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It wasn’t long ago that Oneida County’s ATV community had no trails to call home. To the south, Lincoln and Langlade counties were opening new trails and establishing connections to existing trails, but Oneida County went without.

In 2002, a group of interested people came together behind the idea of building a trail on the Oneida County Forest. From those meetings the Oneida County ATV Association was born and the seed for local trails was planted.

The Enterprise Trail System off Bowman Road in the town of Crescent opened in the fall of 2004. A little over 17 miles of trail wind through scenic portions of the forest and connect with the trails in Lincoln and Langlade counties. This summer an ATV-accessible campground opened adjacent to the trail, making the system a true destination for ATVers.

Oneida County is also home to the Lynne/Little Rice Lake ATV trail system, which offers 16 miles of woodland trails, 23 miles of connecting road routes and 76 miles of open town roads with numerous places to stop.

In Lincoln County, approximately 45 miles of ATV trail now criss-cross the county forest for summer use. The trail traverses glacial moraines, upland hardwoods, cedar swamps and offers scenic views of rivers and lakes in the Harrison area and continues to grow.

“Over the last few years we’ve added a little bit here and a little bit there,” said Debbie Gerdes, with the Lincoln County Forestry Department.

In winter, Lincoln County offers 195 miles of groomed ATV trails. These segments follow some of the same routes as the snowmobile trails and are closed to ATV traffic when the temperature is above 28 degrees to reduce rutting and other damage.

Langlade County provides even greater opportunity for ATVers. Two summer trails offer a combined 75 miles of riding through glacial terrain, upland hardwood, cedar swamps and farm fields.

The Augustyn Springs Trail is located in the northeastern portion of the county with 20 miles of rolling and hilly terrain. The two-way trail follows old logging roads that are also open to motor vehicle traffic, snowmobilers, hikers, skiers and other recreationalists.

The Parrish Highlands Trail is located in the northwestern portion of the county and offers 55 miles of scenic terrain. This trail follows old logging roads and connects with the Lincoln County ATV trail system.

In the winter months there are over 500 miles of groomed snowmobile and ATV trails in Langlade County. The county and 11 different clubs maintain the extensive trail network.

Together, the Enterprise trail and connecting routes offer well over a hundred miles of offroad pleasure in the non-winter months. They form a network of trails that span multiple counties and are served by numerous amenities. While not as ubiquitous, it has become much like the snowmobile trail system, which is fitting, as ATV registrations in Wisconsin now outnumber snowmobile registrations.

Wisconsin ATV Association President Randy Harden said the goal of the ATV community has always been to establish a longer, more contiguous system of trails. It has been more difficult to establish extensive, interconnected routes like those used by snowmobilers in winter partly because private landowners aren’t as willing to provide easements in summer as they are in winter.

One of the ways the WATVA is combating the issue is through legislation passed this year that uses money from out-of-state ATV registrations to provide financial perks to landowners who grant easements. Harden said he is unaware of any other program like it in the country.

“Sen. Breske helped us put that into the state budget,” Harden said.

Harden said the WATVA and its member clubs are working hard to expand the riding opportunities in the northeastern part of the state. He said he’s hoping to establish connections between Langlade and Oconto counties and Oconto and Marinette counties. Marinette County already connects with Florence County, which connects with trails in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. If all goes well, Oneida County ATVers will be able to ride from the trailhead on Bowman Road through most of the northeastern portion of the state and into Upper Michigan, where the network of trails is even more extensive.

“You can already get all the way from Florence to the casino in Watersmeet,” Harden said.

It’s a sign of the growing clout the ATV community holds, and a sign of where the sport is headed.

In 1993, 56,597 ATVs were registered in the state of Wisconsin. That number has increased every year since, and in 2007 ATV registrations jumped to 274,184.

In contrast, snowmobile registrations have been up and down. Available registration numbers don’t go back as far as the numbers for ATVs, but between 202 and 2007, the year over year registration numbers declined twice, from 2004 to 2005 and 2005 to 2006. In 2007, the number of snowmobile registrations climbed back up to 218,653, but numbers just under 56,000 fewer than ATV registrations.

In Oneida County, where lack of snow isn’t as much of an issue for snowmobilers as in other parts of the state, snowmobile registrations are still nearly double their ATV counterparts, though ATV registrations are growing at a faster rate.

In spite of historical conflicts between the two user groups, many people are members of both and the two are increasingly coming together to improve opportunities for all.

“We share members. We share trail grooming equipment together, and there’s so much we can do together,” Harden said.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

Bob Nussbaum wrote on Oct 20, 2008 12:04 PM:

" If we can all get along, it will be just fine, to have more people in love with the North. But this comes with a price, and stewardship means everything, in a world getting more crowded every day. If ATV'ers can use logging, unpaved town, and other existing roads, then all they have to show is the responsibility not to destroy what they visit.
And if we can develop the kind of routing guides that snowmobilers developed decades ago, perhaps we can yet...all get along! "

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