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These vehicles are made for all terrain, if not for all tastes
PHOTOS BY GARY GARTH, SPECIAL TO THE COURIER-JOURNAL
LBL spokeswoman Kathy Harper visited with off-roaders Bobby Buchanan, Blake Jackson and Brent Roberson.
Mike Flood watched fellow
Missourian Tim Dempsey hose down his ATV after a muddy run at the
Turkey Bay OHV Area. "We have one (off-road area back home), but not
nearly as big as this one," Dempsey said.
Off-road enthusiasts gathered
in the parking lot at the LBL's 2,500-acre Turkey Bay Off Highway
Vehicle Area, which has been open since 1972 and draws a wide variety
of vehicles.
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At first glance recreational
off-road riders appear to have little in common with duck hunters, but
the two groups do share a common bond.
They both like to play in the mud.
"We have some people who will come out and spend the weekend in a
mudhole getting stuck, then getting out," said Kathy Harper,
communications specialist for the Land Between the Lakes National
Recreation Area, one of the few public areas that welcome off-road
riders. "And they'll have the time of their lives."
If that doesn't sound like a good time, there are other options,
including rock climbing. Only for this type of climbing you don't need
a rope and harness, just a mechanical horse with some muscle under the
hood.
"With mudding you just get a running start and go through the hole, then
you have to clean (the truck) up," said Allen McDonald, a member of
Louisville-based K&I 4 Wheelers Club along with his wife, Christy.
"I like to go slow and climb over rocks."
Off-road riding can include everything from dirt bike-style motorcycles
and four-wheel all-terrain vehicles to full-size trucks. It's a growing
sport, though it has its detractors.
McDonald is a big-rig man. His 1977 C-J7 Jeep is outfitted to crawl over
or through just about any terrain he encounters. He has tried ATVs but
prefers a full-size vehicle.
"I like Jeeps because of their safety," he said. "I like seatbelts and roll cages."
OFF-ROAD RIDING is a passionate sport that generally triggers a
love-it-or-hate-it response. McDonald falls into the love-it category.
He has been riding for about 13 years and met his wife at a K&I 4
Wheelers meeting. McDonald, like all active riders, will tell you
four-wheeling is fun (which it is), exciting (which it can be) and safe
(which it usually is).
Critics counter that plowing a Jeep or ATV through the woods is noisy
(which it is), tears up the terrain (which it does) and is dangerous
(which it can be).
The problem for McDonald and other law-abiding riders is finding places
to run their rigs. One popular spot is around the Natural Bridge region
of the Daniel Boone National Forest, where several U.S. Forest Service
roads lead to abandoned oil-drilling sites and other backcountry areas.
However, public off-roading routes are a limited commodity.
"Our group mostly rides on private farms in the Daniel Boone National
Forest," said McDonald, who was planning a four-wheeling and camping
trip to an Indiana farm with some friends this weekend. "And we're
exploring some places in Tennessee. But we're running out of places in
Kentucky. They're shutting us down."
The reasons are linked to bad behavior and environmental worries.
The element that makes ATVs and other off-road vehicles so appealing —
their ability of go virtually anywhere — also makes then extremely
difficult to police. A handful of riders who trespass and ride
roughshod over private property get that area closed to everyone
quickly. Pour some alcohol into the mix and an ugly stereotype emerges.
"We're working hard to keep things open to us," said McDonald, whose group
is active in charity work for the Home of the Innocents, participates
in the Adopt-A-Highway program and helps the Visiting Nurses
Association with rides to homes that are off the beaten path when the
weather turns sour. "But the trouble is some people — and it's usually
local people where you go to ride — go out and tear up the land and get
drunk. It can be bad."
OFFICIALS at the Daniel Boone National Forest acknowledge that
illegal four-wheeling does take place. Just how much is largely
speculation. The forest has about 150 miles of trails open to ATV use.
Other rigs that are licensed and legal for street use can ride on
Forest Service and other access roads. "We do get some illegal
use, and we do have a problem of people pioneering on their own or
using some of the roads that are closed," said John Stojan, forest
ranger for the DBNF's London District.
However, forest officials do not ignore legal riders.
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Where to ride off-road vehicles
LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES' TURKEY BAY OHV AREA — This contiguous 2,500-acre
tract was set aside in 1972 for all-terrain vehicles and other off-road
vehicles. Terrain varies from easy to rugged but is suitable for small
four-wheelers and motorized dirt bikes as well as full-size
four-wheel-drive vehicles. A vehicle user fee ($45 annual, $25 for
seven days or $15 for three days) is required.
Features established trails.
Cross-country riding permitted with some restrictions. Primitive
camping is available, with full-service campsites within two miles of
designated OHV area. Some areas subject to flooding.
The Turkey Bay OHV Area is the
only portion of the 170,000-acre U.S. Forest Service-managed LBL that
is open to off-road vehicles. For more information call (800) 525-7077
or visit www.lbl.org.
DANIEL BOONE NATIONAL FOREST —
All-terrain vehicle use in the 700,000-acre forest is limited to about
150 miles of trails designated for three- and four-wheel ATVs. Off-road
vehicles (including rail buggies) that are more than 50 inches wide —
which would include all full-size vehicles — are permitted only on
Forest Service roads open to the public. All off-road vehicles must be
licensed and legal for street operation. They are not permitted on
trails, and cross-country riding is not allowed.
ATV and motorcycle operators must comply with Kentucky motor vehicle laws, including use of helmets.
For more information call (859) 745-3100 or visit www.southernregion.fs.fed.us/boone.
HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST/SOUTHERN
INDIANA — There are no designated trails for all-terrain or other
off-road vehicle use in the Hoosier National Forest, but ATVs are
allowed on some county roads that traverse the forest. Those vehicles
must be "street legal" and registered with the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources, according to forest public affairs officer Frank
Lewis.
Several private off-road riding
areas also are located in Southern Indiana and are listed through the
DNR Web site. For more information call the Indiana DNR Division of
Outdoor Recreation at (317) 232-4070 or visit www.in.gov/dnr/outdoor/ohv/.
Reach the Hoosier National Forest office at (812) 275-5987 or at www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier.
Where NOT to ride off-road vehicles
KENTUCKY WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS
— No ATVs are permitted on lands owned or managed by the Kentucky
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. This includes all wildlife
management areas.
Kentucky Revised Statute 189.515 defines an all-terrain vehicle as "any motor vehicle used for recreational off-road use."
KENTUCKY STATE FORESTS — No
motorized vehicles are permitted on forest property, according to
Division of Forestry spokeswoman Gwen Holt. Licensed, street-legal
vehicles are allowed on public roads on state forest property.
KENTUCKY STATE PARKS — No motorized vehicles are allowed off road in any Kentucky state park.
| "We would like to express our
appreciation to people and groups who obey the rules when they are
looking for a place to ride," said Tom Kean, an engineering technician
in the DBNF's Stanton District and a veteran off-road rider.
The Daniel Boone National Forest, which is managed by the U.S. Forest
Service, doesn't have a specified area for off-road riding, as does the
Land Between the Lakes, which is managed by the same agency. The
reason, according to Kean, has more to do with environment than
attitude.
Off-road riding results in a certain amount of land degradation and air
pollution. It's unavoidable. In the Boone National Forest are the
Rockcastle and upper Cumberland river watersheds, both of which are
protected and harbor populations of endangered mussels.
Environmental studies determined that runoff and other residue from a
block of land set aside exclusively for four-wheeling wouldn't meet the
criteria for maintaining river quality standards.
The Boone forest also is laced with private land holdings. Securing a
sizable block with a single entry and exit point that would meet the
area's environmental demands would be a logistical nightmare.
THE LBL is one of the few public areas in the region that
welcomes all-terrain vehicles, off-road trucks and other motorized
backcountry rigs. The Turkey Bay Off Highway Vehicle Area, a
2,500-acre block of the 175,000-acre federally owned property
separating Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, is reserved strictly for
off-road riding.
"We cater to the entire gamut," said LBL recreational program specialist
Gary Hawkins. "Dirt bikes, ATVs, Jeeps and other full-size vehicles.
And we do get a lot of use from the Louisville area."
The Turkey Bay OHV Area swallows a large chunk of land (Taylorsville
Lake, by comparison, covers 3,050 acres) and gets a steady string of
users. From October 2002 through September 2003 LBL officials recorded
77,000 "vehicle visits." That was down from 88,000 the previous year, a
dip Hawkins attributed to flooding last spring that forced a temporary
shutdown of the area.
When the Turkey Bay off-road tract opened in 1972, LBL was under the
management of the Tennessee Valley Authority, which was interested in
serving as many user groups as possible. The OHV area was set up mainly
for ATVs but is used by a variety of vehicles, including Humvees from
nearby Fort Campbell for practice, and is the site of an annual Jeep
Jamboree.
"The sport has grown a great deal," Harper said. "Now you have the Jeeps
and the bigfoot trucks. I would say over the past four or five years
usage has doubled."
Blake Jackson, 16, and a couple of 22-year-old buddies — Bobby Buchanan
and Brent Roberson — were putting some of the Turkey Bay ATV trails to
the test.
Jackson, who recently moved with his family from London, Ky., to Benton,
has ridden in the Coomer Ridge region of the Daniel Boone National
Forest. He gave Turkey Bay the nod.
"I like this better," he said. "There's more of a variety of stuff to do."
Harper noted that even though off-road riding sometimes is criticized as
being unsafe, no fatalities have been reported during her 19-year
tenure at LBL. A handful of injuries are reported each year, and
numerous scrapes, bruises and cuts undoubtedly go unnoticed by
authorities.
"Mainly, if you use common sense and know your limits, it's a safe sport," Hawkins said.
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