Discover the Wilderness on an ATV

Once you find that nice secluded spot a million miles from civilization you might figure you're in Van Dwelling heaven. You kick back, read a good book, and life is good. In a day or so, the book is finished, your campsite is meticulously organized and maintained, and there is enough firewood collected and stacked to last you weeks. Now what?

Lets face it, sitting and poking at the fire, with that special fire poking stick you've carried with you for the past 6 years, will eventually become very boring. Wilderness and relaxation is well and good, but if you're going to be there for a while why not get out and explore.

ATV's, small 4-wheel drive machines that can transport you to wonderful secluded spots, places you likely had no idea of their existence.

Our plans for this coming travel season took a bit of a twist this year. The price of gas has left us with two alternatives. Either we spend our entire entertainment budget driving, with little more to show for it than fumes coming out the tailpipe, or we go a completely different route.

We chose to invest not only in the present, but into the future. Instead of traveling days or weeks away, we will spend our recreation time figuratively right in our own back yard.

Northern Minnesota is a wealth of magnificent outdoor wilderness opportunities. 2 or 3 gallons of gas in an ATV can take you away to places seldom visited by man. Of course, the wildlife have known about these spots since the beginning of time, but if you tread lightly you can co-exist with them quite nicely.

Sure our investment in a new Polaris 500 Sportsman HO was substantial, but it's pretty much a one time investment that will provide enjoyment for years to come. Combined with an extensive trail system throughout both Minnesota and Wisconsin that is right outside our front door, we only need to travel a few miles to find a secluded camping spot with access to all nature has to offer.

Minnesota and Wisconsin go to great lengths to promote ATV trail riding, and the tourism dollars that come with it. A stop at any Minnesota Tourist Information Center will net you a very nice bound book containing maps of all the DNR trails in the state. A worthwhile example of your tax dollars at work as not only is access to this trail system free, the book of maps is also supplied free of charge.

Our first excursion was simple and close to home. Being new to the activity, we wanted to stretch our wings slowly. The tangled web of trails illustrated in the DNR book leaves plenty of opportunity to get lost. We chose a trail that follows an abandoned railroad right of way. The logic being the trail should be relatively level and open, with a minimum opportunity to get lost.

What surprised us the most in our 2 hour jaunt was the quantity of wildlife and interesting photo opportunities we found, even in this end of winter, not hardly spring bleakness that surrounds us.

Be sure to check out all the pictures to see the interesting things we found on the trail.

Being still a bit chilly we were glad that gloves were part of our preparation and we sure didn't regret going with full cover riding helmets. A half helmet may be more comfortable in the heat of summer, but the full helmet kept us warmer.

It only took one outing to convince us we had made the right choice. This summer we'll be right in our own neighborhood, and yet we plan on seeing all kinds of things for the first time.