ATV Adventures: Fun at the 35th Annual National ATV Jamboree
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- Arriving in Robins Valley for lunch. The foliage was lush with no signs of a drought here.
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- Leaving Robins Valley headed back down the mountain into Fillmore.
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- Lynn Blamires
Rolling into Fillmore for the National ATV Jamboree was like old home week. This was the first ATV jamboree I attended after I bought my first ATV back in 1993.
The year was 1996 and I was attending with my son, Brian. We were camping at the Wagon’s West RV Park.
At the time, street-legal machines were only a pipe dream. I loved being able to ride my ATV from the campground to the Pod on the square where the State Territorial House stands and where jamboree headquarters were set up. From the time we unloaded until the jamboree was over, all our travel was on ATVs.
We didn’t need to trailer to any trailhead from Fillmore, because most of the trails started right from town. Being new to the sport back then, all of these trails were new to me and I was very excited.
Twenty-six years later, pulling into town conjured up some of those old feelings about this jamboree. I thought I knew all the trails we would ride, but to my surprise I was treated to some that were new to me.
After 35 years, the organizers of this event have figured out the food menu. Each morning we had eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, yogurt and juice, with the exception of one morning when we were treated to made-to-order omelets and pancakes. Dinners consisted of tri-tip steak, Costa Vida burritos, Chinese noodle bowls and pulled pork sandwiches. It was well worth the $120 registration fee, to say nothing about the myriad of prizes given away every day.
Street-legal machines are now a reality, so we were able to ride from our motel to the Pod. My camping days are over — my definition of roughing it is a motel without a hot breakfast. We picked our rides and headed back to our motel only to find out that their hot breakfast has been temporarily substituted for a grab bag. We were roughing it after all.
After our first breakfast, we were ready to ride. As I stated earlier, I am well acquainted with these trails and I didn’t think they could show me anything new. They proved me wrong on the first ride.
We lined up and started up Chalk Creek Canyon. The first thing I noticed was that while the valley was dry, the mountains were lush with no evidence of a drought.
About 2 1/2 miles from our starting point, the trail splits. The Chalk Creek Canyon Road turns off to the left and is a restricted 50-inch trail. Having larger UTVs, we stayed on the New Chalk Creek Canyon Road. The trails rejoin near Copley Creek Campground. The 50-inch trail has some great water crossings and is a fun trail on a smaller machine.
At the mouth of Rocky Canyon, we started to climb from 6,400 feet. At points along this trail, the switchbacks afforded views of the trail below. We often caught glimpses of riders closer to the back of the line. We were spread out to avoid eating dust.
At 9,200 feet, we joined trail No. 01 — the main Paiute Trail. At that point, we could see across Bean Canyon to Beehive Peak. The peak is easy to identify, but only from our point of view. From the any other side of this landmark, it doesn’t look anything like a beehive.
Turning north on the Willow Creek Road, we moved along a ridge that gave great views into the valleys and the ranks of mountains in the distance. I usually follow trail No. 01 down into Salina, but today I got to take a trail that was new to me.
It was National Forest Road No. 96 and it took us on a right-hand swing around Willow Creek Peak and Jack’s Peak. Both were unremarkable because at our altitude, they stood less than 200 feet above us.
We soon turned off the forest road into Robins Valley. It was more like a depression, but it was beautiful, lush, and it featured a small lake. It was no surprise to learn that it was named Robins Lake. It was a secluded place with plenty of shade to have lunch, so we did.
After lunch, we headed back the way we came finishing a ride of about 65 miles. When you go, take plenty of water, keep rubber side down, and you will love the trails from Fillmore that connect to the Paiute Trail System.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.