ATV rentals at Silver Lakes area

[CoorsMan]

I am an avid duner since 1985 at the Imperial sand dunes, and I reside in Mesa AZ. The better half and I are returning to Grand Blanc in July and my curiosity of the silver lake dunes is getting the better of me. I dont care what I can rent but I have to spend a day playing out there. I would appreciate any input on rentals and/or the best way to insure I am able to get on the dunes and play. I realize they cant compare in size or range but I LOVE sand and I need to see it.


Thanks Coorsman

[D400ex909]

We go up there about 5x a year and im almost postive there is no atv rentals, although there is a dune-buggy shop that u can rent from. they pretty much suck, we rented a two seater one year that broke on the way into the park, but its somethin to ride

[Honda5]

Hey D400ex 909, we are planning on going to Silver Lake in July of this year with about 6 of us with camper and quads in tow. Where do you stay when you go? We are looking for a campground preferably close that we could possibly ride the quads to the dunes. Can you give us some ideas of what we should do and where to stay. Anything would help!

[D400ex909]

I'm not positive with the camp grounds in the area, but we usually stay at a hotel called... sierra sands i believe. The rooms were nice, and they had enough parking for our truck and trailer. They even let us take our dog with! lol. Sorry, but i dont think u will be able to ride the quads to the dunes, u have to go through a DNR booth to get into the parking lot. Only cars and street legal sand buggies are allowed on the road, and the parkin lot gets crowded. I think they have a new vouter system for parking, i dont know though, we haven't gone up there yet this year. O yeah, u have to have a spark arrestor. Also, i think u have to pass a 94 db limit this year, not positive on that though. And u also have to have a flag that hits a 9 foot pole, and a Michigan DNR sticker (about 20 bucks for the year). Any other questions i would be glad to answer if i can, have fun, that place is awesome. Its a toss up if i like it, or the badlands in attica, IN better, where will u be comin from?

[Honda5]

We will be coming from Maryland. Want to ride the sand dunes and so far these are the closest to us that we could find. We have a nice camper and planning on pulling a trailer behind it and go during the week so maybe it won't be so crowded. Anything else you think we may need to know, please pass along to us. We are planning to go in July of this year. If you go before than and hear about any campgrounds that are close by, keep us in mind. Thanks for the info!

[Crawl69]

here's a link on the new sound regs and voucher system.

http://www.silverlakesanddunes.com/silverlakesanddunesmichigansound.html

hey 400exd909 email me and we'll go ridin sometime.

[kargaaro]

I live over here in West Michigan and I'm fairly close to Silver Lake. However the regulations have made it impossible for me to go. Things can get pretty crowded and congested on the dunes, parking, and accommodations wise. Sometimes you'll see the line to get in about a mile long and you get in when people come out. Don't even bother on a holiday weekend. Your best bet is to take some time and go during mid-week. You can almost have the dunes to yourself and avoid the check point with the DNR. They require Spark arrestors, flags, ORV sticker and you must meet the sound reg. which is basically stock. I've had buddy's go mid-week last summer and no DNR check was there though. It's a gamble.

You won't be able to camp right on site and the ones that are close by are not the best. They lock the gates at night for some reason and we got locked out and they wouldn't let us back in. Ended up paying for sites and sleeping in the trucks at the entrance. I know much nicer and less hecktic places to stay. Lake Michigan and the Dunes are awesome in the summer. I can give you some great places to camp within 30 minutes of Silver Lake. PM me if interested. Hope that helps!!!!!!!

[TheChknhwk]

Originally posted by CoorsMan
I am an avid duner since 1985 at the Imperial sand dunes, and I reside in Mesa AZ. The better half and I are returning to Grand Blanc in July and my curiosity of the silver lake dunes is getting the better of me. I dont care what I can rent but I have to spend a day playing out there. I would appreciate any input on rentals and/or the best way to insure I am able to get on the dunes and play. I realize they cant compare in size or range but I LOVE sand and I need to see it.


Thanks Coorsman

My good friend lives in Chandler, also from MI. I was to Silver 3 times last year & despite suggestions to the contrary with a little planning you shouldn't have any problems getting into the dunes. You get your voucher for parking the night before & it gives you a time window in which you can get into the dunes. If you miss your window then you WILL have to wait to get another voucher. Also, if you are "dune ready" meaning the vehicle you will drive on the dunes can be driven in & doesn't have to be parked in the parking area you can get on a lot quicker. For instance, but the quad in the bed of your 4x4 truck & drive the SOB in & then park your truck at the beach:)

No ATV rentals that I know of but there are jeep rentals available, and you can go on a jeep tour that I believe goes into some of the restricted areas of the dunes.

Also to address the restictions... You MUST have a spark arrested pipe, the sound restrictions were lax all 3 times I was there last year. I never saw anyone checked & I was not checked. I am running a WB w/12 discs & it is not quiet. Unless you are running some obnoxious race system I doubt there will be an issue, and doubt they would care about the race system noise but it has to be spark arrested. You also have to have a Dune Flag which you can buy about anywhere up there for about 20-25 bucks.

Holiday weekends are very busy, but like I said w/some planning you shouldn't have a problem. Most other weekends if you do not get a voucher the night before you will probably be waiting 0-2hrs to get in if you have to use the parking area, IE - brought a trailer w/quad on it.

[400ex Magnum]

There were about 20 of us up at the dunes last weekend that rode. For the most part, they were checking for spark arrestors, but I didn't see or hear of any checks for noise. Maybe as the place gets more crowded, this will be an issue.

We stayed / camped at the Silver Lake Yogi Campground. Very nice place. We liked the place, but we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The prices do get dramatically steeper during the peak summer times. We have also stayed at the State Park campground. Nice place and cheaper, but fills up fast. Try online registration. You can reserve 6 months out. There is no way to camp and ride at Silver Lake.

I don't know of anyplace to rent an atv. Call some local dealers in the area and see if they will rent you an atv or you could purchase a used one and resell it to them as long as it isn't damaged. I wouldn't opt for the rental dune buggies. You rarely see them out there and if they are, they are usually stuck.

[Red00Honda400EX]

I live about 3 hours from silver lake and have been there a few times but wasn't lucky enough to go last year and was planning on leaving tomorrow but apparently I might as well just stay home if they check everyone for spark arrestors. I guess I still have my FMF pipe but I'm not sure if that will bolt up to the X-4 head pipe or not. :(

[Jennys440'Dale]

Originally posted by Red00Honda400EX
I live about 3 hours from silver lake and have been there a few times but wasn't lucky enough to go last year and was planning on leaving tomorrow but apparently I might as well just stay home if they check everyone for spark arrestors. I guess I still have my FMF pipe but I'm not sure if that will bolt up to the X-4 head pipe or not. :(


You can buy spark arrestors at David Allen Racing right next door to the dunes. Last weekend my fiance's spark arrestor was out on his Big Gun exhaust and we just used screen from a window. That will last just long enough to get you through the gates. You might need to replace it everytime you go back out to the dunes though.