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Posted by: bruuuuce
Jamie, you can get a map at the store there in Chadwick where you buy your permits or you can contact the Forest Service in AVA and they will send you a map.
Finger Lakes needs help, I ask that you pitch end and help them. They have started a group called FLORA and they are trying to improve what is there and make more trails. They are not a super active group on the message boards but they have monthly work sessions and are working on grants. The park is on a tight budget and they don't have much man power to keep the park in shape. But I will say that Debbie (Park Superintendant) is trying really hard to make a difference. My wife and I are spending a week of our vacation there in June working on the trails.
You don't get paid for helping, but you do get free riding coupons to come back and ride at a later time so you do get something for helping. At the first meeting they had with FLORA almost 25 members showed up, but on work days hardly anyone shows up. We have to get out and support this park or it will be taken away from us.
Posted by: blasterboy65
Don't get your hopes up too much on the 291 riding area. Last weeks examiner had an article about it. It doesn't look too promising. I was really hoping it would open. I hate driving so far to ride. I have never been to St. Joe but if you look at their site it looks great. We have been to Chadwick once. It was awesome. It has some really technical trails that will abuse your ride. We went to Keystone State Park in Oklahoma and loved it also. I am wanting someplace closer to home though as I have to take care of 4 quads. It gets a little tiring. I'm thinking of selling my 03 Rancher and the wife's 02 Lakota and getting a Rhino for us adults. Jeff
Posted by: 04RaptorLE
The last time I was there the trails were rough and rutted up and there was a mud hole every 10 feet. I went with my wife and she has little riding experience,she did ok but I had to get off and help her through alot of rutts.If you have a 4x4 then I say go if not then I would stick with Deepwater. I will not be going bacl to Fingerslake unless they fix some of the trails. But this is just my opinion.
Posted by: 04RaptorLE
I went to St Joe for the first time this year, and it is a really nice park. Nice clean camping area,the trail are wide and fun to ride some steep hills but there was allways a way around. They also have a large flat sand riding area. St Joe is a must for everyone.
Posted by: BikKat
As I said about a month or two ago . . .
If you are into technical riding that is just a bit more extreme than Deep Creek, then Finger Lakes is your place. I live very close to Finger Lakes and the place is a technical riders play pen! That said:
If you like tight trails with very little room for error,
if you like extreme angles of descent/ascent,
if you don't mind really stinky 'atomic' mud that has water been sitting stagnant for who knows how long,
if you like riding and maybe not seeing the same area every time,
if you have 2*4 or a 4*4 and know how to use it...
Finger lakes it for you.
If you don't like deep ruts full of stink or empty,
if you don't like riding trails that are tight and a tree/rock might impact you/ATV in some manner,
if you only have a sport bike and get bored with a big nice MX track,
if you don't were a helmet,
if you are looking for wide open places to open your ATV up and drag...
Then Finger Lakes ain't for you.
Steve
(all words above are Steve's opion and may not be of 100% fact (for you), use at your own risk. Beavers may bite. Don't eat . . .) :-O
Posted by: CamoKodiak450
Finger lakes is the arm pit of the atv world. If you want a great place to camp and ride really nice gromed trails try Suttons Bluff. It's run by the forest service. The trails are awesome. Finger lakes trails criss cross each other unlike suttons bluff where you start on a a trail and come out on the end of the same trail. Do a search and find there web site.
Posted by: Boomer2
Just back from Chadwick today. Been two times this year. Nothing beats being able to camp where you ride. There are plenty of trails for beginners, make sure to get a map. I ride my 250r there with no problems. A friend of mine said they had a small bulldozer at finger lakes to maintain the trails. I don't know if this is true never benn there.
Posted by: Boomer2
This page has info about Suttons bluff and Deepwater, click here Places to Ride. The forest Services web site is down this weekend. Thats why you can't find info about Suttons Bluff
Posted by: Sportsman6004X4
The 291 area is dead!!!! Casinos are going in and the city does not think they can keep the area open long enough to secure the grant $$$ from the state.
Fingers is a place to go for very experienced riders...... you can go around most stuff but it will take some skill.
Posted by: rt0118
Finger Lakes is great for the family. My wife is new to the sport and rides a Bruin350 4x4 and enjoys Finger Lakes. My boys, 9 & 11, share a Sportsman 90 and can navigate the trails fairly easy. We tend to stay on the main trails with they ride with us. There are a lot of hills for them to get up and down. Not to mention the ridges are very dangerous for them. If it is raining or just rained then go home. The clay base is slicker than snot. Even for my Kodiak 400.
There is a good mix of trails for atv & bikes. I don't feel that there are a lot of mud holes or ruts. We usually encounter 2 or 3. Nothing like Deep Water where you hit one every 10 feet and mud bog it just to get to the North side.
We love the fact that we can ride in & out of our campsite.
As for 291 in Sugar Creek. Forget it. My nephew who rides his DRZ-125L with us is best friends with the Mayor's grandson. And Mayor Salva said that idea is on the outs and looking for the casino again. They feel that there is a casion permit floating around since Sam's Town closed. We'll see.
I would like to some more information from FLORA about their trail maintenance days.
Posted by: Jame
Living in Lees Summit we have been to Perry Lake and Deepwater - looking for a new place. Read about Fingers Lake on the Mo State Park web site. Only about a 2 hour drive from here, but before going need some reviews. Are the trails more dirt bike or atv designed. Really muddy or can sport quads get around ok? Heavy traffic on the trails, ect. I know this may seem like a just go and find out question. THe reason I ask is my wife is new to riding - been to Deepwater twice and she can chose her path and still have plenty of places to ride in her skill level. She rides a Recon. I'm tiring to get her seat time at new places with out getting her in a mess before she is ready. thank Jame
Posted by: Jame
Thanks I was afraid of that. I ride a 300ex and she has a recon. Neither of us like riding through deep mud or water. Perry Lake was the same way, might have been better if 3" of rain had not fallen the week before. You would think a State Park that charges a fee (though very little) would try to keep the trails nice enough to encourage more riders. Might just go to deepwater again. If I can get a some time to plan might take a three day weekend and go to St. Joe SP or Chadwick in the future. Hopefully the 291 area they are planning will be nice enough for less experienced riders and non-mud lovers to enjoy a day of riding.
Posted by: Jame
Were can I get a map at?? Thanks
Posted by: 2xSurvivr
If anyone from the KC area (I'm in Lawrence) wants to go to Finger and find out what's it's like (and have some backup if you get stuck in a rut), several of us first-timers are going together next Saturday, Oct 7. Come along with.
Posted by: LaPurr
Where is this Suttons Bluff? I cant find it on any of the MoStateParks websites..
EDIT: Or where is this Deepwater?
