I have made a couple trips up that way already and have really enjoyed the trails; we stayed in Rapid River one time and Iron River the other. There really wasn't a whole lot of really good riding that could be had from those areas...old rail road grade and what not. The single track is good though, we just trailered the bikes there.

Having said that; is there a perfect place to stay that we could ride from for three days with a new trail/area each day (maybe something with a few twists and turns )? I would prefer all offroad, but we are on dual sports...as long as there is not a lot of pavement.

Thanks for the help.

Newberry would be a good option in the UP. Lots of good options in the lower peninsula as well. Newberry would give you multiple systems to pick from, different stuff every day for at least three days. Sandtown, Newberry to Rexton/Brevort; Brevort; Silver Creek; Pine Ridge. Lots of snowmobile trails and other forest roads in the area.

Thanks 2TrakR. I will have to check it out.

One of the problems we have had in the past is finding trails using a GPS. I am new to trail GPS systems and haven't had much luck using my new Garmin Oregon (it was a gift otherwise I probably would have gone with something a little more basic). It is a nice GPS though.

We follow what we thought was a track, only to wind up cruising down a highway or county road. Is there a good place to get offroad only tracks? I have the files from GLDS website, but that is what has directed us to pavement.

I do have all the single track locations, like Sandtown. We have been to Moss Lake (a little too much fo us...but fun), Baraga Plains, and Porterfield Lake.

Thanks,
Tony

I like sand town, and silver ceek, and a little north of there is two hearted , its a little wider trail, but still very good.

The tracks on the GLDS site are combo of forest roads and county roads, not much trail though they go through/next to/near the trails so you can hop on/off where desired. More dual sport than trail oriented.

Have a comprehensive online trail guide with videos, maps and such of the trails in MI: http://www.vvmapping.com/miorv

Same site has GPS maps that include all of the trails, forest roads, public land, gas stations, etc. - BUT not free. The Trail Guide is entirely free.

maybe try big bay area ,lots of dirt roads ,some hard trails

A group of us did a dualsport weekend ride last fall.

Started in Houghton, and rode snowmobile trails & forestry roads north to Copper Harbor and all over the Keewanaw pennisula.

Lots of interesting scenery, elevation changes, and close enough to gas stations, restaurants, and lodging.

Here are a few pics and our GPS tracks:

Thanks everyone for the tips. I will have to check out vvmapping and buy their maps. I have checked out their free Trail Guide in the past.

djv5, that looks like a lot of fun. I hope to be up in that area later this year.

2TrakR, on 25 January 2012 - 05:33 PM, said:

I'm getting the sense that the UP ride of 2013 might just be back in Newberry Jeremy. Are my spidey senses right? That was some fun riding.

That's the current plan, BUT, we have a lot of guys asking for a further west ride that may play out (further west in the UP).

2TrakR, on 07 February 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

With gas pricinges in question and time being not so free, I'd like to voice my opinion now that Newberry was a lot of good riding. Not wild about the campground and they're Nazi like qualities when it comes to bending the rules slighly when it comes to needing an extra hour to dry out the tent when there's nobody else in any of the other lots, but I'm willing to overlook that.

Yeah but the pictures are better in the cabin bathroom at Gwinn.

ride_red, on 08 February 2012 - 10:54 AM, said:

hahaha, actually that pic was found in the dresser in the porch area where the dining table was. It was in the top drawer, next to a deck of cards. I put it next to the microwave in the kitchen to see how long it would take for Greg to notice it.

I liked that cabin, but he really needs to update the futon mattress as well as the fold out couch. Both are extremely worn out and neither are anywhere near comfortable to sleep on, even when I tried combining the two. This year I'm prepared, I got a queen size blow up matress that doesn't sag or poke me in my ribs with springs. Although with the Gus crew and all of their trailers being at a different camp ground, I may just tent it this year. There were some good sites open last year, I just don't like tenting in the rainandf you go up for 4 days, you're bound to see some rain.

Looks like I can make the Idlewild, Gwinn, Chandler challenge(for the first time) this year.

Marquette County. There is Sands Plains located at the intersection of CR480 and CR552 just south of Marquette. There is parking in the crossroads bar parking lot. These are unmarked trails but there are miles and miles of them. This is where they race an enduro every June. This year it will be the weekend of June 10th. This land is open to the public year round for bikes and snowmobiles. Some fantastic riding. There is also Porterfield Lake south of Republic Michigan and Bass Lake, just out side of Gwinn. All excellent.

We rode Porterfield Lake last year. Right after they added the new section. I have to admit, it was a little overgrown and hard to ride. Not from a technical standpoint, but from a not being able to see the ground we were riding on standpoint.

I think we will be checking out the Newberry area in July. Does anyone know of any events around there that month?

Tocramed, on 16 February 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

Not Newberry, but the GLDS is putting on a ride a little further West in Gwinn on 08-09JULY. They usually have 3 different Loops to pick from and there's no shortage of finding someone to ride with. You need to be plated though.

Unfortunately, my Trackmasters don't like much pavement. Thanks for the response though. It would be nice to join in on one of those trips sometime. I just need to by another set of wheels so I can switch between an offroad and 50/50 setup quickly. Can never have too many sets of wheels.

Tocramed, on 17 February 2012 - 06:47 AM, said:

Not as much pavement as you may think. Lots of people running S-12 or Trakmaster II's in the rear with a Pirelli Scorpion pro up front.

Tocramed, on 16 February 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

Since then the trail has gotten a good bit of traffic, and also a CCC run was done on it. It was in pretty good shape the last time I rode it. Bark busters a must.

Mike

HEY XRLDTG WHO IS PUTTING ON THAT RIDE IN JULY AND WHERE IN GWINN THANKS