Most of us depend upon some sort of vehicle for basic daily survival. We use our cars, trucks and SUVs to get to and from work, drive to the grocery store, take our kids to school and extracurricular activities, and finally take the family on vacations near and far.
A lucky few of us have other motor vehicles for fun. Whether it’s a motorcycle (divided into Harleys and non-Harleys), snowmobile, boat or ATV, these machines have a few utility functions, but are mostly used for pure pleasure.
A few years after moving to Wisconsin in 2000, I realized that blowing the snow out of a 150-foot driveway with a narrow snowblower was a miserable and tedious task. My wife had a chance to buy a used 2002 Polaris Sportsman 6x6 ATV with a 5-foot snowplow for a mere $4,000. The green machine was like new and we snapped it up. Although it was purchased to do a chore, I soon discovered just how much fun this six-wheeled beast was to drive!
When I wasn’t finding excuses to use it and its handy dump bed (trimming trees, hauling patio furniture back and forth from garage to deck, standing in the bed to hang Christmas lights), I was driving through wooded trails at our nearby muzzleloader club. This machine could go almost anywhere, although it was easy to center out in deep snow (it weighs about 1,000 pounds). There are no gears to shift like a motorcycle, no clutch and an electric starter. Acceleration up to 45 mph just takes the push of a thumb.
If you live in the boonies as we do, ATVs are an everyday sight. People living in or around lakes, rivers, cabins and lodges use ATVs and UTVs (better known as side-by-sides because of the seat configuration) as routine transportation on and off roads.
Yes, in many cases, riding an ATV on a paved road can be a no-no, depending on the county and the vehicle’s features (headlights, brake lights and so on). Some counties are getting smart and legalizing ATVs and UTVs for street use, especially those with a nice trail system or even an ATV park such as the one near Tigerton. Why not attract some tourists and encourage the fun, safe use of these smile-a-mile vehicles?
I’m seeing more and more pro-ATV signs popping up in my neighborhood that are encouraging an expanded ATV trail system.
Snowmobilers have their own local and statewide groups (in a February story, I discovered 19 snowmobile clubs in Shawano County alone), and it’s nice to discover ATV enthusiasts have a statewide group, too. The Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association (WATVA) is based in Sheboygan and offers a variety of resources, including a quarterly magazine.
The group’s website (www.WATVA.org) is a one-stop shop for county-by-county and statewide trail maps, registration information, links and facts. The economic impacts of ATVs caught my eye immediately.
Outdoor recreation of all kinds represented 2 percent of the nation’s overall gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016, or $373.7 billion! It’s grown 1 percent faster (3.8 percent) than the overall economy (2.8 percent), according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Motorized vehicles accounted for the largest of the outdoor recreation segments: $59.4 billion. This includes recreational vehicles such as campers, as well as ATVs, UTVs and more. RVs accounted for about half of this number in 2016. (Boating and fishing are a separate category, so boats do not fall into the motorized vehicles category).
It’s interesting to think about how a fun ride on an ATV trail or even a little exploration of a neighborhood or backwoods lot can contribute to the local, state and national economies. Best of all, ATVs are just a blast.
You can join the WATVA for just $30 a year for family membership ($15 if you only want a digital version of their magazine). This seems like a great value.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources currently has nearly $300,000 a year in grants available to assist groups with promoting ATV usage through the recruitment and training of ATV safety instructors and volunteer trail ambassadors.
These groups must meet a variety of criteria to be eligible. The deadline for applying is 5 p.m. June 28 and the two-year grants would be awarded for 2019 and 2020. Go here for details: dnr.wi.gov/Aid/atvEnhancement.html.
Enjoy the summer — an ATV or UTV will certainly make the time zip by faster.