This weekend I witnessed some snowboarders determined to ride a a small glacier in Colorado.  They had skirted a pole barrier and managed to bury their 4x4 pickup at the base of the glacier.  Clearly off road, off trail, out of bounds etc.

I took great pictures and got their license plates
Today they will be hearing from the forest service.

If you go off trail when I am around you can expect the same.  I will turn you in and you will hear from the authorities.

Rule of thumb is that "dirt roads are open".
There are only 236ish miles of designated trail but a couple thousand miles of "open trails".

Many are Jeep trails.  Some look like super highways.

If you find yourself looking at a trail and wondering if it is open ask yourself a simple question.  "Have 10,000 or more ATV's or 4x4's been down this path?"  If you answered yes then it is likely it is open.  If you can find it on 1:24,000 Topo, it is likely open.

If it looks like the path seldom traveled that is because it is NOT open.  A lot of ATV riders (probably 100,000 per year) are on the Paiute.  So it is unlikely that you will come upon a legal trail that has not had a LOT of travel.

You are correct on the gates.  They are there to manage livestock and unless there is a sign saying "private property" or "No Trespassing" then you are okay to use the road, just leave the gate the way you found it.  The BLM and forest service can't afford to put in Cattle Guards at every fence crossing.

If you plan to explore these other roads/trails I highly suggest you invest in some Topo maps with 1:24,000 resolution.  (The basic trail map is ony 1:90,000)

Gary sells the Nat Geo TOPO Utah software and a CD with the entire Paiute trail and a ton of other Utah trails already mapped out in it.  I love it, use it all the time.

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In the future you can expect to see more signage, the rules are changing as we chat.  Soon it will be closed unless posted open.  So start watching for signs.

We are a group that know what a trail is. My question for the Utah area was there are SO MANY "roads/trails" that had no markings - we are NOT talking about something that was even a tiny bit questionable as to weather it was a trail or not. These were WIDE OPEN and OBVIOUS that they were either a road or a trail......and there was no signage on them.

We only encountered one sport quad and it was a young man who had an abnoxiously loud pipe. He was riding with his father who seemed to be oblivious to it.

quadsquad - thank you. You provided the info I was looking for. We are very responsible riders and appreciate your answer.

It is hard to decipher what is being said by some - telling us "stay on the designated trail" just isn't enough info (IMO) for those of us who had never ridden in Utah.  Here in Ohio - if it isn't marked as a trail - STAY OFF off it. I just wanted to be sure.

Thanks again.

Ok - new question - is the National Geographic map one that shows these "open" areas? If not, where do you purchase the map that has the correct information?

And, some of the trails/roads had full size vehicles on them also (like suburbans) - although there were no markings anywhere telling you that it was a trail or a road. (this is what I meant by it was OBVIOUSLY a trail or a road - they weren't just  little paths with grass on them and tire tracks going through it)

BTW - thank you folks for responding to my questions.

Fishlake does have a travel map like the Dixie National Forest.  That being said, they expect you to follow the 708 Paiute Trail map and not follow the unmarked roads that lead to people's homes, humting camps and cattle watering and feeding areas.  If you don't see it on the 708 map don't go there, its none of your business whats there.

Don't live there yet, but I am working on it and will probably Marysvale.  Just eat sleep dream ATVs.

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ATV Lover   wrote on 09/01/05 at 07:56:57:


The map shown in your link is not what I consider the equivelent Fishlake Map to the Dixie Travel Map. That is the Map they sell for $7-$9 and Dixie charges a similiar amount for their same type map. Dixie's is better as it's available in a waterproof version.

The Dixie Travel maps, and there are two different ones covering different areas, are available free of charge. I got my most recent ones in the Pangitch office which are 2004 editions. It takes two different maps now as they are printed on a larger scale than the single 2001 map was. One map covers the Escalante/Teasdale/Powell Ranger Districts and the other map covers the cedar City/Pine valley Ranger Districts.

So, does a free Fishlake Travel map that shows the same type of info that the Dixie maps exist? The map shown in your link, which I have, is a 1997 version and appears to be the most recent available map for their area but does not show all the same kind of information that the Dixie Travel Maps do.