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WHERE TO RIDE
We wish we could direct you and the
estimated 500,000+ of NY's ATV and off-highway motorcycle trail
riders to "The NYS OHV Trail System" and its maps, but
regardless of all the work a lot of riders & NYSORVA have done over
the years, we still have no such thing in a state that since 2002 has boasted
the 3rd largest OHV unit sales in the US (after PA, CA is #1, TX #2; source: OHV industry
publication).
NYSORVA is trying
to change this situation by supporting legislation to re-establish a
dedicated registration-based trail fund. See the Legislation page
for information on how you can make a difference in this fight.
More likely to result in trails on the ground
sooner is NYSORVA's supporting role in helping clubs develop private land trails. For instance, in 2007 NYSORVA secured
the necessary club-landowner liability insurance making such developments possible. Such insurance had
not been available since 2002.
In the absence of
an official NYS Trail System for ATVs and trail bikes, your best bet for finding places
to ride will be to join a club in a county or region of the state that
interests you. By getting involved in a club, you will be making a significant contribution
to getting trails on the grounD. See the Club List page for a listing
of clubs by county of activity.
An example of what clubs can do is evidenced in the two ATV-legal route
maps published separately by the Lewis and Franklin County associations,
see the Ride NY section for links
to maps and related info.
There is virtually no
access for ATV riding on public lands subsequent to 2004 DEC closures.
See a DEC Press Release for
an explanation.
(One State Forest, Brasher Falls may possibly remain open but with significantly curtailed
access threatened, contact Region 6 DEC for information.)
In spite of this situation, we continue to hope to
one day gain reasonable OHV access to NY State Forests, as was once upon a time contemplated
in a Position Statement on ATVs published by DEC and related proposals which to date have not been respected.
Promises of access to public-access Recreational Easements on private lands purchased by DEC also seem to have a way of never coming true.
Please see the UMP Watch Page
for examples of this effort and important information on how you can advocate for change in this area in the face of heavy efforts
by the anti-access cabal.
For support &
membership info on NYSORVA see http://www.nysorva.org/Support.htm.
Please see the
Newsletter Archive for back issues of the NYSORVA newsletters
to get a flavor of the problems we riders face in NY. E-mail a request if you want to be added to the newsletter e-mail list too.
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