Trail 3 north of Toivola

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journeyman

New member
I was just riding in this area last week. Has anyone noticed the driveway crossing on trail 3 just north of Toivola and the Mosquito Inn that isn't marked?

I was just cruising at trail speeds maybe 50 mph when I first approached it. The drop from being plowed is a good 3 feet on each side. It took me by surprise and once you hit the first drop it's too late to slow down and the other side is like a jump. My sled went airborne and I was fortunate to keep it under control without rolling or flipping it. An inexperienced or smaller rider could spell trouble.

I can't believe this hasn't nailed a few riders by surprise this season.
 
jd

jd

Administrator
Staff member
journeyman said:
I was just riding in this area last week. Has anyone noticed the driveway crossing on trail 3 just north of Toivola and the Mosquito Inn that isn't marked?

I was just cruising at trail speeds maybe 50 mph when I first approached it. The drop from being plowed is a good 3 feet on each side. It took me by surprise and once you hit the first drop it's too late to slow down and the other side is like a jump. My sled went airborne and I was fortunate to keep it under control without rolling or flipping it. An inexperienced or smaller rider could spell trouble.

I can't believe this hasn't nailed a few riders by surprise this season.
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Sorry this happened. The DNR changed they way they mark private drives. We used to put stop signs, but they wanted changed to private drive, which is fine, except that the signs are white with black background and do now show up well at all! We are working with them to find a better solution. We asked about yellow Yield signs, but were told that it is the driver of the auto that needs to yield.

-John
 
1

1fujifilm

Well-known member
journeyman said:
I was just riding in this area last week. Has anyone noticed the driveway crossing on trail 3 just north of Toivola and the Mosquito Inn that isn't marked?

I was just cruising at trail speeds maybe 50 mph when I first approached it. The drop from being plowed is a good 3 feet on each side. It took me by surprise and once you hit the first drop it's too late to slow down and the other side is like a jump. My sled went airborne and I was fortunate to keep it under control without rolling or flipping it. An inexperienced or smaller rider could spell trouble.

I can't believe this hasn't nailed a few riders by surprise this season.
Click to expand...

Yup, was going even faster but luckily saw the drive and stood up a bit and let my legs take some of the impact and the sled stayed pretty flat.

Bear
 
J

journeyman

New member
Administrator said:
Sorry this happened. The DNR changed they way they mark private drives. We used to put stop signs, but they wanted changed to private drive, which is fine, except that the signs are white with black background and do now show up well at all! We are working with them to find a better solution. We asked about yellow Yield signs, but were told that it is the driver of the auto that needs to yield.

-John
Click to expand...

Thanks John, that explains it. I do remember there being a stop sign there before. The red does show up better as said. The snow dust was crazy thick last week with the cold temps.
 
sshooterz

sshooterz

Member
I was up there this weekend too and noticed a few signs that were "Yield Private Drive" but you had a hard time picking out exactly where the driveway was until you were just about on top or over it. I think a yellow Yield might be a little clearer to see and might alert riders a little quicker as I believe most of the signs I saw were red outline and red lettering. Like journeyman said, when the snow dust was flying they were hard to pickup until you were right on top of them.
 
D

dboe03

New member
Sounds like a recipe for a sled/auto collison. Can you imagine just pulling into your driveway after a long day and sled broad sides you at 40+mph....not knowing he needed to slow down until your looking at each other eye to eye. Glad my sled (or me) doesn't really go over 45mph anymore!
 
sshooterz

sshooterz

Member
Just saying what I saw. I don't know if the DNR put them up or the land owners did so I can't even confirm if they're regulation or not. I found it odd that they were red outline with red lettering and it wasn't the thick red marking you see on a normal yield sign. We typically just slowed down as we approached and when you saw an unplowed driveway or no vehicles on the road or in the driveway you could cruise right through. Most of them that we saw were out on open long stretch trails so you would clearly be able to see a car coming in or leaving from some distance back.

- - - Updated - - -

rp7x said:
South of twinn lakes there are unplowed drives with red stop signs , go figure
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We saw a couple of those too. At first it almost looked like a stop sign in the middle of nowhere.
 
R

rp7x

Well-known member
Just don't let your guard down , hard not to yield to a car or truck even if you have the right a way , those white and red signs are hard to see with all the trees coverd in snow
 
I

ICT Sledder

Active member
dboe03 said:
Sounds like a recipe for a sled/auto collison. Can you imagine just pulling into your driveway after a long day and sled broad sides you at 40+mph....not knowing he needed to slow down until your looking at each other eye to eye. Glad my sled (or me) doesn't really go over 45mph anymore!
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Maybe 40++++++ MPH. LOL!

Not a lot of guys sitting at 40-ish on the long, straight sections of 3, be that good or bad.
 
J

jimbo1974

Member
I ride out of Painsdale a lot going south towards Twin Lakes.I KNOW those driveways real good.Not marked with good colors at all.Before you know it,your on them.You do need to be careful.If your not used to them IT could be a problem.Working on better colors all the way around the board would be nice,Especially night time.I have seen many people just go through them to fast and can't see them till they are on top of them.Need to state private driveways caution on both sides of trail through that stretch.It sees a lot of traffic.
 
S

snobuilder

Well-known member
jimbo1974 said:
I ride out of Painsdale a lot going south towards Twin Lakes.I KNOW those driveways real good.Not marked with good colors at all.Before you know it,your on them.You do need to be careful.If your not used to them IT could be a problem.Working on better colors all the way around the board would be nice,Especially night time.I have seen many people just go through them to fast and can't see them till they are on top of them.Need to state private driveways caution on both sides of trail through that stretch.It sees a lot of traffic.
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Wait a minute....the DNR said the signs need to face the driveways which makes all the sense in the world since the busy direction is from the sledders side in every case..
 
W

WorkHardPlayHrd

Active member
I'm really glad for this warning on these changes. Heading that way in 2 weeks and have always relied on those little red stop signs to learn where those driveways are. Thanks for the heads up.

On a side note, sometimes the way the DNR thinks just gives me a headache.
 
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