Sand Dunes Surprise

[TrailPatrol]

There wasn't anybody in the main campground for me to babysit at work today, so when I got my assigned tasks done, I took the Trek out on the ski trails at Sand Dunes State Forest where I work. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! With all the rain we have had lately, the sandy trails are hard packed and made for a great ride. Saw lots of deer, a few wild turkey, and something brown and moving fast. Don't know what it was, but it wasn't big enough to be a bear, and was too big to be a gopher. (I saw our wolf on Tuesday. First time I have seen seen him in a couple years.)

It's supposed to rain again for the next few days, so the trails should be ridable again next week. I know it's not tight singletrack, but we have a beautiful forest out there and for a change, the trails are good biking. Take Hwy 169 north to Zimmerman, turn left at the light, go five miles west, on Co. Rd. 4, and the trailhead is at the SW corner of 168th St. and Co. 4.

We were going to hold a Geo-Quest out there at the end of the month (Sort of like MTB orienteering, only using a GPS instead of a compass) but there is already one NMBP fund-raiser scheduled for that weekend. Maybe after deer season ends in November if we don't have snow yet. (Of course, if we do, Sand Dunes is our primary ski patrol location.)

Ride safe,
:banana:
Hans

[Fast1]

sounds like a nice place to ride with lots of wildlife.

how many miles of trails are there to ride and is there a map available to navigate with?

[TrailPatrol]

sounds like a nice place to ride with lots of wildlife.
how many miles of trails are there to ride and is there a map available to navigate with?

Officially, I think we list it as 5 miles in the Rec. Area. If you include the lower Red Loop (the campground road, which we groom as ski trail in the winter) it is closer to 7. There is also about 1.5 miles of "singletrack" which I have yet to get cleaned up for the winter. Basically, they are our snowshoeing trails, and they go out of the Rec Area on the west side, then back in north of the group camp. The Recreation Area is closed to horses, hunting and motorheads, but Trail 171, the snowshoe trail, does see horse use in the section that is outside of the Rec Area. The snowshoe trails are not shown on the maps.

You can get maps at Lake Maria State Park in Monticello, or the Zimmerman Forestry Station, on the west side of Zimmerman, on the way to SDSF on Co. Rd. 4.

Thanks,
Hans

[Fiveohhh]

Hans,
I just drove over there today and was just wondering if we can ride on all the trails in there, I saw the ski trails, but nothing explicitly saying bikes could or couldn't ride there. I did see 6 horse trailers up there though, which left a distinct odor in the parking lot! I was up there with the Mrs. and went about 1 mile into the ski trails and than she ran out of breath! We ended up turning around but it was nice nice easy going track. Close to home is the best part!

[mfx007]

Sounds like from Hans that it is only the ski trails in the rec area where you can ride a bike. That is nice to know. I ride horses out there and I get anxious for a bike ride too.

The horse trailers that park at the rec trail head go off on another trail (snowmobile / horse trail).

I doubt that it is approved to ride bikes on the rest if the trails. There are a few fun looking rolling hills that I see on horseback but not much of it is firm and there there are a ton of long sandy streches.

[TrailPatrol]

You can ride pretty much anywhere you want to at Sand Dunes, except for the Uncas Dunes Scientific and Natural Area, just south of the main campground. Horses are not allowed on the hiking/ski trails in the rec. area, although I seemed to spend most of this weekend reminding them of that. I think I saw your tracks. I saw somebody's tracks on the road into the beach area, off the yellow loop. I had to do a Geocaching presentation at Camp Courage before I came out to the Dunes today, so I didn' get out there until around 3:00 PM. Did all of my patrolling on bike today, which is always nice.

The forest is closed to motorized use (ATVs, dirt bikes, etc.) so if you can power your bike through the sand, you can ride wherever you want to. The marked horse/snowmobile trails and the firebreaks will all have horse traffic. As I said, there shouldn't be any horses on the trails in the recreation area. Right now, with all the rain we've had, the trails are in pretty good condition. Even some of the normal soft spots are ridable if you keep your weight over your rear wheel in a high gear.

Ride safe,
:banana:
Hans

[mfx007]

In that case, nice to know that you can officially ride a bike on the whole thing. I see a bike track every once in a while out there in the hilly section. Biking is more my thing - so I am usually wishing I was on my bike.

No horse tracks of mine on the ski trails. I can see where some horse riders may be temped to go that way - especially if they park there. Never saw any, but I don't go there that often.

For those not used to riding with horses - you just need to make sure that you don't come around a corner and supprise them. Forces you to slow it down and take it easy around the corners. Also, if you see horses, don't try to hide - stand in sight. It is probably best to be off your bike.

[Fiveohhh]

Thanks Hans and Mike. It was a nice easy ride, trail was in great condition as well. I didn't see any horse tracks where i went, but we didnt make it very far in either.

[otter64]

Most of those bike tracks are likely from me. I only live a few miles away from the Sand Dunes. It is great conditioning riding the hill up to the firetower! And the descent through the soft sand can be pretty white knuckle. The best part about that place is, the rain only makes the place better (packs down the sand).

Hans: are there any other trails other than the color coded ski trails that are worth riding?

I'm glad to hear some other people are enjoying the biking out there.

[smklugherz]

You can ride pretty much anywhere you want to at Sand Dunes...The forest is closed to motorized use (ATVs, dirt bikes, etc.) so if you can power your bike through the sand, you can ride wherever you want to.

I was looking through state forest service web site, and they had language to the effect of the forest being closed to non-motorized use. I was wondering if what you say about Sand Dunes applies to other state forests? I.E. Unless it is otherwise marked, state forests are open to offroad bikes.

I ask, because it seems like many of the state forests have snowshoe/hiking trails that are single track-like. That look like they would be fun to bike. For example the trail to Carlton Peak on the northshore.

I presume no trail building in state forests.