ATV Adventures: The Paiute Trail Jamboree – mountain riding at its best
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- Mountain riding on the Cottonwood Trail, one of the trails featured at the Paiute Trail Jamboree.
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- Riding over the high point on the Cottonwood Trail. Mountain riding is a theme of the Paiute Trail Jamboree.
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- Threading the quakies on the Paiute Trails.
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- Climbing to the top of the Tushar Mountains, the best place on the Paiute Trail System to see mountain goats.
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- Mining history is a theme of the trails that start in Marysvale.
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- Lynn Blamires
Registration is open for the 2024 Paiute Trail Jamboree. Held in Marysvale in the middle of the Paiute Trail System, this OHV jamboree is packed with some of the best mountain riding in Utah and more fun than anyone should be allowed to have. The dates are Aug. 7-10 and the event is free to attend. Go to https://paiutejam.com to sign up for the event. You can order meals and jamboree T-shirts, hoodies and hats. A catered menu is listed on the registration form.
Local fare has more to offer now if you prefer. In addition to Coaches Dog House and Tomatoes Pizza Pie, the Paiute Trails Diner has opened as a Mexican diner serving breakfast. The Prospector Café has reopened with a breakfast and lunch menu and a new place called the Old 89 Café is open at 11:30 a.m.
The jamboree starts early to host those who arrive that Tuesday. A food truck rally will open for service at event headquarters in Marysvale Park from 6-9 p.m.
A special “Paint Night” is being offered with a $20 charge for participating. This event features a local artist who will provide a canvas and coax the artist in you to create a work of art. Last year, this was a successful event.
Check-in begins Wednesday morning from 7-11:30 a.m. While you have registered for the jamboree, ride sign-up is on location. It is wise to arrive early because the rides are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Guided rides are limited to 30 machines and will be offered Thursday and Saturday. Trails are well-marked with colored disks on the ground at each turn to indicate the direction of travel so you don’t have to worry about riding close to the rider in front of you. You can stop to take pictures and ride at your own pace. Because everyone is encouraged to ride at their own pace, expect riders to pass slower ones. A rider will be following to pick up the disks.
After choosing rides, you can participate in a self-guided poker run from 10 to 3 p.m. Hands can be purchased for $5 each or five for $20. If you lose your money there, you can try your luck marking a handful of bingo cards at 4 p.m. If you can’t win there, give up and go to the opening ceremonies and the event kickoff at 5 p.m. and enjoy the dinner at 5:30 — you have already paid for that.
Thursday starts early with a 7 a.m. breakfast followed by staggered starts for the day’s rides. Returning from the rides, you can chase your luck at another round of bingo. Following dinner at 6 p.m., a night ride will begin at 9. Night rides have become more popular because riders have been lighting up their machines like Christmas trees. What better time to turn on these lights than at night? I love a good ride at night.
Friday is a day of events in the park and an open riding day. A “Show and Shine” will start the events followed by a blind man’s obstacle course. Now, any man who rides with a navigator every day will do well in this event. The only difference will be that the blindfold will require him to listen to the navigator.
The next event is called UTV soccer. Here, the driver has to guide a 6-foot-high soccer ball through the goalposts. It gets quite comical because nobody has learned to do this very well. Next is the King of the Trail Competition, an obstacle course navigated without a blindfold. The last events are the kids mud races and a belly flop contest. Kids line up to flop in the mud — go figure. An award ceremony with door prizes follows dinner and then a second night ride at 9 p.m.
Saturday will be like Thursday with staggered starting times for the rides. A description of the rides is found on the website under “Jamboree.” They are easy to plot on a Paiute Trail map but be prepared to be excited if you do.
Two new rides are being offered: an overnight ride under the stars on Monroe Mountain sponsored by Hoover’s Resort and an early morning ride on the Tushars led by County Commissioner Sam Steed to see the mountain goats.
This event is getting bigger and better. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and come to Marysvale for fun.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.
