I am interested in knowing what you guys are interested in when it comes to park reviews.

Such as what machines are best for the park, difficulty of trails, etc...

I think for most folks...It would be difficulty of the trail and what terrain is it on... such as rocks, streams, mud, mountains, etc..
To rank a trail and keep it consistant...I think you would need a difficulty scale developed.... Such as a 1 to 5 rating with 5 being the most difficult.... 1 being the easiest would be described as flat land trails with moderate hills on hard pack terrain with no mud or rocks....And then move on up to number 2, being some mountain trails with moderate mud,ETC....and SO ON...
Of course...5 would be serious mud or rock climbing and the such....

I would rate them beginning with first impression.

Facility set up correctly for ATVing, parking and unloading etc...

Staff friendly or not.

Cost.

Rules.

Bang for Buck. Is it worth the drive.

Rate the trail on maybe a scale of one to three. Include length of ride and type of riding.

Finally I would cover any other amenities available such as lodging, store, restaurant, camp sites etc...

That would be some typing and a bundle of info. I would cover it in order how it happened. Take notes as you go or get a small digital recorder. Hint on the digital recorder, get one with a USB connection. I like Olympus.

Cool, thanks for the input guys.

Gomer, let me ask you this. As we all know the rock riding/rock crawling we have down south consist of old dry creek beds, and out west where you guys are at is totally different.

How do you suggest we do a scale when we are talking about parks, and difficult trails out west, compared to our difficult and rocks in Arkansas.

What may be a 5 in Arkansas for rocks, in difficulty may be a 2 in Colorado. Do we have two different ratings one for places like Moab, and one for places in Arkansas? If you know what I mean.

For me being a family guy in which everybody rides....I would like to know if there are some areas that are kid friendly. Whether or not motorcycles are a viable option. Campsites, restrooms, cell phone coverage sport quad or utility type riding.
I'm sure there's more but that's all I've got for now.

Thanks,

Ryan

Thanks Ryan, I ll be sure to add that in. Now that I have a little boy, I am beginning to think can he ride in these parks eventually. Good point.

That could be tough. I would like to say rocks are rocks, but that is too simple IMO. Have to give this some thought.

quote:

Originally posted by Gomer:
That could be tough. I would like to say rocks are rocks, but that is too simple IMO. Have to give this some thought.

Its like this compared to some of the pics Cob posted from Moab or CO.

That is actually very similar. I know pictures never show the incline. That is probably steeper than it looks. The difference in terrain may not be the problem I perceived. More mountain folks need to chime in.

glad to see your head protection ! HA

quote:

Originally posted by extex:
glad to see your head protection ! HA

We try

Hey your now on the right track. doing great
just having a little fun

I think you do a perty darn good job already, as far as the difficulty level, maybe some pics,,and for the rocks,it might be rock,,big honkin rocks, boulders,,but pics are always the best illustrater.

The pic above illustrates some serious terrain and similar to terrain found here in Colorado, even though that pic has a rain forrest look about it.

As far as rocks or climbing, give a brief explanation of the area such as a dry river bed or moderate rocky incline and then you could rate the incline difficulty and the size of rocks that you have to traverse.

And like all the others have said. What surrounds the park? What kind of lodging and dining is in the area? Would it be a good weekend vacation to go to? Is it RV friendley?
Is it expensive to ride? How are the people that run the park? What are the rules of the park?

You could use a system similar to the ones in ski resorts...
and build from there...??

Thanks 2pfspiff, that is a good suggestion on putting the rocks in context, like river beds, mountains, etc...

Burner, those ski resorts do have those reviews down pat. Good point.