Went Northern Outdoors and there trail reports were bogus. There should be no riding there ar all. Water bars a groomer would get lost in, I will never spenda penny there again!!!

That sucks

If your lookin to go riding go to the county lots and lots of snow wait tilll the week end tho so they have some time to get it all packed and groomed better, and open up all the trails

Yup that has always been my feeling about them,they want your buesness bad enough to get people to drive 3-5 hrs to ride rocks and stumps,i have never been thru there when there wasent some bad trails,even in good winters,now i was just up there day after christmas and it was starting to thin out in town jackman,and jackman had alot more snow than the forks had,you would of been better off going to jackman out around long pond,and going out to the farm,it was almost good riding out there.. :div20:

The marshall inn isnt even open yet, still says "waiting for snow" if that tells ya anything.

We did end up going to Jackman and Pittson farm Sat then to Quebec border Sunday for a short ride before the 5 1/2 hr ride home and it wasn't too bad at both those places. I guess it was better going towards Greenville from North. Out. but I wasn't going to chance it after reading there reports. N.O. rents sleds for $250 for 8 hrs and in Rockwood it's $165. for 24 hrs. from what I heard.

we just got back from the sh-t hole :banghead: boy thay lie through there teeth 10- 12 base it was at best 4 with a lot of water bars and lakes in the trail the best trail we found was going on. it 86 the trail marking on intersections suck i can never going back to that place but the drink were good on new years :drunk: my 2 cents

It is like any other busisness they are looking to get you there
Also from the time they add the trail report it can rain and in short order as you all know that changes the trails

Northern Outdoors is a quality lodge and they cant control the trails and the amount of use which at this time of year changes by the minute

People should understand it is still early give it a wqeek or 2 and things will be fine

LIES LIES LIES. thats all there is to it. It's just like the ski areas. They want your cash. I only trust the club reports.

If any of you want honest opinions about The Forks trail conditions, PM Me any time. My aunt and uncle live on Lake Moxie all winter long and i know most of the people that groom, do trail maintenance, etc.

I know a lot of the companies make the conditions sound better than they are, it's just like the ski mountains. There is actually SOME good riding in the Forks right now if you know where to go.

Anytime any of you guys want an honest opinion PM me as I get daily updates from family who rides 4 or 5 days a week. Don't worry, they'll get the snow they need.

The Forks is a tough to ride. The trails are usually terrible there because the trail system is so small with no loops. You basically have to ride to one spot and take the same trail back. Rangley is very similar and their trails get beat up pretty bad in a short period of time. I only go to Rangely because my in laws own a camp in Dallas Plantation. If you get out early and get back early you may be OK.

i hear you on the changeing conditions BUT we called them on fri :banghead: i agree about the loops or the lack of and the marking of the trails to show you where you are thay had at least one set of riders lost while we were there thay should mark the intersections better and get them to corespond with the map like vast does my town i thought it was bad for trail markings i take it all back that area sucks ill try other areas after more snow comes

Go to the county, 2 1/2 - 3 feet. Off trail there is 1/4 inch of ice on top of the snow from rain and freezing rain, but the rail beds rocked! From Caribou to Van Buren and back around the Border trail to Limestone was pristine. Never had a ride like that in the Forks, jackman, Rangely in my life. That is the place to go if you want to go riding. No disappointments there, drive the extra 3-4 hours you will be glad you did!!! Check my post for pictures.

Hey fellow Vermonter:
I ride in Maine also and you can't beat Kokadjo for a great location to ride out of. Fred and Marie will never give you a bogus snow report and they are great people! Try them next time you won't be dissapointed. :beerchug: :beerchug: :fluffy: :fluffy:

Hmm, thought they had snow in Vermont for you Vermonters.... :div20:

The Forks is well know for having bogus trail reports.

They do and speed limits also, that's why we like to ride in Maine. Also to many ex city folks around here. One new one asked our friend not to park his sled in front of his own house because they didn't like snoiwmobiles! Also asked my father in law not to cut down his trees because they were part of thier view! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

the forks trails down right suck..they lie about there snow amounts, and its always way over crowded..


Who cares if its a "quality" lodge when the trails around it suck balls?


Ive avoided the forks the last 3 years, and still plan to..

I went through The Forks last year for the first time and I will never go through there again, I will go the long way around before I go through there again.

I think the reason they suck is because you have all the tourist renting sleds and driiving out from there.

Northern outdoors gets their report from a club report.
I just looked on the SledMaine site and that is where they get their report from, from what I can see. The report came from KENNEBEC SCENIC SNO-RIDERS club.

Maybe if some of you joined more clubs or volunteered your time to help work on trails instead of playing on the internet bitching about how shitty the trails are, then next time you go riding things will be better. Are you all that F**KING STUPID to think that you're going to go to an area like this the last week in December and be riding in 2 feet of powder with perfectly groomed trails?

You're all old enough to know that this area of Maine doesn't usually get good until at least mid-January. Just because you are stupid and try to rush and plan vacations in December, don't start threads about The Forks trails sucking. THERE ISN'T ENOUGH SNOW.

When a trail report says "we have 10-20 inches of snow" and then later states that "early season conditions exist, there are washouts, rocks stumps, you must use caution" What do you think you're going to get?

Trail reports always make conditions sound better than they are. If you're stupid and believe them, you have no one to blame but yourself. Why don't you do something to help the cause instead of bitching on the internet?

:fight: :cn:

Sorry bizerk..i just get fired up when i see a thread about people bashing a part of the state when it's all due to lack of snow. I agree that it sucks when people and businesses exaggerate trail reports...but there are a lot of VERY hardworking people in that area who dedicate a big part of their lives to making it a good area to ride in.

It's not appropriate to ruin the reuptation of a town that caters to snowmobilers just because people have bad experiences when they try to ride too early in the season.

Yeah people should know when they go to the snow base maps that there isnt that much snow in the forks. Im going up next weekend, but i plan on trailering further north and finding the snow instead of just hoping on the trail in any old place.

Yes people the Forks sucks, go ride in the county. I want there to be less riders in the forks, definately way too many yahoos. Never enough snow so stay at home.

where are you headed next weekend "ridelimitedfirecats"

Jim Yearwood owns the Northern Outdoors!
The place sucks big time.

Hey ME 600, cool it. You don't know what we do for our clubs. I'm pissed at what they said in print, in person in the lodge and even what there groomers said when we headed out. All they have to do is be honest and they will get repeat bussiness. What we went trough Fri night was the worst any of us had ever seen, those trails should have been closed. They said it was fine a few miles from the lodge but it was 10 times worst. There was no rain or hi temps the day before we got there so conditions should have been a lot more accurate. We all overheated and did 30 miles in 3 1/2 hrs. You think any of those 30 people renting sleds for $250 for 8 hrs will ever come do it again there. They also have a $1500. amount on credit card in case something happenes to sled. I don't know what would happen if one cooked in those conditions. We went on trails they said to go and it was horrific.

Why, where are you going "ME_600XCSP"?

I am headed to my uncle Jimmy's camp in the West Forks an 1/8th of a mile to Enchanted Outfitters if the weather changes and we get some snow between now and then (hope and pray the weather can change in a matter of hours, weatherman dont know what they are talking about half the time) if it doesnt snow we will probably go to the County. Im not sure. It was really expensive getting to Caribou. I bet we spent 500 bucks in gas alone. Filled truck up five times, filled sleds up three times. Truck takes 60X5=300 and sleds took 50 each time 50X3=150. So yeah I was close. It was 303 miles from Crown Park Inn to my house. My uncles camp is 120. Much rather not have to spend the money on gas and the room. Gas and room cost us 450+150. Then you got food and oil for sleds and other stuff.

Much easier going closer to home.

I have been to the Forks at the beginning of Feb. twice and both times the trail that goes into the Forks from Jackman/Eustis(do not know trail #) had 3 foot moguls. I believe that it is around 7 miles to that T intersection where you go right to Jackman and left to Eustis. There was plenty of snow on the trail both times and the condition were terrible. On the other hand I have been on the trail behind Northern Outdoors?? and the trail all the way back to Jackman was unbelievable.

I understand all the hard work that goes into trail maintance and I think you guys in the Forks and Rangely have a huge challenge to keep the trails flat because of the amount of traffic you get. This is also compounded because the trail system does not have many loops, so many times you are riding the same trails more than once.

Do not get me wrong, I have been out in Rangely first thing in the morning(7 AM to 9AM) and the trails were fantastic. Did 40 miles in under two hours. Again, it is the amount of traffic you get in a small system. I believe the Forks and Rangely have about 80 miles of trails where Jackman has about 200.

HOLY SHIT
Get a new truck, I go there a couple of times a year and we fill up once at our house, then once when we get off the high way in Houlton and once on our way back getting on the high way and the way gettingback is normalyonly like $20 so we spend about $120 getting there and back. And for filling the sledds well you hav eto do that no matter where you go riding :div20:

get a new truck? Its a 05 GMC Sierra.

Should we get an 06? :smilielol:

i think i was exaggerating on the gas a little bit. I know that we filled up twice both ways. The truck only holds like 22-25 gallons.

Hey chip dam you guys need a diesel. I think we spent about 200 in fuel and it is 450 or so from here, that was with a two place enclosed and a sled in the back with all the gear. I just got your PM. yeah the county doesnt have many jumps there are a few places, but up there we build them out of drifts and so a lot of carving. youll have to ride with us this year in stratton when we build some kickers and go back trailing.

sounds like a plan Jeremy

I for one am not refering to riding early in the season. I agree with you that the people that are bashing them for early season riding have no reason to say anything. But my experiance was smack dab in the middle of the season. I also stated that on the most part it was not their fault. The fault is that they are catering to the torist and that a lot of traffic goes through that one area.

No worries...I was just kiddin around with ya! :div20: :tease:

ridelimitedfirecats, i just saw a post that you wrote and i thought you said you were headed up next weekend. I saw you listed the Forks/Rangeley as 2 of your favorite areas so i was wondering if you were heading up that way. I am actually heading to the Forks this Friday and hoping to ride north out of there as i think you can find some decent riding that way. I hear you about how expensive it can get to trailer 4 hours to ride, it's nice to be able to drive 2 hours instead.

Rode to the forks from greenville today. the brochu road trail was good and the trail from greenville dump wasn't too bad. Still early season riding but a lot better than trailering several hours. Had lunch at northern outdoors. It was great as always. The forks trials were ok from berrys store down. 87 north sucked, went up about 10 miles and turned around. I guess it's better the closer you get to jackman. It's very important to remember there's still a lack of snow in the area, so be careful. Theres some great riding in the area to be had, but be careful

The forks doesn't really get good until the end of January normally.
As you can tell by this post, it's a little early to expect great trails there right now.
Like someone said earlier in the post, they are a business and aren't going to tell you it sucks so they can go bankrupt!!
This is why most people go there anyway.... :burp: :linemup: :beerchug: :beer: