Off Roading Ethically

We all started out as a newbie at some point in our wheeling careers and had to learn things as we went. Even those who have been around a while learn new things from time to time. Not to mention a lot of things have changed over the years. What was “O.K.” for our fathers, may not be considered ethical today. Another thing that has an impact on what is considered appropriate or not is the area you live in. Wheeling in the South is way different than wheeling in the Dessert regions and that again is different than wheeling in The Pacific Northwest. Culture can have a lot to do with the ethics of wheeling in your area. With that being said I’m going to focus on the Pacific Northwest as this is my stomping grounds. So what I say may or may not be true for you area, but no matter what, always wheel safely and ethically.


If you don’t know what Tread Lightly! is I encourage you to follow the link and educate yourself. There are other site out there as well like, The Blue Ribbon Coalition, and Leave No Trace. By following the guidelines set forth by places like these we will help to insure the recreational area’s we play in will remain open. People that don’t respected our environment or laws only make it harder for those of use that do. Off road parks and forest service roads get closed down all the time because people have chosen to ignore road closure signs, go around gates, go around road blocks, or  “trail blaze” a.k.a make their own trail.

This is not even close to a full list of things that should be considered, but these are some of the things I see the most often when it comes to some wheelers giving a bad name to the rest of us.

* means this action could lead to fines and/or jail time.

1) Off Road Ethically and Legally

a) Stay on Marked trails, NO Trail Blazing *

b) If  you are unsure if a trail is OK, go to the office of whoever manages the land and get a current Vehicle use maps. You should have one anyway. Never rely 100% on GPS or Internet based maps.
           A few web sites to help you find maps
           The Bureau of Land Management                 Oregon State Forest 
           Us Forest Service ( National Forest)             Washington State DNR
         


c) If it is not a clearly marked trail don’t go, if there is a road block has been placed in the way i.e. boulders, gates or it is obvious that a tree did not fall there, but was placed there don’t go.*

d) If you become stuck, assess the situation then determine what would be the easiest way to get out with the least amount of damage to your rig and the environment.

e) When doing a recovery, be sure to use tree savers and fill in any holes you may have to dig. Don’t spin tires so long you dig big holes.

f) No water crossing if there is a bridge available to use. If you have to cross a stream, river, or creek do it with care and as slow as possible to protect what is living in the body of water and to prevent as much erosion on the banks as possible.

g) Be sure to have any or all passes for the area you are in.*

h) Be sure to know what you need to carry for what area you are in i.e. Fire extinguisher, water, shovel ( all things you should have anyway) *

i) Don’t drive through meadows, wetlands and the like just for the hell of it stay on the road/trails. *

j) Before crossing private land you should always get permission. If you have to open any gates close them behind you! Again they are there for a reason. Being respectful of private land keeps the land owner happy and willing to say yes the next time someone asks for permission.

k) Pack out what you pack in. DO NOT LITTER! *



2) Stop and think before posting photos and video on line. How do they make you look as an off roader?

a) Could someone mistake what you are doing as unethical or illegal?

b) Does it look like you are tearing up the environment? Driving up hills that are not part of the road or trail? Disturbing the plant life by driving over it? Yes this includes grass.

c) Are you in a body of water that you didn’t need to go in to or through to get down the trail? I’m not talking mud puddles here, I’m talking lakes, streams, ponds, rivers ect.

If you answered yes to any of these questions you may want to think about your approach to wheeling.


I know this all sounds redundant and probably over the top, but keep in mind because of people doing just these things many places have been closed to off road use. As well as making it extremely difficult to get new places opened up. When in doubt DON’T do it!

Please post up Ethics you may think of I have missed. :-)

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Play Safe and Tread Lightly

A 4 Wheeling Mom

Pack Out What You Pack In

Illegal dumping has been an issue for many generations. I hate it when I see dump sites in nature. It bugs me just as much to see someones McDonald cup tossed on the side of a trail or road. To me it's all the same, a big black garbage bag full of your crap or just a fast food wrapper.

Not only does it look nasty, but it is harmful to the environment, could cause health hazards for humans, and is costly to clean up. I could go on all day about the harm it can do to wildlife. For a little more info Check out this PDF from Green Sweep 

On the off road front, dumping trash of small or large amount can get trails and road closed down. As Off Roaders we have so many things to worry about to keep our trails open, but one of the easiest to avoid is littering.

The problem starts with one person thinking" It won't matter if I toss this one thing out the car window"  Then the next person comes along and thinks the same thing. Next thing you know you have 10 or 20 people thinking tossing only one item won't make a difference, but it does! You now have 20 pieces of trash where there was none.  Now this one spot on the trail looks more like a garbage dump than a beautiful trail in the mountains, desert, beach, mud or where ever you wheel. This goes for all off road activities boating, hiking, horseback riding, biking skiing ect.

Is it that hard to keep a trash bag or a roll of them in your rig? No I didn't think so. Is it that hard to stop and actually take it out and put your trash in it? No I didn't think so.  I'm proud to say I know many off-road enthusiast that pack out more than they brought in! I strive to be that type of person, but I'm not perfect. I don't always take out more than I bring, but I never leave anything behind!


Check out this video from The Vermont Jeepgirl. She found this dump site while out on a drive. It breaks my heart! She wanted to organize a trail clean up, but found out it had already been closed :-(

Check Vermont Jeepgirl out on Facebook by clicking here 

Don't let this happen to your favorite trail! 

4 Wheeling Mom

Drive Safe, Have Fun, and Tread Lightly!

Be Responsible On Your Adventures.

Part of what I want to do with my Blog and Facebook page is promote legal and ethical wheeling. The first step for people that want to play off road  and who use the great outdoors need to educate themselves and others about what is legal and ethical off roading. In general when I post about off roading I'm usually talking about 4x4 vehicles because that is what I know and what I do. But this topic is much bigger than that. We are talking Hikers, bikers, motorcycle riders, horseback riders,atv's and 4 wheel drive vehicles. If I missed anything It was not intentional.

The best way to learn is by research and talking to those in the business. Here are a couple places to start with.
Tread Lightly
BlueRibbon Coalition 

Also if you have any questions about the area's you use for your off road adventures please take the time to talk to the organization that oversee's it's use. I have contacted the BLM in the past to clarify use legality's.
The more we educate ourselves and other the less damage to our environment will happen and the less trail closure will  happen.

I sent an email off to Jahmaal Rebb OHV Specialist from the Tillamook State forest. He over sees Browns Camp where Dad and I do the majority of our playing. He was nice enough to answer some of the questions I had in regards to what he saw as the worst issues and what he would like to see more of. Here is what he had to say.



Mr. Rebb:  Being in the management side of the motorized recreation world I tend to see things a little different than those who are just out to recreate. There are two main aspects of managing motorized recreation on public land that become somewhat of a balancing act. On one side you have a very dedicated, passionate motorized community that values the opportunities we provide and the other there is the natural environmental resource that is our responsibility to manage appropriately. Having a good understanding of the nature of motorized recreation I feel the only way to have a successful OHV area is to have the support and commitment from the user community to recreate responsibly. We rely heavily on our local clubs, organizations, partners and individual volunteers to preserve and improve the motorized recreation opportunities that exist. Having said that, I feel everything revolves around respect. Respect for each other and respect for our environment.

Mom:  Some people may unknowingly do tings that can be harmful to the environment, or be destructive to the trails. Ultimately these actions could get trails closed down. What do you see as the number one thing that people do that they shouldn't?

Mr. Rebb: The number one thing that I see that could close trails is off- trail travel. Proper planning, design, and layout allows us to build trails in areas that are sustainable and can accommodate the use it is designated for. Off-trail travel results in activity in undesirable locations and can lead to serious environmental issues. Second to that I would say, littering is a big problem. When you find trash on trail, in campgrounds and along roads it reflects upon the people that recreate in that area and the respect that they have toward that area. Although it may only be a small percentage of the use community that litters it reflects on the public use as a whole.

Mom:  Some of us belong to groups that have adopted trails at Browns Camp OHV park. But not all those that play belong to groups that do such things. What would you like to see more of from independent drivers when they come to play?

Mr. Rebb: I would like to see all motorized users take a more responsible approach to their activity that they engage in, not only for their own actions but to stand up to those whose actions negatively impact the perception of motorized recreation.


Mom: When someone says "hey lets go wheeling this weekend" word tends to spread fast. Next thing you know the trip you think you planned for four or five buddies blooms into 20 rigs. ( this has happened to me a couple times) Is there a limit to the size of groups that run around together? Is it best to split larger groups like that up in to smaller groups?


Mr. Rebb: Group size has always been an issue that has an impact on the trail system in various ways. Congestion is one that affects user enjoyment and also can result in trail widening or (trail creep). Public trail opportunities are shared. Respect toward other groups and use types need to be honored to maintain a strong unified OHV community and ensure enjoyment. We prefer to see smaller groups rather than larger groups to minimize the potential conflicts with other trail users and through dispersion reduce trail tread impact.

Play Safe, Be Prepared and Tread Lightly! 

Mom