Whether you are an avid ATV enthusiast or have joined the masses and own one of the many different models of side-by-sides available on the market these days, chances are you enjoy as much time as possible riding and exploring the great outdoors with friends and family.
If you live in the southwestern United States, you have plenty of choices when it comes to riding areas and the types of terrain that go along with each of them. The dunes are highly popular during the winter months, while the mountains are a favorite during the hotter, summer months. In Arizona, Nevada and southern California, the mighty desert holds a strong attraction to off-roaders any time of the year and can be quite beautiful in its own way.
With that wild beauty comes some risk, however. High heat, very little natural water, poisonous reptiles and unmarked mines and cut-outs can quickly change a fun outing into something a bit more serious. This is why we have compiled a list of some safety precautions aimed just at desert riding.
Preparation Is Key
No matter where you are riding, and no matter what you are riding on or in, taking some time to prepare for your trip can mean the difference between a fun trip and a not-so-great one. We always suggest to first find out as much as you can about the area you plan to ride in. With the help of the internet, this can be done quickly and fairly easily—it’s amazing what a search on “Google” will come up with when you punch in a few key words. Forums are also a great place to find out about riding areas and ask questions and many times you can find online maps and GPS information as well. Books on well-known jeep trails and park information are also handy and can provide some detailed (if not completely up-to-date) information as well.
Once you have all of the information you need about where you are going, making sure you pack some tools and spares is also important. Some people go out with the bare minimum—a tow strap—and we suppose that’s a start. However, we suggest a small tool kit with the most important tools in it, including a socket that will fit your lug nuts, a set of screwdrivers, a pair of needle-nose pliers and a crescent wrench. Multi-tools are also popular and can be easily stored in a glove box or tool bag.
If you are in a UTV, a spare front tire is always suggested and can mean the difference between being stuck somewhere and ending your day early or spending a quick 10 minutes on a tire change and continuing your journey. A front 9-inch tire can be used on the front or rear if necessary, so there is no need to bring two different sizes for a spare if your rear tires are wider than your fronts.
If you are on an ATV, then a handy can of Fix-A-Flat, or equivalent, can definitely help salvage the day. In addition, tire plug repair kits almost always come in handy.
The other extremely important tool, which should always be with you on any ride, is a cell phone. Most of us can’t live more than five minutes without our cell phones (so writing this may be a bit redundant), but it is something that is so important it still needs to be said. For emergency situations alone, a cell phone is ultra important for reaching help as quickly as possible, should something unexpected happen. Of course, for the younger crowd in the group, taking “selfies” is probably a close second.
Proper Riding Gear
We can’t dive into an article on safety without mentioning proper riding gear. No matter how many times we talk about it, it seems we always see riders who either don’t care or don’t know the proper safety gear to wear. Helmets are not a law in all states, but they are in many—and even though they aren’t a law here in Arizona, we won’t step foot onto an ATV or UTV without a helmet. UTVs have roll-cages, yes … but accidents can still happen and we would much rather protect our noggin’ (and our face) and walk away from something we didn’t plan on happening, than leave our helmet off because it’s hot or inconvenient.
Eye protection is also extremely important and we suggest at minimum a good pair of riding glasses. We prefer goggles or a full-face helmet, as both will help keep the dust and larger debris out of our eyes.
In addition, OEMs always suggest the addition of gloves, long sleeves, long pants and over-the-ankle boots.
Water, Water, Water
This goes hand-in-hand with the whole preparation part, but it’s so important when riding in the desert that we are giving it its own little section here. If you are in Arizona, you can’t turn on the news in the summer without hearing about someone needing to be rescued because they went off into the desert and didn’t have any water with them. The sun and the heat can do a lot more damage than many people expect.
For ATV and UTV riders, this is just as important. No matter what state you happen to be riding in, if you are in the desert in the summer (or heck, even in the winter) it is highly recommended that you take enough drinking water for everyone in your party, as well as some extra water for
your vehicle. No one counts on breaking down for very long and no one counts on his machine overheating or losing coolant somehow, but if it does happen, having enough water on hand can actually take a situation from potentially very serious to just a pain in the butt.
GPS Is Your Friend
This can almost go hand-in-hand with the importance of a cell phone and many smart phones have GPS capabilities, which is great. But if your phone still resembles a brick with little buttons or something from Star Trek (aka flip phone), then it’s highly suggested that you bring along a working GPS unit. If you have mapped out GPS coordinates as part of your trip preparation, you will truly have a hard time getting you and your group lost. Many times, depending on where you are going, GPS coordinates are the only way to get there and back, since the desert can look the same in many places, therefore making navigating by terrain a bit difficult. If you are into geocaching, we are obviously preaching to the choir.
Watch Those Drop-Offs
Part of the appeal of the desert is its unpredictability and wild beauty. From its wide, flat valleys to its craggy, jagged mountains, the desert offers up its own unique challenges to those who choose to ride in it. Due to its wild weather, the desert can also get torn up by water and flash floods, so it’s important to keep an eye out for water cut-outs and deep ravines that can appear suddenly across a well-traveled dirt road or popular riding trail. Even if you have navigated the same road previously, if it has rained since you were there last, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for sudden terrain changes due to flash floods. Nothing sucks worse than hauling along at 50 mph and dropping your entire front end into a 3-foot deep crevasse in the road or along a valley floor.
Cactus Hurts
Particularly Cholla. Even more so when Cholla is flung up at you from the rear tires of the vehicle in front of you. ATV riders are more prone to finding themselves stuck with these spiny balls of barbed pain and agony, but UTV riders aren’t immune and it’s always a good idea to stay on well-traveled trails and try to avoid running over any cacti that have been knocked into the path you are driving on. Your friends riding behind you will appreciate it and so will your tires.
If you do find yourself in need of a de-barbing, those needle-nose pliers you hopefully packed will come in handy.
Beware Of Rattlesnakes, Gila Monsters
Whether riding an ATV or cruising in your UTV, it is important to remember that the desert you are riding in is home to a number of venomous reptiles. Granted, they don’t particularly want to run into you and they will usually head off into cover as soon as they feel the vibrations in the ground from your oncoming vehicle, but on occasion we have run into rattlesnakes and even Gila monsters that just didn’t seem to be in a hurry to move from their sunny place on the road or trail that we were traveling on.
If you come across a rattlesnake, it is best to simply give it a very wide berth and move along. Or turn around and go the other way. They can feel threatened enough to strike at your tires or even your legs or feet if you get too close to them or fail to see them in time. And no matter what you do, don’t approach them on foot. Unless you are an expert snake wrangler, approaching a rattlesnake for any reason doesn’t rank high on the list of smart things to do. Having a snake-bite kit onboard if you do a lot of desert riding is a great idea, but at the very least, be sure you have a cell phone handy and a game plan.
If you happen to see the much more elusive Gila monster, give it a wide berth as well. They are shy but not afraid and their bite can be excruciating as well as poisonous. We have held up our riding party on several occasions to let a large, slow Gila monster amble off of the trail so we could keep on our merry way without a potential side trip to the hospital.
Don’t Make The Bees Mad
A less frequent danger in some desert riding areas is bees. However, at certain times of the year, and in some areas more than others, wild beehives can be found in old wood or in mesquite thickets or even cracks in canyon walls. Sometimes these hives will be in the ground and occasionally a rider can run one over or just riding by it, can disturb a hive as it hangs near the trail. If anyone is allergic in your group, an epi-pen can be a life saver and is a great item to have with you just in case. Mostly, just be aware of your surroundings and if you see more bees than usual, maybe it would be a good time to move somewhere else for your lunch or water break.
Be Aware Of Your Surroundings
No matter what type of riding you do, being aware of your surroundings at all times is important, especially if you like to ride fast and tend to take chances. In the desert, being aware of what is around you can mean watching for telltale dust trails that let you know there are other riders in the area, keeping an eye on those ugly-looking storm clouds in the distance that could mean flash floods or even just giving yourself some extra space when following your friends through the dust. Keeping your eyes open and your mind clear can certainly help ensure a safe and fun riding experience.
Riding in the desert can be a wonderful experience, no matter what time of year it is. If we take some precautions to ensure the safety of ourselves as well as others, we can all enjoy what we do for years to come. DT
Corry Weller has been riding and writing about the powersports industry for 10 years. She started racing ATV motocross in 2001, when her first race ignited a passion in her that she hadn’t even known existed until that fateful gate dropped. Since then, Weller has been a familiar face on the podium in both motocross and in the exciting world of short-course off-road racing, where she continues to collect championships and make history as the “winningest” female in off-road racing. When she’s not at the track or writing articles for a number of media outlets, she’s at the dunes playing with her race vehicles and immersing herself in the industry that she enjoys so much.
