Ontario passes are $260 for the season, $140 for 7 days and $100 for 3 days. I'll stay here.
Trail permits
- Thread starter Pitch
- Start date
Ontario passes are $260 for the season, $140 for 7 days and $100 for 3 days. I'll stay here.
polarisrider1
New member
I'm thinking 3 days of good riding for $100 is a better investment than $45 for no riding??? So far that is how it is shaping up.
Well if from IL with IL registered sled your are buying permission to ride IL trails then WI & MI via trail permits. WI friendly tax state for sled registration so a buffer there if you know what & how to manage it & don't want to ride in IL.
garyl62
Active member
I live in IL but my sleds are registered in WI. All WI asks is what county you normally ride, or garage your sleds in. No property ownership required. Now that IL is requiring permits I thought about registering them here, but decided I ride 8 miles in IL to get to the WI border and that only happens once or twice a year. I trailer to the IL trail, so now I just trailer 8 miles farther and start in WI.
I've posted a couple times already in this thread so I won't go on again, but I agree with jr37 a couple posts up. If they did a 3 day permit you'd save maybe $20 per sled. A 4 day trip for 2 costs $1,000, by the time you add up all the gas, hotel, food, truck gas etc. That doesn't even count the cost of equipment. I don't see how saving $20 per sled is going to make a difference in someones decision about spending $1,000 for a trip.
I would be willing to pay $20 for a one day pass. I believe that is fair for all parties involved. Would you agree? If I pay $20 and ride 150 miles of MI trails, purchase MI fuel, MI food and drink I would argue that the State of Michigan got their fair share and I rode some nice trails. If I were to pay the $45 do you really think that the additional $25 dollars is needed or justified in comparison to someone who is going to ride an entire season possibly accumulating thousands of miles? IMHO that is a fair point.
Unfortunately at this point in time it is really irrelevant because I'm not going to pay the $45.
xsledder
Active member
Thank you John. Unfortunity it seems like your the only one upper there that gets it. Thanks for your hard work.
Indy 500, your response about pocket change was a tad insulting. Have you had an economics course in high school yet? (BTW, I had economic and statistic courses in high school and college so don't bother responding to me unless you have something constuctive to say to me that entails actual knowledge. I'll get back to you about that packet change later after my family and I had fun doing something different then the same railroad grade and tree over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...) I'm talking about intangibles, which only a few in this thread seem to understand.
Indy 500, your response about pocket change was a tad insulting. Have you had an economics course in high school yet? (BTW, I had economic and statistic courses in high school and college so don't bother responding to me unless you have something constuctive to say to me that entails actual knowledge. I'll get back to you about that packet change later after my family and I had fun doing something different then the same railroad grade and tree over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...) I'm talking about intangibles, which only a few in this thread seem to understand.
Last edited:
polarismike
Member
Happy to pay the $45. Also MSA and Michigan TRALE memberships. It is about supporting the organizations out there that are getting it done so when the snow does hit, you have great trails to ride. There is a bigger picture out there than just how much 1 person gets out of his/her trail sticker and if it is worth the ROI. Support the areas you like to ride, or one day they may not be there to enjoy! For less than the price of most gallons of 2-stroke or an oil change kit, you can have a season's enjoyment as much or as little as you like!
Okay.....but what's your point? I'm familiar with what Ontario permits cost. My point was that Ontario has two (at least) permit options, while Michigan has one. Apparently it works for them and they've found a way to make it work. What those Ontario permits cost is irrelevant.
When I rode there we bought a temporary permit that I assume was of a different color than the season permit. They simply wrote on it with a Sharpie pen the dates for which it was valid. Doesn't seem too complicated to me. All the LEO has to do is recognize the color of a temporary permit and check the dates, if he/she wants to. Will people cheat the system? Yeah, of course. But people cheat it now, so what's the difference? Bottom line is, we don't have near enough law presence now to catch every trespasser, unregistered sled, sleds lacking trail permits, or whatever. And I think if there were temporary permits, that people who might otherwise try to cheat the system by not buying a $45 permit might buy a less expensive temporary. I seem to remember when this was discussed a couple years ago, there was a member who actually admitted to being tempted to take the chance of riding without a permit rather than fork over the $45 for a permit.
It may well turn out that it isn't cost-effective. But I think it's an option that should be explored.
EXCESSIVE FORCE
New member
I predict this EXACT subject/thread will resurface again about this time next year....
Probably. Reminds me of staff meetings when I was working; there was a list of the same 4 or 5 items that re-surfaced at every meeting.
It is a shame that all these people with $12,000 sleds, $10,000 enclosed trailers, $500.00 gloves, $40,000 tow vehicles etc etc, can't comprehend my original message. I don't care how much trail passes are in Ontario and I'm not going to buy a passport to get there eh! All I can say is, it is amazing how far in left field some people are, and to think they are operating a machine far smarter than them. A friend and I were contemplating joining a club in the Northwoods and assisting on trail maintenance, but after reading some of the comments posted, I think I will just continue to ride in Wisconsin. Members such as Whitedust, Chopp, rossholio, and Ramsey all seem to have exceptional reading and comprehension skills. Thank you all...over and out!
chords
Active member
Lets not forget all the stickers bought that may never see a trail when comparing ROI and other useless stats comparing miles driven or days used.
Heres an idea. >>>>> Howz about a FREE week end - no permit required.
Like the free fishing wkends MI has had for a number of years
Heres an idea. >>>>> Howz about a FREE week end - no permit required.
Like the free fishing wkends MI has had for a number of years
polarisrider1
New member
Enjoy Wisconsin.
polarisrider1
New member
And what will that do?
indy_500
Well-known member
Sorry but the way I see it, you were complaining that $45 is too steep of a price to ride in MI if you only want to ride there a few days and because the riding isn't any different from WI. So, you wanted a discounted price, for just a few days. Well, then you said you'd rather save the $ towards riding in Ontario, which is $260 for a seasonal pass. You mentioned statistics, The cost of the MI pass is 17% of what the Ontario pass costs. If this EVER happens, we are just going to see ANOTHER price increase, probably $75/year or $45 for a week as it will take extra dnr enforcement (which costs more $) to actually enforce that people are riding lawfully. Think about it. How are they going to know what dates you are allowed to be riding up there. Are they going to stop all of us to check??? NOT HAPPENING
indy_500
Well-known member
You do realize that the $45 for that permit goes to the clubs right? It's not like you're contributing to the greedy state politicians. There's volunteers out there that spend more time per week grooming and whatnot than some people spend at work. Without the clubs, there would be no trails to ride PERIOD.
I have not gotten to experience great U.P. conditions but what will keep me coming back is the snow. There's a very good chance the Keeweenaw will have great riding conditions next weekend. I highly doubt Northern WI will even be rideable.
chords
Active member
Dont know.
Based on the previous comments on here of not spending the 45 bucks on a one time trip/weekend and hundreds? or more of others not reading this thinking the same, I suppose it would be good for pumping lost $ into all business's related. Could be they may return again too and buy the darn sticker.
Free up law enforement on sticker patrols.
Hey didnt your Prof tell ya - You gotta spend money to make money
