ATV TRAILS ABOUND AROUND LAKE OF THE WOODS

LAKEOFTHEWOODSMN.COM ne of northern Minnesota’s most favored recreation spots in the fall occupies over 1,400 miles of ATV trails and accessible roads in the greater Beltrami area. Thousands of acres of prime ATV destinations surround Lake of the Woods which is host to a variety of nice resorts and hotels, and of course, great places to eat and drink.

Off-highway vehicles can be driven on all state forest trails that are not designated as off limits for environmental or safety reasons. Put these state forests on your fall color exploration bucket list:

Beltrami Island State Forest - west of Baudette spanning 66,903 acres

Pine Island State Forest - east of Baudette encompassing 878,040 acres

Northwest Angle State Forest - north end of Lake of the Woods County has 144,412 acres to explore.

ONX TRAIL GUIDES SHARE BEST TRAILS, TOOLS, AND TIPS TO ENHANCE YOUR EXPERIENCE

here’s little question onX Offroad has been fast-tracking their influence into the off-road and snowmobile trail and adventure riding space over the last couple of years. Aside from continually improving and expanding their mapping technology and features, they’ve also been building a grassroots team of trail guides representing tires and tracks on the ground.

The trail guides are a passionate team of enthusiasts, dedicated to getting off-pavement, exploring new trails, and empowering the off-road community with the most comprehensive set of offline data available. They follow the long meandering lines on the map, charting existing trails, and bringing them to life with photos, descriptions, and difficulty ratings.

If you’re already an onX user, you’ve likely seen the trails highlighted in blue on your onX Offroad map–those are our Featured Trails, and they’re exceptionally cool because each one was diligently mapped by onX Trail Guide. Tapping on one opens an expertly-crafted trail and will open up full descriptions, photos, and ratings. The trail guides help elevate the offroad experience and they collect a ton of epic stories along the way.

Given the intimate level of trail knowledge these guides have in areas across the country, Midwest Rider will be introducing you to these ambassadors in a series of quick interviews. You’ll discover who the people behind the trails are, what they drive, and what it’s like chasing off-road adventures.

Meet Brett and Lizzy Siegel

Brett and his wife Lizzy call the open road home. They’ve explored endless miles and mapped dozens of trails during their tenure as trail guides. Many onX maps in the western region wouldn’t be what they are without trail guides like the Siegels, and that’s worth celebrating.

Tell us a bit about yourself and why you offroad?

I’ve been off-roading since I was a kid. One thing led to the next, I started going every weekend, bought more and more rigs, and then got into overlanding so I could add more camping into the adventure. Lizzy and I had a 5-year plan to get out of debt to take to the road full time. We made sacrifices, worked hard, and hit the road in 2019 in our “house van,” a 2012 Ford E-350, built out with all of life’s essentials, including a trailer for the dirt bikes. We’re always on the move, diving deep into an area to really understand what it has to offer. That connection is important to us, and one reason why the onX Trail Guide program is so appealing.

One of the things we like best about onX is when the Midwest Rider crew wants to find great trails in areas that are new to us, we can rely on certain trails that guides like you deem as favorites. What makes a certain route a favorite for you? We seek the ones that take a little more planning and commitment to get there. The Slate Creek to Robinsons Bar Trail in Idaho is one such trail. It winds along the Salmon River outside of Stanley, Idaho, up into the hills and back down to its banks. It’s not very well-traveled and we’ve had to stop to move rockfall off the trail before. We love finding those perfect campsites and this trail doesn’t disappoint.

If you were given enough money and time to go off-roading anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Iceland – it’s so epic! We’d go for the offroading AND the hot springs. One thing I love about onX is that it helps us navigate to endless amounts of cool places. Some are right there on the map, and some take a sharp willingness for exploration to sleuth out. We love the thrill of researching and finding new hot springs well beyond the crowds.

What’s your favorite thing to cook on the trail?

We call it “adult mac and cheese.” We have a stovetop oven in our van, which is the best. We make mac n cheese, add broccoli and mushrooms, natural beef sausages, and Hatch chilis.

Trail guide ambassadors for onX represent riding enthusiast who are willing to go above and beyond to deliver the best quality content to the off-road community. They’re passionate about getting outdoors, and always looking to explore what’s around the next bend. Each year onX looks for new guides and as part of the program provide cash rewards, invites to industry events, exclusive gear, and partner discounts. The program is closed for 2023 but check back at onxmaps.com to learn when applications for 2024 open up. Until then subscribe to onX and discover the new routes and new adventures for yourself.

Free Onx Access When You Subscribe To Midwest Rider

There has never been a better time to subscribe to Midwest Rider. Because right now, for a limited time, all active Midwest Rider subscribers can receive 2 FREE MONTHS of access to onX Offroad Elite. Simply visit midwestriders.com and click on subscribe at the bottom of the page. Once you sign-up you’ll be given a link to redeem your onX Offroad Elite membership. See you on the trail.