30am and winds north along The Forks Area Scenic Trail for about 1.85 miles. The first section is undulating with some nice views of The Kennebec River. The course then crosses route 201 and climbs a steep dirt road for what seems like an eternity, but is in fact just 0.9 miles and an elevation gain of just over 500 feet.

Finally, it’s all downhill, back to The Forks Resort using the ATV Trail. Be advised, this last section is rocky, muddy, slippery and steep, but once back at the lodge there’s plenty of hot showers and perhaps a cold handcrafted beer as a fitting reward for your morning run. See you on Sunday. 

The Maine whitewater rafting season is underway and now with the Memorial Day holiday weekend comes the unofficial opening of Maine's ATV Trail System. Reports from riders in the area this weekend are that The Forks Area trails are generally in good condition with just a couple of wet spots. We had over twenty five riders stop in off the trails for lunch coming from Solon, Bingham, Rockwood and Greenville.

The connecting trail from the Boise Road to Northern Outdoors will be closed through the week due to an active logging operation and is only open on Saturday's and Sunday's and Monday May 25th. Riders leaving from Northern Outdoors will need to trailer their ATV''s a short distance to access the trail system during the week. 

Area ATV Trail Maps are available at the main lodge at Northern Outdoors. We are also working to get them online.

Please remember riding on private land in Maine is a privilege, our rural economies and lifestyle depend on your respect for private property.

Have fun, ride responsibly, ride safe, and respect private land.
 

We kicked off the 2009 Maine Whitewater rafting season today with a trip down the Dead River with 56 adventurous souls.

After weeks of preparation it's always nice to get the first trip of the year on-the-water.

Now we can look forward to three more Dead River trips in May, whitewater guide training which starts on May 14th and our first ever Raft-n-Draft event on May 30th sponsored by our very own Kennebec River Brewery. There will be beer tasting, live music, a pig roast, brewery tours, did I mention the beer tasting? rafting on the Dead River and for those with any energy left on Sunday there's a 4-mile mud run/walk/crawl to celebrate spring in Maine.

In addition to rafting we're also gearing up for spring fishing, our new hut-to-hut hiking program and the arrival of Maine's ATV season at the end of the month.

So, don't sit around lamenting the woes of the world, grab a paddle, your hiking boots, a fishing rod or your ATV keys and get up here to The Forks to shake off the winter cobwebs and start to enjoy the benefits of Maine's great outdoors. 

 

• The Maine ATV trails from The Forks south to Bingham, west to Eustis, east to Greenville, and north to Jackman are in good condition, dried out from earlier big rains in early August.
• The new Northern Outdoors ATV Spur Trail is still closed during the week due to logging operations. It is open from Friday through Sunday, and closed Monday-Thursday. All riders from Northern Outdoors will need to trailer their ATV to access trails during the week.
• Gas fuel is now available for sale at Northern Outdoors.
• The local Forks Maine ATV Club is Lake Moxie ATV Riders.
• The local Forks area Maine ATV Trailmaster is Dave Greenleaf.
• Area ATV Trail Maps are available at Northern Outdoors. We are also working to get them online.

1. Ride with your headlights on at all times. This helps other riders see you easily, is important in inclement weather, and can even warn animals of upcoming  riders.
2. As you approach machines coming from the opposite direction, give them the hand signal of how many machines are behind you (just like in snowmobiling). For example, a closed fist means there are zero riders behind you.
3. Only a marked trail is a legal trail. It is imperative that ATV vacationers in Maine stay exclusively on marked trails.

1. Most of Maine lands, forests, and trails are privately owned, (by large paper companies actually). There are very few public lands, Forest Service lands, etc. in Maine.
2. This means that most ATV trails (and snowmobile trails) are located on private land, and good relations with landowners is of paramount importance.
3. This is why A.T.V.Maine exists -  to facilitate trail access and good relations between landowners, the state of Maine, and the ATV-riding  community.
4. There are over 6,000 miles of active legal trails in the state of Maine. Trails change frequently, and very few maps are available online.
5. Only a marked trail is a legal trail. It is imperative that ATV vacationers in Maine stay exclusively on marked trails.

1. The trail has to be signed and maintained by a registered ATV Club:
2. The ATV Club must file specific club paperwork with Maine’s Department of Conservation and Off Road Vehicle Department,
3. The club must have 3 officer positions: a President, a Secretary/Treasurer, and a Trailmaster. Of these 3 roles, the Trailmaster is the most important.
4. To be a legal Club, the club must maintain a minimum of 5 miles of trail.
5. All trails are maintained by private ATV Clubs, not by the state of Maine, Forest Service, or other government entities.
6. The definition of a trail is: something you have to maintain that is through the woods. As a result, all types of old logging roads, dirt roads, etc. are not considered trails.

Jim’s short list of what to wear and bring on a ride on Maine's ATV trails:

1. Always ride wearing eye protection, no matter if is sunny, cloudy, or night. Also, it’s a very good practice to cover your mouth with a handkerchief, or similar, for dust while you ride. (If it is raining, the rain will settle any dust.)
2. Wear a helmet! Even though the state of Maine only requires helmets for riders under age 18, adults ought to protect themselves and act as good role models to younger riders.
3. Wear Gloves
4. Wear Long Pants: engines heat up and side pipes can burn you, as well as dirt & rocks can fly up while you are driving.
5. Get a good pair of sturdy boots; don’t wear open toed shoes.
6. Wear a long sleeved shirt for trail rides. It will protect you from branches, bugs, mud, and light scrapes. 
7. Take a pack with you with extra water and rain gear. “It’s Maine”, says Jim, “Wait 5 minutes and the weather will change.”

1. There are 65,000 registered ATV machines in the state of Maine.
2. You don’t need an ATV license but you do have to register your ATV machine if you ride in Maine. A portion of all registration fees go to Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to oversee enforcement and investigate all accidents and complaints. Over $1.1 million goes to Maine’s Department of Conservation to help purchase lands, educate trail users, safety programs and fund trail  maintenance and improvements. Clubs apply for grants to do trail maintenance. These grants typically cover only a part of a Club’s total costs of maintaining trails, the rest is made up of volunteer time and local fundraising
3. Kids under age 16 have to take an ATV safety course in order to operate an ATV machine by themselves. Otherwise, an adult must ride with a child at all times.
4. The average age of an ATVer in Maine is 54 years of age!
5. A.T.V.Maine maintains $2 million in liability insurance coverage for ATV member Clubs and Landowners
6. Each club gets up to $400,000 per event liability coverage, through their dues to A.T.V.Maine. Landowners are similarly protected with A.T.V.Maine liability insurance. The state of Maine maintains liability coverage for landowners at $400,000 per event, not to exceed $1.2MM per year. Landowners who participate and allow trails on their land are covered under this insurance. If a lawsuit was to develop by an ATV rider, that suit would have to be against the state of Maine. The landowner cannot even be named.  (In fact, says Jim, it has always been the ATVers who have been in the wrong, if they are riding off trails)  This agreement allows the club that has signed and maintained this trail, to act in the landowners behalf against the illegal riders and can file a complaint and then have the riders summoned to court, without having the landowner’s named. The club polices the trails and protects the landowners, it is not up to the landowner to do his or her own policing.
7. Clubs sign a contract with each individual landowner about trail use on their lands, with the state of Maine backing each contract for registered official ATV Clubs.
8. All ATV machines have Spark Arrestors: By law all ATV machines have to have a spark arrestor and are manufactured with them. The only way for there not to be one is if the muffler system has been altered post-purchase, by a consumer. There is a misleading USFS ad that ran this summer alleging that  ATVs cause wildfires through sparks, but in fact this is not the case.