ARRIVE & DRIVE UTV/ATV DESTINATIONS

On Aug 29, 2024

ARRIVE & DRIVE UTV/ATV DESTINATIONS

Manufacturer adventure companies’ top outfitters By the staff of Dirt Wheels

Arrive & Drive UTV racing programs, like G3 Motorsports (August 2023) and ARD Racing, are all the rage right now, and three major manufacturers have subsidiary adventure companies that provide powersports enthusiasts with destination vacations in some of the country’s and planet’s most beautiful and diverse locations. Polaris started the OHV “playcation” trend with Polaris Adventures, which has more than 200 outfitters that provide guided tours and rentals of UTVs, ATVs, Slingshots, pontoon boats, snowmobiles and motorcycles. Several outfitters have reached Polaris Premium Adventure status, and Polaris also launched Polaris Adventures Plus two years ago with Base, Plus and Ultimate membership programs for frequent fliers. Can-Am formed Uncharted Society, and its outfitters have off-road, on-road, water and snow adventures utilizing Can-Am/BRP UTVs, ATVs, Lynx, Sea-Doos, Ski-Doos, Alumacraft, and Manitou boats. The website lists 114 ATV/UTV adventures in the USA, Canada, and Australia. Yamaha actually started its program before Can-Am, but recently re-branded it as Destination Yamaha, and adventures cross its entire product line with outfitters in 20-plus states.

Destination Yamaha’s mission statement is being the leader in providing customers an inspirational experience to explore new terrain, new vehicles and new destinations, and they’re very serious about safety, as are Polaris Adventures and Uncharted Society. Outfitters have pro shops to provide loaner helmets, goggles, gloves and jerseys, and over-the-ankle boots and long pants are also mandatory. Drivers must be 21 years old or older with a valid driver’s license, and each program has its own safety training videos and safety meetings before departing.

While some of these Polaris Adventures, Uncharted Society and Destination Yamaha outfitters are attached to OHV resorts, many aren’t, so we’ll follow the style of our “Editors’ Choice Resorts.” Here are 12 Arrive & Drive destinations and outfitters.

Can-Am’s Uncharted Society has outfitters with tours or rentals in Arizona, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, West Virginia, Canada, and New South Wales. Utah is especially popular for its wide variety of OHV adventures—from the Sand Hollow State Park to Paiute trails to Moab.

SKIP BARBER OFF-ROAD ACADEMY
Location: 1025 Race Plex Drive, Alton, Virginia
Contact: www.skipbarber.com/offroad, (866) 932-1949

Skip Barber has been training on-road race drivers since 1975, so there’s no better place for a beginning SxS driver to gain off-road driving experience than the Skip Barber Off-Road Academy. The three-day curriculum begins in the classroom, with expert instructors explaining the basics, then they teach basic exercises on a coned course with Yamaha RMAX2 and RMAX4s. Day one ends with a trail ride and ROHVA certification. Day two is spent tackling going up and down hills. Day three is recovery, towing and self-recovery with winches, plus convoy protocol. Last, instruction covers a night ride with night-vision goggles. Off-road legend Ricky Johnson teaches special forces soldiers off-road techniques much the same way. The Destination Yamaha outfitter teaches anyone to access their full potential and safely explore the outdoors.

All three manufacturer adventure companies have tour/rental outfitters in Alaska. Destination Yamaha has outfitters in Anchorage, Denali, Ketchikan, and Snowhook. All have great adventures in America’s largest and grandest state.

SNOWHOOK ADVENTURE GUIDES OF ALASKA
Location: 23800 Long Lake Road, Willow, Alaska
Contact: snowhookadventures.com, (907) 414-4547

What OHV enthusiast wouldn’t want to experience the grandness of Alaska? Destination Yamaha invited Dirt Wheels to one of its four Alaskan outfitters, Snowhook Adventure Guides of Alaska, for their 3.5-hour Hatcher Pass adventure in RMAX2 and RMAX4s. Majestic mountain passes, valleys etched by glaciers, and snowmelt inundated trails await the awestruck adventurers, plus there is gold panning, berry picking and mine history. Yamaha put us up in RVs by Great Alaskan Holidays and also took us fishing for rainbow trout. Snowhook also has Midnight Sun tours May through August, and the Hatcher Pass tour runs from May to October. There is also dog-sled and ATV tours; rates go from $225 for Kodiak ATVs, $350 for RMAX2s, $400 for RMAX4s and up to $550 for Viking VIs. The other Destination Yamaha outfitters are Denali ATV Adventures, Alaska ATV Adventures in Anchorage, and Ketchikan Adventures.

Destination Yamaha has five outfitters in Utah, and RMAX or Kodiak adventures in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Georgia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. There are many more adventures utilizing Yamaha’s entire spectrum of vehicles, including dirt and street bikes.

BEAVER CREEK LODGE UTAH
Location: 12800 US-89, Garden City, Utah
Contact: beavercreeklodge.com, (435) 946-7710

Utah boasts five national parks and the country’s only mountain range that runs east-west, and the Beaver Creek Lodge is at the northern tip of Utah by Bear Lake. Explore north Utah’s and south Idaho’s hundreds of miles of groomed snowmobile (or tracked Defender Cabs) trails in winter or by ATV or UTV in the other seasons. As an Uncharted Society outfitter, they rent Commander Max XTs, Maverick Trails, Maverick X3 MX Turbos and Defender Maxes from May through October. They also have tours like Cowboy Prayer to Bloomington Lake and Bear Lake to the Minnetonka Market. Patrons can also go horseback riding.

PLAY DIRTY TOURS
Location: 2550 US-50, Cotopaxi, Colorado
Contact: www.playdirtyatvtours.com, (719) 275-7373

Log onto the Uncharted Society off-road tours page, and Play Dirty Tours is at the top of the list. This veteran-owned outfit has tours in the Colorado Springs and Wellvsille areas, and tours include Inspiration Point, Pike’s Peak, Over-look Classic-Wellsville and Classic 2/Sgt. Nulph. Advanced ATV riders can also take on the Texas Creek Trail System. See and learn more at
[email protected].

**Utah’s Mad Moose is a Polaris Adventures outfitter with two locations in Hurricane, and they offer several tours and adventures with spectacular scenery and challenging trails.**

MAD MOOSE AND MAD MOOSE/QUAIL CREEK
Location: 5665 W. Clubhouse Drive, Hurricane, Utah; 472 5300 West, Hurricane, Utah
Contact: www.madmooserentals.com, (435) 200-5332, (435) 200-9399

Mad Moose Rentals is a Polaris Adventures outfitter with two locations in Hurricane, Utah, home of the spectacular Sand Hollow State Park. They do guided tours to Babylon Arch, Silver Reef, Toquerville Falls, Sand Mountain Dunes, the majestic West Rim Trail, Cliffs of Insanity, the Flintstone House, Warner Valley, and they also have a Sand Hollow Sunset tour. If you’ve never experienced the beauty of Sand Hollow and the Hurricane area, which is in between Zion and Capital Reef National Parks, this is a great way to broaden your horizons. Mad Moose is also partnered with Sand Hollow Resort for those looking for vacation rentals.

**These Outriders Northwest customers are showing how much fun they’re having, & all three manufacturers are banking on attracting future customers to their brand.**

KANAB TOUR COMPANY
Location: 681 Chinle Drive, Kanab, Utah
Contact: kanabtourcompay.com, (435) 644-5525

South and east of Zion National Park, Kanab Tour Company is a Polaris Adventures outfitter that runs ATV/UTV tours and also does rentals. Tours include the epic Grand Canyon North Rim, Inchworm Arch, White Pocket, East Zion, Peekaboo Slot Canyon and Hog Canyon. Tours start at $289, and you can even tour petroglyphs.

ROCK PIRATES AND ICE PIRATES
Location: 957 Greene Street, Silverton, Colorado
Contact: [email protected], (970) 247-3706

Started in 2015, Rock Pirates rents RZR XP and XP 4 1000s, Generals, and Rangers during the thawed-out seasons and snowmobiles through the winter. The Polaris Adventures outfitter has a main store and pro shop in rustic downtown Silverton, which banned ATVs and UTVs from its streets, and they shuttle customers out of town to the trailhead. Take guided or self-guided tours of Colorado’s stunning San Juan Mountains, and tours include the Alpine Loop, Animas Fork Ghost Town, California Pass and Silverton area. Climb above the tree line and view wildlife, and every rental is fitted with a GPS tablet and NOAA Emergency Locator beacon that can be activated in case of breakdown or accident. Rentals start at $325. Silverton is south of Ouray, “America’s Alps,” and tourists can take a narrow-gauge train from Silverton to Durango (“Lumpy” did a Moose Racing ride, and we loaded the bikes on a flat car for the ride to Silverton).

Dirt Wheels visited Eagle’s Canyon Raceway and took a lap around the Ivan Stewart-designed 1.3-mile off-road course last year, and here is one of the early X3s. We’re returning for ECR’s open house when they’ll launch its revamped off-road program with guest instructors Cody and Hunter Miller, Scott Champion, and Shawn Hess. Stay tuned!

OUTRIDERS NORTHWEST
Location: 51356 Russell Road, La Pine, Oregon
Contact: www.outridersnorthwest.com, (541)688-7433

Oregon has a lot of good riding other than the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and Polaris Outfitter Outriders Northwest has several ATV and UTV tours to the Bend Badlands, Cascade Lakes, a Cascade Alpine loop, volcanoes, caves, high desert and the Lava Run. That’s a lot of different terrains and environments to explore and hone your off-road skills.

ADRENALINE ATV TOURS
Location: 3165 N. Moapa Road, Logandale, Nevada
Contact: www.adrenalieatvtours.com, (702)289-5427

Only one Destination Yamaha outfitter offers YZX1000R tours—Adrenaline ATV Tours has three-hour tours of the Valley of Fire. Adrenaline also rents ATVs, RS1s and RZRs, and they have a 7000-square-foot pro shop and service center. Adrenaline is rated as one of the top-eight things to do in Las Vegas. If you don’t want to spend all day in a casino or shopping, grab Adrenaline’s shuttle to Logandale, which is close to the Moapa Indian Reservation. See petroglyphs and Big Horn Sheep as you explore the Valley of Fire.

Outriders Northwest is a Polaris Adventures outfitter with several adventures across a wide range terrains and environments in Oregon. Polaris also has outfitters with adventures in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

ADRENALINE DRIVEN ADVENTURES
Location: 750 1/4 Horizon Drive, Grand Junction, Colorado
Contact: www.adacgj.com, (970)623-3888

While on a Harley tour of southwest Colorado, Lumpy came across Adrenaline Driven Adventures and set up an afternoon teaser tour with the Polaris Adventures outfitter. What really piqued his interest was they had him sign a medical release. Unfortunately, a storm blew through and postponed the tour to a quick sunset run to the local mesas. Adrenaline Driven has access to more than 500,000 acres of public lands and offers tours in all terrain types and environments. RZR tours include Rattlesnake Arch, Bangs Canyon, Cactus Park, Rabbit Valley and Grand Mesa. There is also dunes and rock crawling, and Adrenaline Driven also rents Slingshots, dirt bikes, RZRs and trailers from their pro shop.

NORTHWOODS POWERSPORTS ADVENTURES
Location: 10209 Kemp Lane, Crandon, Wisconsin
Contact: www.northwoodspowersportsadventures.com, (920)889-5367

Crandon International Raceway (CIR) is “The Big House” of short-course racing (see “10 Bucket-List Events”), and Northwoods Powersports Adventures is an Uncharted Society outfitter that offers fun family tours of the woods surrounding CIR. Northwoods also rents Outlanders, Commander Max 700s, Maverick X3s, and Defenders, and they also have locations in Lakewood and Kewaunee with tours and rentals for riding the woods of Lakewood and the Kewaunee County Riverview ATV Park. NPA also has snowmobile rentals and tours in the winter months.

We’ve covered Polaris Adventures outfitters in Silverton, Colorado; Sedona and Wickenburg, Arizona; and Mojave, California. Rock Pirates’ Alpine Loop and California Pass tours are our favorites. All Polaris UTVs are fitted with GPS tablets for self-guided tours and NOAA emergency beacons.

EAGLE’S CANYON RACEWAY AND OFF-ROAD
Location: 7629 N FM-51, Decatur, Texas
Contact: www.eaglescanyon.com, (817) 583-9476

Eagle’s Canyon Raceway (ECR) is a world-class motorsports facility with a 2.7-mile FIA-spec road course with 15 turns and 200 feet of elevation change, and the campus has a training center with simulators, drivers’ lounge, and cafeteria, equipment shed, team garages, Concierge Motorsports, shock dyno and alignment station, race shops, pro shop, condos, race headquarters, and VIP viewing building. ECR members hone their driving and then racing skills during Introductory and Advanced Performance Days (IPD and APD) and then race craft training. ECR instructors guide drivers through with classroom instruction, simulators, skid-pad drills and on-track skills exercises using either the members’ own cars or their high-performance sports cars.

ECR also paid Ivan “Iron Man” Stewart to design and lay out a 1.3-mile SxS short-course, and they’re developing an off-road training program using Spec-class Maverick X3 Turbos built by Miller Brothers Motorsports. The goal is to attract new racers or convert road racers to off-road greatness via instruction and technique training mirroring the on-road ECR program. They’re working out a curriculum and race rules and modifying the race circuit, and members can buy the Miller-built X3s and go racing. This is why we mentioned G3 Motosports and ARD Racing in the lead, and started the Arrive & Drive destinations with Skip Barber’s Off-Road Academy. ECR’s program is designed to elevate new racers to pro-level success and hopefully greatness.

Also, Eagle Canyon Off-Road is working on a partnership with Can-Am to become an Uncharted Society outfitter and take the Arrive & Drive concept to the next level.