In the days of old, a great battle was fought in this land of sagebrush and sand. Ten thousand warriors came together in fierce combat. For days the battle raged and many heroic deeds were done. But the battle lasted so long and the fighting became so fierce that the Gods became angered.
They called a great wind that blew for weeks. The wind was so great that the sand rose up and swallowed all of the warriors.
If you have the courage to open your soul and let the warrior’s spirit in, you will yourself become a great dune warrior. Then, if you listen carefully, you will hear the battle cries of those ancient desert warriors in the wind...
- Indian Legend (as told by DuneRatt.com)
Have you ever been sitting around in summertime and all the sudden your sand toys start calling your name? Right then you start thinking about how you can get your sand riding fix taken care of. All you duners that have been addicted to the speed of the big dunes and the sheer elegance of flowing from one huge bowl to another know exactly what I am talking about. We have all this money invested in the three “T’s” toys, toyhauler and tow vehicle so lets not be afraid to take a summer road trip to somewhere new and exciting. Plus any vacation to somewhere different is always a wonderful family experience that gives you stories for a lifetime.
So that’s what I did in August of this year, headed to Idaho to check out the 10,000 acres of smooth sand in the St. Anthony Sand Dunes. The first thing I did when planning this trip was do some research online to see where to stay, how far it was and the local riding rules. Next, I wanted to find an internet forum and talk to some of the locals to find out where the hot spots were. I did find a great web site covering the area www.duneratt.com, this site gave me all the information that I needed including a list of the three places to camp.
There are three campgrounds at St. Anthony’s: the first being the Elgin Lakes campground which is operated by the BLM. There are 10 “A” sites which are double sized so you can get more than one toy hauler in them; they run $30.00 dollars a night. Then, there are 18 “B” sites which are $16.00 per night and 20 “C” sites that are $12.00 per night. Electrical pedestals are available on the “A” and “B” sites for $5.00 per night. There is a community dump station but there are none available at the individual sites. As of now there are no advanced reservations accepted, first come first serve. The two privately owned campgrounds are Desert Oasis which is a mile and a half east of Elgin Lakes and Sand Hills Resort and is seven miles from the lake. All of the campgrounds have direct access to the dunes. I stayed at Sand Hills Resort which was very nice with a small store but they had RULES and if you are a party animal I think that they would rather have you stay somewhere else.
When I was there in mid August the weather was in the mid 80’s and quite good for riding. The dunes were very nice and smooth with good traction, not all whooped out at the bottom of the hills like some places. There are some really tall dunes on the west side, up to 425 feet tall which makes for some good racing. Not a lot of bowls but some really fast sections with great jumps everywhere. There was some brush at the bottom of some sections so if for some reason you didn’t make a hill you had to be careful when you turned around. The terrain had all kinds of different skill levels that was good for the whole family. Surrounding the 15 miles of sand dunes there was another 10,000 acres of marked trail riding. Just remember this is part of the Wilderness Study Area (WSA) so make sure you stay on the open sand or a designated marked trail if you want this riding area to stay open!!!
Idaho doesn’t have a helmet law for people less than 18 years of age and I was surprised at all the people I saw not wearing helmets on their quads. Off- road riding is dangerous so please wear your helmets, plus it sets a bad example for our kids. There is a whip law in place; it needs to be at least eight feet above level ground with a 6x12 inch red or orange flag.
I have heard a lot of people ask if you have to buy a “special use” pass for St. Anthony’s. I talked to the BLM Rangers at Elgin Lake and this is what they told me; Idaho residents must display a valid state ORV sticker, if you are from out of state you must have a valid registration sticker from the state you reside (i.e. Green Sticker for California residents ). This goes for all your toys, ATV, off-road vehicle, sand rail or motorcycle if you don’t have your sticker you could be cited for failure to register.
We had a great time!!!!!!!!!!! The dunes were not very crowded and the riding was fast. The sand and campgrounds were very clean with no trash or junk lying around. It was nice to see people trying hard to keep their riding spot clean for everyone. If you can swing a couple extra days when you are in Idaho, don’t forget that Yellowstone National Park is only a couple hours away. Maybe a bargaining chip? Remember be Safe and Have Fun!!!!!!!!!!!
For more information on St. Anthony’s Sand Dunes please visit www.Duneratt.com.
-THM
