How many acres for enduro track?

[No Quarter]

So, I am considering moving. One of my many thoughts is maybe looking for a large lot for dirt biking on my own land. It would be really nice to have a 20 - 30 minute enduro trail in my own back yard. How many acres should I look for. I am currently in Epping NH, and like this area, but I am also looking at possible retirement, so would consider heading to other areas as well. There is lots to consider when retiring as I'm sure you can imagine. Any advice would be welcome.

[breakdirt916]

subscribed...I'm 30 and still trying to find a place with year-round good weather and cheap real estate to ride dirt...

what would be great is socal weather & cheap real estate...but I doubt that exists...so now I'm thinking of living near the beach, but just driving 1-2 hours to ride

[csmutty]

Mark would be able to chime in a bit on this. And Kitt might have something to say about it too...although his is a little more intense than enduro lol.

[Rada]

I would want at the very minimum of 25 acres for a loop. Better to have 100.

[R7]

It really depends what the land is like, that's the biggest key IMHO. You can have 40-50 acres and only 15-20 may be useable for a track and trails. I took that into consideration when I purchased my property, as I was torn between a 23 acre lot and the 13.5 acre lot I currently live on. The 23 acre lot had a lot of wetlands, small streams and a river down the middle. My 13.5 acre lot has 0 wetlands and with the exception of my 1 acre yard, is all trails. I fit 5 miles of trails on mine, tight and technical, mostly 1st and 2nd gear type stuff. To ride a full loop takes about 15-20 minutes, do the same loop backwards and you're at 30-40 minutes.
I'd somewhat agree that more is better in most cases, but something else to think about, the more trails you have, the more time you have to put into them to upkeep them. Trimming back face slappers is constant, if you get a storm, it could take days to make them passable again. I know I don't have to the time to maintain more than the 5 miles I have now

[nhbubba]

Love this idea.

[boosten lebaron]

a smaller bike may make a smalker circuit seem alot bigger. When i had my rm250 i could blaze through the trails by my house in about 45min. When i ride my xr100 it was an all day ride and i had more fun. Way less close calls too.

[TTD]

Another option would be to move near an existing trail system... like Hatfield McCoy in West Virginia? (there are others all over the country)

Or, move next to someone that already has a trail system and help them maintain it?

[Paul_E_D]

Or move to a foreign country where you can afford a lot of land and can do as you please. 'Murica has been lost.

[breakdirt916]

@ OP - consider what Mark & Tony said - big tracks can be a lot of work - so consider a small track for the backyard, and be close enough to the "big" places, that you can still get out and enjoy them.

@ boston lebaron - I used to ride an XR80R and XR200R in my parents' backyard, and the local mini track (15 mins from home)







a few laps of that was a blllllllaaaaaast. Stress gone.

crashes were slow.



changing track conditions everytime I went (snow/rain would change the corners) kept me guessing.

but it's subjective - I enjoyed it, but *most* guys gave me flack - "it's not a real dirtbike" - not as much fun as a full size bike. I now have many full-size bikes, and I drive at least an hour to ride...I go maybe once/month tops...sometimes less. I can say for sure I enjoyed the backyard riding a lot - but the key for me is to someday have both. Small track for the backyard (easier to maintain too), big bike once/month out in big public riding areas.

Another option would be to move near an existing trail system... like Hatfield McCoy in West Virginia? (there are others all over the country)

@ OP there is plenty of this in socal - pretty much anything desert side will be cheap real estate with wiiiiiiide open riding right out of your backyard. the more barren, the more cheap, and the more riding areas. But with that comes more crack wielding tweaker thieves, wild animals, and distance from facilities - shopping/hospitals/jobs - similar to living in rural Maine/VT/NH, but more dangerous people. Don't trust anything outside.

alternatively - you can live in more developed areas - the major cities b/w LA and Vegas (hesperia, apple valley, temecula, murrieta, victorville) - and you'll get newer houses, still cheap, and relatively close to all the big chain shopping centers. Just be aware that the desert is really hot in the summer (dry hot...110+ degrees...too hot to ride), and winters are cold, albeit warmer than new england. You might not get direct backyard access to riding areas, but it won't be more than 20-30 mins.

Or move to a foreign country where you can afford a lot of land and can do as you please. 'Murica has been lost.

I have considered this as well, but where is it dry, not too hot, not too cold, not much rain, and cheap to buy without being too far from a hospital and other services?

all I know, is tat my friend has land in Belize that his uncle is building a house on - he will have his own OHV/horseback riding tour business there and has welcomed my vacation stay when we're both retired

heck - we should all just setup enduro spots around USA and make an enduro riding retiree club...come to socal in the winter, and you guys can host WA/ME/FL/WV/MI the rest of the year.

[wheelieman14]

I met a fella "Mike Potter" that used to be heavily involved with NETRA, that worked a couple of the Cheese Grater Enduro Check Points with me in West Granville, MA on October 19, 2014. Apparently, he bought several hundred (possibly over 1500) acres in Honduras. He drives down across the U.S. through Mexico in the Fall & comes back whenever he feels like it. He has a 16 mile Enduro Course that he maintains and offers it for those that want to fly & ride. Seems like a pretty cool plan.

[Falko]

There are areas where land is pretty cheap. The taxes might kill you, but the land is pretty cheap. My family is in western PA where I grew up. We had 200 acres to play on in the middle of nowhere. The taxes on the land drove my parents out after I left home. I was pretty upset, I had plans for the property, offroad park and paintball. (and I had a 350+yd shooting range off my front porch).

[Paul_E_D]

I met a fella "Mike Potter" that used to be heavily involved with NETRA, that worked a couple of the Cheese Grater Enduro Check Points with me in West Granville, MA on October 19, 2014. Apparently, he bought several hundred (possibly over 1500) acres in Honduras. He drives down across the U.S. through Mexico in the Fall & comes back whenever he feels like it. He has a 16 mile Enduro Course that he maintains and offers it for those that want to fly & ride. Seems like a pretty cool plan.

There you have it folks. Don't waste your time in the U.S.A.

Breakdirt, anywhere in the mountains of latin america. But near hospitals? Now you want every effing thing. Don't worry about that. Hire your own doctor.

[R7]

There are areas where land is pretty cheap. The taxes might kill you, but the land is pretty cheap. My family is in western PA where I grew up. We had 200 acres to play on in the middle of nowhere. The taxes on the land drove my parents out after I left home. I was pretty upset, I had plans for the property, offroad park and paintball. (and I had a 350+yd shooting range off my front porch).

With open land, there are a lot of programs that can greatly reduce your taxes if you enter into some type of farm or open space plan. My place even being small, I'm able to put my land in a forestry plan. The good things about it, my plan calls for cutting and maintenance of trails, and selective cutting of trees. Also my taxable value of $28,000 for the 8+ acres in the plan, dropped to a taxable value of just $800...it adds up quick when the tax rate is $14/1000

[Falko]

I don't think we had any exemption at the time other than the farm exemption. And to obtain farm exemption, you had to prove that 60% of your income came from the farm. We did farm the property, but I think it probably cost 20% of my family's income to run it. The farm exemption was legit, it was the only way my grandfather could afford to maintain his 2,000+ acre farm.
There might be other exemptions available now.
I keep a watch out on real estate to see if our old farm ever comes back up for sale. I'd be very interested to go back, very interested.