Opening day for ATVs on state trails to be Tuesday, says DCNR

Opening day for all-terrain vehicles to access designated trails in state forests statewide will be Tuesday — four days earlier than usual — the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Monday.

DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced that opening day is occurring four days before the start of the normal season — typically the Friday before the Memorial Day holiday — to reduce opening weekend crowding and provide more opportunities for social distancing.

“In most years, the opening weekend and other holiday weekends throughout the summer tend to draw large amounts of ATV enthusiasts to trails,” Dunn said.

“While ATV riders ride on separate machines at distances farther apart than 6 feet, the parking areas will be crowded on the bigger weekends, including the opener.

“DCNR is opening the trails several days early to spread out the crowds and allow for greater social distancing practices as part of covid-19 mitigation efforts,” Dunn said.

The opening date also applies to designated motorcycle trails in Bald Eagle State Forest in Union County, including a dual sport trail running through the Seven Mountains region and a trail for off-highway motorcycles on Shade Mountain.

ATV riding is only permitted on designated trails in Pennsylvania state forests. State forest roads, state parks, and state game lands are not open to ATV riding.

The DCNR website has 11 designated ATV trails on state forest lands.

All ATVs in Pennsylvania — except ATVs used solely for business or agricultural purposes — need to be registered and titled.

There are approximately 170,000 registered ATVs in Pennsylvania.

All ATV registrations scheduled to expire through May 31 have been extended until June 30, 2020.

Rangers and forest district staff are actively patrolling and will enforce regulations.

People who live in areas still under stay-at-home orders should not travel long distances for outdoor recreation and instead should look for opportunities close to home, Dunn said. ATV riders are encouraged to use the trail system closest to their home and to keep riding opportunities on private recreation areas in mind as well.

To help avoid exposure to COVID-19 and protect others and still enjoy the outdoors, Dunn suggests traveling to locations with people who live under the same roof, adhere to social distancing, wear a mask when encountering other people, use hand sanitizer regularly, avoid touching your face, eyes and nose, cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with a tissue or flexed elbow and, if you are sick, stay home.

Pennsylvania has 121 state parks, and 20 forest districts.

Information about ATV riding in state parks and forests is available on the DCNR website.