New ATV recreation map for Central Idaho has opportunities for sponsors, advertisers

There are lots of great trail rides in the Challis area. 

The Challis Area Chamber of Commerce is working on producing a recreation map for ATV and motorbike trails in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and Land of the Yankee Fork State Park.

The idea is to show a larger picture of the OHV recreation trails in the greater Central Idaho area surrounding Challis. The map would cover trails from the Yankee Fork-Sunbeam area to the west, Iron Creek to the north near Salmon, the Pahsimeroi Valley to Goldberg to the east, and areas south of Mackay to the south.

The map will be free to the general public. The Forest Service, BLM and Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation are all supportive of the map project.

Melissa Perkins Fitzgerald, who is heading up the mapping effort for the Challis chamber, says the deadline is fast approaching for advertisements to support the map research, development, printing and distribution. There are still advertising opportunities for 14 businesses on the map. Contact Fitzgerald if you are interested in advertising by the week of July 1. See her contacts below.

"By providing extensive trail opportunities in our area, we offer many routes for people's enjoyment, thereby enhancing their experience. This project is an investment in our future," Fitzgerald says.

The Challis chamber plans to have the map printed before the 5th annual "Ride the BayHorse" ATV event, which will be held over the weekend of Aug. 16-18. Also at that time, the Idaho State ATV Association (ISATVA) will hold their annual meeting in Challis.

For more information, contact Melissa at the Challis Chamber of Commerce, 208-879-2771, or by email challischamber@custertel.net. Thank you. 

John Keys of Boise wins Polaris 500 Sportsman from Idaho OHV Public Outreach Campaign

Our lucky winner, John Keys, with a Ride Proud T-shirt at Carl's Cycles.

Hi all,

John Keys was a happy guy on Thursday as he picked up a brand new forest green Polaris Sportsman 500 at Carl's Cycles in Boise. Keys won the $6,100 machine by entering an ATV sweepstakes offering this spring from the Idaho OHV Public Outreach Campaign. We had 1,735 entries in the contest.

Keys is excited about learning how to ride the ATV. "I've actually never ridden a scooter, a motorcycle or a motorcycle before," he said. "I'm more a sandals and mountain biker and kayaker kind of guy."

Dale Zimmerman of Carl's Cycles explains the operational features of the Polaris Sportsman 500. 

But as Dale Zimmerman from Carl's explained all the features of the Polaris 500 Sportsman, Keys said, "Man, this is really pretty cool!"

A kayak friend, Jo Cassin, co-owner of Idaho River Sports, steered Keys toward entering the ATV drawing on the Stay on Trails Facebook page. Cassin had liked the Facebook post, so he checked out the sweepstakes and filled out the information to enter the contest. This is often how good ideas spread in social media networks -- from one friend to the next.

Keys says his friends have been saying things ranging from "congrats" to "damn you" after learning that he won the Polaris Sportsman.

Getting ready for the first ride ... to load the machine on the trailer. 

He's won a few things before -- like a new kayak paddle at Idaho River Sports, he won a set of 29er mountain bike wheels at a Banff Film Festival event, and a Core Concepts jacket. Keys says he has a pretty good lucky streak, but that hasn't translated to winning the lottery, at least not yet.

Brad Weigle, manager of digital strategy and planning at Drake Cooper, an advertising firm that oversees the OHV public outreach campaign, said the ATV sweepstakes this spring represented a different way to reach OHV users in Idaho.

Jo Cassin, far right, "liked" our ATV sweepstakes, inspiring John Keys to enter the contest.  

"We started the Ride Proud campaign this spring to remind people why we all enjoy living here and riding our ATVs," Weigle said. "This state provides us with some of the best riding opportunities in the world. Let's keep it that way. Let's Ride Proud and Stay on Trails.

"Rather than reaching out with typical advertising channels and shouting from the hill, we wanted to connect with our core audience and offer them a few great prizes. By having conversations with this audience, connecting with them on real issues, and having a little fun by giving away stickers, T-shirts and a grand prize ATV, we're able to build new relationships with riders. These are the same riders who are empowered with a message and a belief to protect the land and Ride Proud."

Loaded on the trailer and ready to head for the mountains. 

Indeed, the Idaho OHV Public Outreach Campaign always has been about connecting with Idaho's motorbike, ATV and UTV riders and encouraging people to ride in a safe and responsible manner on our public lands. The campaign is overseen by a committee of land management agency officials, including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials.

The ATV sweepstakes enabled the campaign to build its visibility on Facebook and on the stayontrails.com web site, and with new relationships forged through those means, we will be able to reach more of the Idaho OHV community in future outreach efforts.

There are roughly 135,000 off-highway vehicles registered in the state of Idaho, based on 2011 statistics, so there are a lot of people who enjoy riding OHVs in the state. John Keys will be the latest new addition to the OHV community.

We want to thank Jack Struthers at Carl's Cycles for assisting with the ATV sweepstakes promotion and working with Polaris to give us a great wholesale price on the Polaris 500 Sportsman. Carl's has been a key supporter of the Stay on Trails campaign since the beginning. Thanks Jack!

For more information about the Stay on Trails campaign, visit our web site or Facebook page. Our popular Where to Ride section now has 47 ride descriptions, maps and photos for OHV rides statewide, with several more to be added in the coming weeks.

Have fun out there ... we wish all of our new Facebook fans could have won the ATV, but you know how that goes ... when it comes down to a grand prize drawing, there's going to be only one lucky winner! And that's John Keys. Congratulations John!