Unfortunately, the week we planned our trip was the week that the massive forest fires were raging all over Colorado. We were nervous, not only about access to the campground, but about whether the trails or National Forest would even be open for riding. Many trails and areas in Colorado were temporarily or permanently closed this June and July. Luckily, though we drove through smoke from a fire outside Moab on our way, once we wound up to the campground area at 6,000 feet, it was clear sky and open trails.

The Early Pioneer Campground has all RV camping sites, many of which are pull-throughs with full hook ups. Other campgrounds around the lake are for tents only or smaller RV's only. There is also an excellent bathroom and shower facility (bring your quarters - to save water, it will cost you about $1.50 for a reasonably long shower), a small play ground area, and a fish cleaning station. The Visitor's Center will provide you with vital maps of the area riding trails - though note - they are NOT necessarily to scale, do not always accurately reflect what the sign on the trail may be numbered, or even if a trail is open. Trail maintenance and improvement is a never-ending process, and you should be sure to pack several reference maps. Just in case, as always, never ride alone, bring emergency supplies, and make sure someone outside your group knows the general area you plan on riding each day.

At full capacity, Vega Resevoir covers 800 acres. However, during our stay, the water level was well off from the shore, and dropping at a rate of a couple feet each day. It still provided excellent fishing, from shore or in boats (power boats launch from the north shore). We recommend a worm on a hook with a little powerbait - heck, the way our son was pulling the fish in, they weren't even looking for the worm - just wrap powerbait (bright orange worked well for us) around the hook and toss it in! We had a rubber raft with us, but chose to just fish from the shore. We caught enough fish for any meal we wanted, and most of the time just caught and released them.

Wildlife in the Mesa National Forest was plentiful - everyday we saw deer, marmots, and various birds. The deer crossed from the grasslands on the west side of the lake back to the southern woods each day.

While our day generally ended each evening (or started early each morning) with a bike ride down to the lake for some fishing, what we were there for was the RIDING. Most every campsite held at least a couple ATV's, and the staging parking lot was a busy place even during the week. The trail head takes you about 3 miles south on an easy gravel road, in fact a county road used by auto traffic as well. Two-track ATV trails split off from it on both sides in many places; most well-marked, but all easy to locate if you pick up the trail map at the Visitor's Center. The majority of the trails are great day rides, even for beginners. There are also some awesome more-advanced trails, if you are up for deep mud holes or some rather steep, rocky hill climbs. We saw a mix every day - what we saw the most of, was COWS! Many of the trails wind back and forth over private land, with permission of the cattle company that owns it. The cows are even more used to ATV's than the deer, so be alert - we often came around a corner to find a cow laying directly in the trail (the dust feels good against the many biting insects!). Don't expect them to jump up and dash out of your way.

Take a map, make a friend! At least ensure you'll make it back to camp each day.

Start your trail ride out each morning with a review of the map. We had ordered the Grand Mesa map from National Geographic (number 136). This series is good, because the maps are revised fairly often, and they are waterproof and tear resistant. This was the map we relied on most often. In addition, we came across a group of riders that gave us a map they had picked up at the Vega State Park Visitor's Center center - this was a more topographic map, and generally more accurate on the trail numbers. However, it was not tearproof or waterproof, and four days of heavy use pretty well used it up. It also didn't seem to show as much of the riding area.

The best map we found to review at camp before you go, or back in the evening to see where you went, was "The Trails of Colorado - ATV Trail Guide " (volumes one and two). Produced by Lloyd Liebetrau, Gary Myers and Chris Maly (L&M Productions), these maps are the most comprehensive guides we found to riding areas throughout Colorado. Complete with geographic features such as streams, public roads and general area labeling, they provide boldly colored legends describing trail designations - 4WD, street legal only, bicycle trail, etc, as well as descriptive pages to go with each trail map. Besides Colorado, they also have a lines of guides for Utah and Idaho. We suggest you click on their link in the text of this paragraph, and check out their available products.

We found with 2WD quads that our trail riding was limited mostly by their gas tank range - about 25 - 40 miles, depending on the trail conditions. It was interesting to note that the Suzuki Z400 actually had a farther range than the modified Honda 400EX (first to run out of gas each day) or even the Kawasaki Prairie 360 (only ran out once, but it definately did not have as much left as the Z400.) We now have gas and water carrying cans - wish they'd come before the big Colorado adventure! We stuck to three main loops that we knew would be in our "safe" fuel range, but there are many other trails if you have fuel carrying capability. Heading due south from the resevoir on the Park Creek Road (#262), you can make easy day rides out of the Salt Crek Trail (#514), Silver Spruce Trail (#517), High Trail (#515), Monument Trail (#518), etc. Planning your day with an early morning stop along Kenny Creek Resevoir or Young's Lake, can also get you fresh fish for dinner.

Overall, the best part of riding this part of the Mesa Nationa Forest is the wide variety of terrain and trail conditions you will experience. If you like rock crawling, water crossings, hill climbs, or leisurly meadow tours, you'll find something for you within an easy day's ride, or you can pack all your gear and ride in to more remote areas, still easily accessible on your ATV. This area is a treasure, and volunteers from the Western Slope ATV Association especially have done a wonderful job marking and maintaining the miles of trails. This area should definately be added to your "Must Ride" list.

Check out the Photo Gallery for an idea of the fun to be had!