Perspective on distance/time

[JasonF]

After riding the are many times on sleds I would like to bring a group up for some ATV riding. We would probably stay just south of Houghton and I was curious to know what kind of time it would take to ride the trail to Copper Harbor after your cross the Portage? We done it on sleds many times with lots of boon-docking thrown in but atv's are definitely slower.
Thinking about the second weekend in Oct, hopefully its not too late for the color change.

 

[whitedust]

Drove my truck to the top of Brockway prolly about 25mph & I was like what the heck this is taking forever? No idea how fast we were doing same route on sleds but it had to be a lot faster took very little time on sleds. So you are correct whole different perception of time & distance on wheels compared sleds on snow.

 

[Skylar]

Double your time. Atv trails are not groomed, they are bumpy, and you can't even come close to the speed you average on sleds, safely. Unless you luck out with rain, it will be very very dusty, which also slows ya down. Also, you have to call the Houghton police department to get an escort across the bridge, to go north, and the Hancock police department to go south. Don't want to discourage you, just want you to be aware. Good luck, have fun!

 

[Skylar]

http://www.cityofhoughton.com/rec-atv.php

 

[JasonF]

So the ATV trails can be a bit rough? Being they're a lot of straight aways I figured they would be fairly smooth.
I see the map shows three times for bridge crossing, is that followed or can you call anytime? By what I've read on some of the posts it was made to sound you could call anytime.

 

[Skylar]

Sure, there are parts that are smooth, but not most of it. You'll be lucky to average 30-35 mph. Depending on what kind if atv you have. It's NOTHING like snowmobiling. I've been riding atvs up there since 2000. Huge difference between sledding and atving. The new times listed are when you can cross, no more calling at anytime to get across.

 

[JasonF]

Alright, thanks for the info Skylar.
I'm thinking that if we stay south of the bridge it may be better to just trailer to Calumet, that way we have time do more than just bomb up to C.H. and back.
Is it possible to get up Brockway via route the snowmobile trail takes to the west and then drop down into Copper Harbor going down the east side?

 

[Skylar]

Good idea to trailer up to Calumet. As far as Brockway, I think you can, but get a atv trail map to be sure. South of the bridge, the Freda loop is not a marked atv trail. People ride it, but it's not an actual atv trail. Well the rail grade is out to Redridge from South Range. Saw a moose Thursday when we were up there, up on the Freda cross cut road.

 

[LoveMyDobe]

Come up to Bayfield county in WI, our trails are graded in the summer by our atv club Trails North. We do have some trails still closed due to the windstorm on the 21st July, those trails are 21,31N and 63 , all north of Corridor 2. Trails south are good. There is a reroute to get to Valhalla off of trail 40.

 

[krupps_resort]

General prime time for fall colors is last week in Sept & first week in Oct, However, you will see color both before and after this time frame. Beautiful time of year for ATVing. So different from snowmobiling. Find an area for lodging and everyday ride a different direction. Besides trail riding, there are also hundreds of miles of what we call 2-track roads. If we can help with any direct questions, let us know. Fall color season is breathtaking-professional photographers love western UP for their photo shoots.

 

[foster brooks]

we just made a run from the trailhead in Hancock to copper harbor, yes get an early start if you want to spend any time in copper harbor/ lac labelle. The trails have lots of water holes and very rocky. There is a reroute around Mohawk which can be challenging if you have a big ride. It took us 3 hours to get there with two stops in between, the signage can be confusing at times. Stay on 134 copper harbor, some trails are marked 134 but are just spurs to high rock bay etc. Be careful of loggers in the Area after the trail to lac LaBelle. I would not want to run the trail at night with the boulders in the trail. Its a very beautiful run with the trees turning and the waterfalls.