Dirt Bikes and ATVs in the Salmon-Challis National Forest

Many motorized travelers like to head for Idaho’s mountain country. In the national forests north of Stanley you can find a number of back roads and trails where you can hop on a machine and explore the grand scenery for days.

Members of the Magic Valley Trail Machine Association have been heading up to this area for years. They say it’s appealing to be in a club like theirs because of the great camaraderie of the group, but they also like to teach others about their sport.

I guess the first goal would just be to properly educate people that are new to the sport to be respectful of the trail and the outdoors and then on the other side, to show people who don’t know anything about motorcycling or atv’s that it’s a good family sport and these aren’t wild people trying to tear up the countryside.
 —Jamey Wills, Pres. Magic Valley Trail Machine Association

For Gary and Brenda Smith and their two daughters riding dirt bikes has truly become a family affair. After Gary convinced his wife to start riding it was a natural to get his girls into the sport as well.

I think keeping motorcycling in the family for when I get older and have children would be really cool because you’d get to explore everything that my dad has already showed me that he did when he was a kid.
          —Mandy Smith, Dirt Bike Rider
 
I’ve grown up doing it and that’s my passion, that’s what I do…I’ll be doing it until I can’t do it any more.
                                        —Gary Smith, Dirt Bike Rider