ATV/MC Access

[Dratharr]

Quick question for you Dakota Dual Sporters, my wife and I were up to the hills this week on vacation and I brought my dirt bike.
We were camping at Custer Mountain resort we have stayed there probably a half dozen times this year. I usually ride the trail coming out of the resort to connect trails to the east/south. I have been cutting through Custer Gulch resort to get to the trail. This time I was tooling through the resort very slowly/respectfully as always on my CRF250X that is as quiet or quieter than most 4-wheelers, and I get intercepted buy a guy in a golf cart. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was connecting trails as the trail starts right in there campground. He asked me where I came from, I told him he then said this trail access is limited to their guests, fair enough I can respect this. Then he goes off on a rant how the trails are not for dirt bikes they are only for UTV's and ATV's. Have you guys ever heard of this? I thought it was BS and no one told me about this when I picked up the trail map the forestry service in Rapid. But the next day I was riding out of Nemo, and noticed some of the trail signs had ATV's and MC's on them, and some of them only had ATV's on them?



Thanks,

Matt

[plumber mike]

I have never expierienced this problem. I should look at the signs better than I do. Sorry to hear about your "run in". When I picked up a map from the Spearfish Ranger station, the gal handed me an expired map (sept of 09) and said that the new "motorized only if posted"  had not taken effect

[Bogus Jim]

I have never seen an ATV-only trail but maybe I just haven't noticed the signs. I assume if the gate is open, the trail is open to motorized travel including MC's.

There is a new travel management plan for the Black Hills, but last I heard that does not take effect until end of September 2010. I don't think the new plan has ATV-only trails... but there are some MC-only trails (single track). In a nutshell the policy is changing from "motorized travel unless posted as closed" to "motorized travel only if posted as open". If you have some favorite trails that are not on the new maps, you have 3-4 weeks to take one last ride... after Sept. they will be off-limits, as far as I know.

Here are links to PDF maps of the new plan. They are not the final version, but will give you an idea. I think all the trails we rode at the June rally are still there.

Northern Hills

Southern Hills

Main page

If anyone has more info on the new plan or if I have posted something incorrect here, speak up... thanks.

[Bogus Jim]

Well now that I think about it, we rode some stuff at the June rally near Silver City that is not on the new maps.

[The Yeti]

Well, if the trail is on private property, I guess they can say "just ATVs". But, if it's part of the Black Hills National Forest trail system, there's no such thing as ATV/UTV only trails.

[Dratharr]

I have never seen an ATV-only trail but maybe I just haven't noticed the signs. I assume if the gate is open, the trail is open to motorized travel including MC's.

There is a new travel management plan for the Black Hills, but last I heard that does not take effect until end of September 2010. I don't think the new plan has ATV-only trails... but there are some MC-only trails (single track). In a nutshell the policy is changing from "motorized travel unless posted as closed" to "motorized travel only if posted as open". If you have some favorite trails that are not on the new maps, you have 3-4 weeks to take one last ride... after Sept. they will be off-limits, as far as I know.

Here are links to PDF maps of the new plan. They are not the final version, but will give you an idea. I think all the trails we rode at the June rally are still there.

Northern Hills

Southern Hills

Main page



If anyone has more info on the new plan or if I have posted something incorrect here, speak up... thanks.

Those maps have a lot more trails on them compared to the maps the rangers gave me looks like most of the trails south of Custer are just dirt roads that one could drive down on a Gold Wing, so I am going to have to camp a little further north from now on, kind of a bummer because I can leave work at 5 on a Friday night and be in camp before 10 in and around Custer. I saw a bunch of enduros parked in front of the Sugar Shack on Saturday and that looks like it might be in close proximity to most of the single track. I need to get my KTM licensed so I can legally connect trails from the main roads. Thanks for all the information.



Matt