# Haliburton,ON



## edtman (Jul 4, 2009)

Anyone been to Haliburton, Ontario. I've been researching, and it sounds cool. Would like to hear from someone who has been there. Planning to go April 29.


----------



## mrkd1 (Feb 27, 2009)

Never been there but lot's of trails on crown land and variety of terrain,everyone that rides it seems impressed. You'l need a trail permit to stay legal. 
For more info contact the local club if you haven't all ready
http://www.haliburtonatv.com/ they should be able to help more.
You can check or post for more info here also
http://www.mudhole.ca/viewforum.php?f=104


----------



## edtman (Jul 4, 2009)

Thanks for the reply, I found out that the first part of May is black fly season. The folks on the mudhole forum say, its no kind of joke. Also, the "Rail trail" which goes from town to town, doesnt open til June. Ill tell you one thing, there seems to be a real jurisdiction issue up there between the clubs. Apparently there are all sorts of trail permits required. We are going to hit WV instead. We'll try it up there in the fall.


----------



## mrkd1 (Feb 27, 2009)

Thats why I've never gone there, too confusing right now.
We ride east of that a couple of hours check our pictures under eastern Ontario.


----------



## edtman (Jul 4, 2009)

How is the weather/bugs in early October? I really want to check this place out.


----------



## BrutemanAl (Jul 3, 2009)

The bugs are pretty much gone come the middle of August , it can be confusing as to wich club runs which area , I have rode there and never had a problem before . The Haliburton , Minden area has some of the best riding in Ontario if you ask me , the Haliburton area has a ATV club that is very well run and they are on the trails all the timedoing checks for permits and so forth . You could also check out the Bancroft area , it has a ton of trails , most of which are crown land and you can go for miles . The only place you need a permit is when you get north of Bancroft into the Lake St Peter area ( been through this area alot and never have I seen another bike let alone someone checking for permits ) .

There is another place south of Bancroft on Weselmekoon Lake that is a camp site that Caters to Atvers , that is all it is open to , ATVers , you can ridefrom the campsite and go for days if you want . Plus I do believe it is fairly cheap to stay there also , wether in a trailer or a tent . Lots of options for you bud . Need any info , shoot me a Pm and ill help you out the best I can or lead you in the right direction at the least . If you do make it up here for a ride maybe I can met up with you and ride with ya .


----------



## carms_2 (Jul 21, 2010)

Ive rode all the Haliburton trails and the best is either Miserable lake or the goat trail. I wouldn't waste your time with five points or anything like that if you like deep water and mud. 

But the other two are incredible.

Another couple great runs up here are Sea-bright in Orilla and Cold water Just east of Barrie.

The rides are crazy up here. You'll love it.


----------



## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

When are ya'll going to WV? 08Beast lives there & they ride a lot of cool places. Maybe he could help you out.


----------



## edtman (Jul 4, 2009)

Staying in Carnarvon ON. My buddy and I are down with the mud but the old man sort of frowns on it, so we will probably be avoiding the pits unless there is a way around.


----------



## BrutemanAl (Jul 3, 2009)

The trails I rode on had ways around all the holes for the most part , a few you had no choice but they were not that bad . I have not rode 5 points , but I have heard it is pretty boring now , but thats just what I have been told .


----------



## edtman (Jul 4, 2009)

Well, we are back from Haliburton and had a great time. Thursday night, we rode the trail north of Minden. It was mostly rock and took forever. Probably not the best trail for a night ride. Friday, we rode the trail west of Gooderham. It rained all day, so there was plenty of mud in the valley's. Another endless trail of rock. Saturday, we rode a bunch of mix trails south of Dorset. We got a hold of a snowmobile map and were able to mix it up nicely. 

Overall, all of the trails were cool but, if you are going to charge people to ride a trail system, it should be more organized. 15 miles of solid rock gets a little old, there needs to be some intersecting trails of various difficulty. We were with the old man who is 65 and I kept thinking, what if something happens in here? Or if one of us break down. You are pretty much screwed. Also, a lot of those trails dump you out in the middle of nowhere, so you end up logging a ton of asphalt miles on busy highways.

However, once we found a snowmobile map, we were good to go. Im guessing we were not supposed to be riding on those trails since they were not on the ATV trail map. Those trails actually made sense. They went from town to town and had a bunch of ATV trails branched off of it.

All things considered, I will probably go back and would recommend to anyone interested, to get a snowmobile map and avoid any trail longer than 3 miles that does not have an intersection somewhere in it. Unless you are in to beating yourself up for 4 hours straight.


----------



## BrutemanAl (Jul 3, 2009)

you bet it is rocky !! Your right smack in the middle of the Canadian sheild , I do agree that the rock riding gets old after ohhhhhh about 1 mile lol . There are maps available that show all the atv trails , along with the snowmobile trails .

I agree the trail system up there can be confusing , thats why I always try to ride with someone that is familiar with them , not to mention the trail markers by that local club BLOW imho . I even emailed them and told them the markers for the trail systems are pretty weak . They told me I just need to pay better attention lol . 

I did a big run with a group a few yrs ago on the eastern portion of thier trails , we had a map given to us by them when we bought our trail permits , the map sucked , it fell apart after looking at it about 3 times , we were trying to get our bearings and not sure which way to go at a "Y" in the trail , I had to take a leak and stepped of the trail about 2 ft in some small bushes and looked up and in my face covered by bushes was a trail marker lol . You couldnt see it from the trail , it was hidden by tree's and things . So ya the trail system I feel should be better marked .

Glad you had a good time and you found it worth while , maybe next time if you do come back , let me know and maybe I will be able to meet up with you for a ride and I'll bring someone that is familiar with the trails even


----------



## edtman (Jul 4, 2009)

BTW Some serious sticker shock in Canada. BYOB smokes and gas.LOL


----------

