Riding in the hills??

[stumper]

is a forest service road a system road??? if so you may need a plate..thanks for making the 4 wheeler i have rode for ever useless now

Just think how much more useful it would be if you put a plate on it

[ridered80]

Well, being from Iowa, PLATES don't exist except for possible farm use. Here in Iowa all you need is a reistration sticker to ride our parks. (I did forget to say I'm from out of state.)
But, lets be realistic about it. I've traveled to numerous states to ride ATV's and never have I heard such a thing where ppl need license plates to ride an ATV. Are you kidding me? Why the hell woud I need a license plate, turn signals, mirrors, and a horn to be legal in the Hills? This makes it nearly impossible for ppl to come out of state to ride the Hills.
Hell, even Wyoming opens it doors to ATV's and they will let us ride in the Hills by just purchasing a sticker.

[Gunner]

What you don't understand is we DON"T have trails.  If you want to ride the road then you need a plate.  Ride the road ion Iowa and get a ticket.  I prefer having a plate and being fine to ride the road.  If I had to trailer my atv to the very few places I ride where a plate is not needed, then I could just as well sell the damn thing.  I think that SD is more atv friendly than neighboring states.   Try riding your atv around down town Des Moines and see what happens.  Nothing if if we ride down town Pierre.

[stumper]

Gunner is exactly right. The Trails that do exist in the hills are connected by roads. How would you like to have to trailer your machine to every trail? Or woud you rather ride it? The way it is I have NEVER heard of anyone getting a ticket for doing so if they are not screwing around .Thousands of out of State riders head to the Hills each yr without issues. Your mis-informed if you think you hAVE to be licensed to ride the hills.

[racingvillagekid]

yeah you can thank every one that shot this bill down for that..now how do morotcycles ride??? how does my own kid go ride with me?? answer me thoes.  i am just furious that i cant take my own son up on the trails that i learned to ride on! 

[stumper]

LOL, NOTHIN HAS CHANGED, you could take them out there last yr, you can take them this yr.  "trail stickers" wont make you legal to ride on the roads in the hills, so NOTHING has changed. Im not sure who is filling your head with this nonsence,but you need to wake up and realize you have lost nothing.

[toodeep]

I think you can legally ride the road if it is to get from one trail to another without plates in the hills. It just has to be done by their standards, might have to ride the ditch in some places.

[bottlerocket]

I will try and get some information from someone out there.  I am heading out to Rapid next Weds for state darts.  Plan on going to deadwood before coming home.

[helmjama]

state darts huh what you throwing in so i can tell the people running it to watch out for you. 

[bottlerocket]

Not running anywhere.  Hopefully able to stand let alone walk. LOl      Don't know for sure what pod we are in but plan on having fun. 

[ridered80]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to argue with anyone about the SD ATV Laws. As an out-of-state rider where licensing your ATV's DOES NOT EXIST, it just makes it harder for us to ride this Hills.
I understand that you can license SD ATV's to ride on streets and ditches and be legal. But, in the last 20 yrs that I've been riding (Thanks to Honda's BIG RED) I have never lived in a state where you can license your ATV to ride on paved roads.
Now, I've been to Wisconsin and Minnesota where you can ride on there paved roads and ditches that have posted ATV signs.
Like I said before (And yes, I know that this discussion has been going on for years,) I just wish that the Black Hills, yes I said the BLACK HILLS.....not Pierre, not Sioux Falls, not even Rapid City....was ATV friendly to Out-Of-Staters. I did investigate and I did call the Black Hills myself just a couple days ago and they said that EVEN out-of-staters need to have licensed ATV's to ride the forestry roads in the Hills.

But, like Toodeep said. I'm sure its OK to ride the forestry road as long as I'm getting trail to trail.
Remember, I'm not arguing anybody's opinions or explanations.
As an out-of-stater I would just like to know where/what I can and can't ride in the Hills. That's all.

[stumper]

That just the point though. Us being able to license our machines dont make it any harder for you. If we couldnt license them, the law would still be the same. they are forestry roads and a license is required  like any other road . Unfortunatly its just more user friendly to locals.You can ride for hours and not ride on one road that requires a licence out there.

[ridered80]

I would agree that SD is more user friendly for locals, and so it should be. I have not been to the Hills yet to experience the trails.
Black Hills Forestry just made it sound like the only real "trails" were forestry roads, and those are only accessible to licensed atv's. And that any atv caught unlicensed would pay hefty penalties blah, blah.

[racingvillagekid]

You are right ridered about the motorcycle plate used by atv's in South Dakota. Unless some changes are made at the forest service you will not be able to connect trails using roads, without a license plate. The other thing that comes into play with be kids. They will also not be able to connect trails as they have no drivers license. I know some people are trying to work with the forest service and hopefully get them to write it differently so roads can be used. State law says you have to have a plate to ride roads and forest service roads follow state laws. I would do your research before you ride out here once the trail system is introduced. I also dont see the forest service looking the other way if you bring kids out or ride unlicensed machines. I had heard they wrote warnings already last year. To give you an idea of whats at stake here. 2800 miles of roads, which alot of people actually think are trails. The southern hills has almost no trails and nothing but roads to ride. Just my two cents worth.

[Gunner]

The whole kids thing will be there with or without trails.  Just like snowmobile trails they are considered a public roadway and you need to be liscenced to ride on them.  That's what our CO told me when I had my 13 year old sister riding trails with us.  He let us off since My Wife took her sled then had my sister ride with me the rest of the way.  No different than a lawnmower, tractor, 49cc scooter, any motorized vehicle on a public roadway or trail can be driven by somebody without a permit.