When is a road not a road?

[Mountain Happy]

Ok, I found a road that went through a bunch of private land which shows a easement leading to forest land. There is a small parking area with 2 trucks parked in it shown on google earth and onx. I know that the picture is not current. From the parking area there is a 2 track trail leading out towards a wilderness area 3.5 miles back. I figured this was a hiking trail only (horses/bike). But I could see 2 sets of tire marks on the trail. When I followed the trail, I found what I assume are 2 different outfitter camps. And at one I can distinctly make out a truck parked there. If thats the case why couldn't I or you drive back there? When I try to use onx. and click on the trail it only comes up the unit info. Not the trail use info. Any ideas? I guess I will be getting in touch with the forestry to find out was just wondering if anyone here new what the deal was.

 

[Bronc]

If the outfitters camp were outside the wilderness boundary, probably ok. If they drove beyond the boundaries, then definitely illegal.
Also, I’ve been on many forest service roads that go through private property. Usually they’re marked something like “public road through private property “.

 

[Mountain Happy]

Thanks for the reply, The camps where outside of the wilderness. And perhaps the trucks parked at the easement where outfitter clients who then went back by vehicle or horseback. I will get confirmation before I drive in there. It would be nice since it would put me 3/4 of a mile from the wilderness and I wont have to spike camp. We will see.

 

[nphunter]

I know there are a ton of people who drive closed roads in Oregon. We have seasonal closures where you can drive in at certain times and not during others. I’ve been on both sides, I’ve driven on roads that were not yet closed and found people camped way back in and pissed and I’ve been 8 miles into a seasonal closure and found guys hunting from ATV’s. I’ve also had forest service crews driving into areas closed for elk sanctuary marking trees in hunting season. Can be pretty frustrating to say the least.

Parked at the end of a road last year and had a guy on a ATV drive up and put a note on my rig that said road closed. I left a map of the road system that clearly showed that we were outside of the closure area pinned to a tree where I was parked. OnX and up to date maps really help.

 

[JohnnyB]

There are two wheel tracks in many places there shouldn’t be. There are also almost always exceptions to closures for government business. You should be able to get the answer fairly easy.

The people that disregard closures and private property rights do so to the peril of all our hunting privileges.

 

[One-shot]

There are two wheel tracks in many places there shouldn’t be. There are also almost always exceptions to closures for government business. You should be able to get the answer fairly easy.

The people that disregard closures and private property rights do so to the peril of all our hunting privileges.

Great reply. Not just trucks, but OHVs like side by sides etc are cutting across vague tracks to either access terrain or to get an animal out. Wilderness and public lands are left scarred, noise and disruption harms habitats, tracked areas from tires can create new erosion spots and the consequences thereof...
For those who'd like to learn more about what they can do to keep hunting and not be shut out of access across private lands and public check out Leave No Trace at www.lnt.org Lots of good info.

 

[Akwoodchuck]

If it's Forest Service land, call the appropriate ranger station, they usually have the best info....same with BLM. You could try contacting the private landowner but that's a crapshoot, and if legal easements are in place, unnecessary.

 

[Swede]

Really any established two track is a road. Roads usually have a carsonite post with a number on them at the entrance. Everything is open to the public unless closed by a legal order. You can review all legal closures at the Forest and applicable District offices.
Just be careful about signs. Many people for various reasons will either remove legal closure signs, exchange signs, or put up their own "No Trespassing" signs. Earth and native material barriers with no accompanying legal order just makes using the road more challenging. To be cited you will need to violate some legal prohibition. You really need to find out before you head out.

 

[bluesulphur]

All open motorized Forest Service roads are displayed on a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). These maps are available at the local District Office and should be available online at their website also. If it's BLM land it can be a little more difficult to discern if it's open. In my experience living and hunting in Wyoming on BLM land if it's an established two track that isn't signed as "closed" you should be ok.

 

[Swede]

All roads shown on a F.S. Recreation map were supposed to be open to the public at the time the map was made. Don't be surprised when you see people driving a legally "Closed Road". There are folks with permits, administrative use allowances, and exceptions for land owners written in the closure order.

 

[BullElk]

USDA Forest Service - Caring for the land and serving people.

That will tell you exactly what you need to know. You can also download Avenza and save your map to phone and it will show you exactly where you’re at with or without svc.

 

[vanish]

In several areas where I hunt, there are roads through private property that continue through National Forest. However, those roads are not county roads, and are closed to the general public on the private property. This means the only people able to drive those roads on the NF are those that can legally access the private property. Outfitters often lease access to those roads so they can more easily get into public land where a normal person cannot easily reach.

 

[ndbuck09]

As mentioned above, the Motor Vehicle Use Map is what the authorities go by in determining where it's legal to drive a motorized vehicle...side by side, atv, truck, electric bike....

It doesn't matter if there's tread marks, two tracks, or anything else, if it's not on the MVUM, its illegal to drive on. It's common for people to disregard this and it always pisses me off. It's also very common for people to rip the signs down stating non-motorized trail.

 

[Sturgeon]

I do know that sometimes outfitters are able to obtain permits from the Forest Service that allow them to drive into non-motorized areas. I was hunting in an area last year and found an outfitter camp that they were allowed to access through a locked gate with vehicles.