A beautiful, crisp February morning found us back in the area known as The PA Wilds to do more destination riding with the Central Mountains ATV Association (CMATVA). On this day we would have 60 machines with over 80 riders come out to participate in this popular activity that is growing among the residents of PA and the surrounding states.

This ride caught me off guard as I rolled in to the Quiet Oaks Campground in Clinton County, Pa to prepare for the ride. I've rode with this club now for close to three years and I would guess on average we have 25-35 machines come out for a township road ride like this. Not on this day, was it the weather, do people have cabin fever or is it because of the efforts being made to expand riding opportunities in the state and the growing demand for people who want to get outside and ride?

We departed from Cross Fork and headed North into Potter County where after about an hour on the trail we made our first stop at the Germania Store for supplies and anyone who needed to fuel up for the upcoming journey.

The store offers fuel, supplies, a potty stop and serves up breakfast and lunch from their cafe there. They also have an ice cream bar that we'll take advantage of come summer and they do have rooms for rent if you're looking for a cozy place to stay right on the trail system.

As you can see from the images above and below that trail conditions can vary greatly this time of year. On our 100 mile ride through three counties we encountered everything from dusty dirt roads, to snowy trail conditions and in some spots icy roads. That's one of the beauties of riding with the club, we travel at a safe pace, we have spotters in lead, mid pack and rear positions and help is always around. No one gets left behind if an emergency situation pops up out on the trail.

From there we headed east into the Tioga County region where wildlife is abundant and our lunch buffet was waiting. By now we were about three hours into our ride and the weather was starting to warm up nicely.

We had about an hour break for lunch where we had time to socialize with our fellow club members and leave some money behind to help support the local economy. Burgers and fries where on the menu for today.

Here at another trail break on our way back to our starting point in the Kettle Creek Watershed riders take a rest in front of one of the signs posted along all legal riding areas. The CMATVA in cooperation with the DCNR and local townships mark all the riding areas to keep people on track. We have close to 1000 miles of legal riding in this region and its imperative that we "stay on the trail"

If you're interested in group riding, learning your way around the region or just supporting the cause of getting more riding area open then we ask you to consider joining our club, or any other club in the state for that matter. Through joint efforts there are many others out the working to get riding open in their neck of the woods. After all, we all have the same goal in mind and with our North Central Pa Initiative the goal is 1700 miles of legal riding connecting much of Pa with the NY border.

LINK HERE

If you're interested please CLICK HERE to learn more about the ATV Initiative here in the state of Pa to get more legal riding trails open and how its benefiting the local communities economies. Below also find an opportunity for you to help that costs you know more than 3 minutes of you're time. The DCNR is accepting emails about how we feel about riding in Pa and if we need more trails. We have a simple message you can copy and paste into an email to do your part. We thank all who participate.

Email LINK HERE

Proposed Changes on the Way for Riding ATV's on State Forest Trails

Pennsylvania considers adding more ATV riding trails through state forests.

They will seek public comment through March 27th.

Please copy and paste the below message and email to: PaForester@pa.gov

Thank you for holding this open forum to investigate public opinion on ATV Trail Openings.
My family and I continue to ride and we support the DCNR in opening state forest lands and forestry roads for ATV use to increase the riding mileage in our state.
We clearly see the economic impact that is happening in the region and understand what it could bring to the area with more trail miles being made available.
ATV riders have proven they can be responsible, and many are an older demographic which brings more expendable income, including mine.
With the lack of snow in recent years and the ability to ride ATV's year-round we would request access to the many more miles of snowmobile trails available in the region to be dual usage with ATV's
Also access to state forest roads like Lyman Run Rd that could connect riders to the Potato City area and on to the northern side of US Rte. 6 when the seasonal trails are closed at Lyman Run. forest roads could also be used as connector roads to other ATV trails and legal roads.
This would lead to more year-round riding opportunities and more economic impact in an area that desperately needs it that time of the year.
We thank you for all you've done and ask that you continue to do more - we as taxpayers enjoy access to our lands.