The St Croix State Forest Offers 45 Miles of Trails For ATVs and Dirt Bikes

The dew was still glistening on the grass blades oneWis. However, only a portion of the trail is open to
day last spring, and that meant only one thing - itoff-road vehicles.
was flippin' early. Way too early for any human to beWe crossed the St. Croix River via a high wooden
awake, and the bloodshot eyes and weary headsbridge checking out the views along the way. Once
were evidence of that. But we were vertical,on the other side, we were in Minnesota. After
conscious and making some final checks beforeclicking through all the gears as we sped up the
hitting the road for a two-hour drive to our ATVGandy, a left turn brought us to some twisty trails
riding destination.and the St. Croix State Forest OHV trail system. We
After slugging 24 ounces of Mountain Dew anddecided to ride on a 15-mile loop and sped off on our
downing some sugar-infested donuts, the caffeinetwo sport quads and one sport utility ATV. With the
and glucose-induced alertness finally kicked in as werecent rain, we dodged puddles and maneuvered
headed north to the St. Croix State Forest near thethrough some deeper and unexpected standing
Minnesota and Wisconsin border.water. On this loop of the trail system there's one
It was our first "real" ATV ride of the season in theother thing that does make it for intermediate riders
upper Midwest. Sure we had spun some rubber- rocks and lots of them.
elsewhere in the country, but it was our first ride ofMost of the rocks are medium sized and most ATV
the year with our own staff ATVs that we wereriders can ride over them, which adds to the fun.
able to ride near home. We had been to the areaThere are long sweeping turns, switchbacks and hill
before. We'd used a portion of the ATV trail onascents and descents that make the trail fun and
some rides during our first couple of ATV Trialschallenging. The trail is narrow in spots so riders must
events. We liked the trails so much, we decided touse caution and watch for oncoming traffic. We shot
go back.around the loop three or four times, resting at our
The St. Croix State Forest offers 45 miles of trails.starting and ending point.
ATVs and dirt bikes are allowed on the trails. TheyLow on gas and near lunch time, we rode back into
are rated as difficult, which are suited fortown. Once our machines and we were fueled up,
intermediate and expert ATV riders. Throughout thewe ventured back out. This time, though, instead of
state forest there are five separate parking areas,doing the loop again, we turned onto a 7-mile feeder
one campground and five primitive camping areas.trail. While we remained mostly dry during the
The Boulder campground is located on Rock Lake. Amorning, that wouldn't be the case in the afternoon.
forest road, which is available for use unless postedThe trail was wider and smoother, but littered with
closed, leads from the campground to the forestmore puddles. We steered around what we could,
trails.but often had to blast through them. And, those
A Rocky Mixwho've ridden a sport quad before know they don't
We got lucky choosing the day we planned to ride. Itoffer much protection. When we reached the end of
had been a rainy spring, but it was a perfect, sunnythe trail at a parking lot, we were soaked, and not
day with temperatures reaching the mid-70s.looking forward to the wet ride back. We brought it
Our starting point was in Danbury, Wis., along thedown a notch as we made our way back to our
Gandy Dancer trail. The Gandy Dancer trail is an oldstarting point. After clicking off several miles and with
railroad line turned into a multi-use trail. Technically, itour wet gear, it was time to call it a day.
begins in St. Croix Falls, Wis., and ends in Superior,