Tuesday, May 26, 2009

ATV Rental and Guides at the Wayne

Hello all!

Apparently there is now a place that you can rent ATVs and have a guide show you around Wayne National Forest. I went to the website but could not find prices. They will be able to provide services to Monday Creek in Nelsonville, and Pine Creek and Hanging Rock in the Ironton area. Renting one would be nice for someone who wants to ride, but either cannot afford an ATV or just doesn't want to own one.(!!!!???)

Guided tours at Wayne, I have mixed feeling about. One thing good is that it might open up the sport to people who normally wouldn't ride. Plus more riders means more income for the Wayne and surrounding businesses. But then you have a few guides showing people around and making up stuff just to try to keep the ride interesting. "This is the cave where George Washington wrote the Declaration of Independence." Yeah, ok. Ha! Plus Wayne just isn't that big. I can see out in Utah or someplace that has hundreds of miles of trails, a guide might come in handy. Maybe I've just been there enough to know my way around. Plus you've got someone you don't know running the show and setting the pace. Although I must admit that I would love to go on one of the Polaris sponsored tours out west or in Canada, where a guide is probably a good idea. Anyway my blog, my opinion.

I will probably research this further to learn more about these services.

Here are a few lines from the press release:
"Nelsonville, Ohio (April 14, 2009) – Wayne National Forest (WNF) announces that Ohio Recreational & Rentals, Ltd. has been selected to provide commercial outfitter and guide services for all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail riding trips on Wayne’s 121-mile motorized trail system.

On April 13, 2009, the Forest issued the business a temporary outfitter-guide special use permit. The permit authorizes the business to begin renting ATVs and guiding riders on the Monday Creek, Pine Creek, and Hanging Rock ATV trail system."