ACAMUTS member Rickie Taylor Wins the ATVANS Early-Bird Draw
It is with great pleasure that we announce that our own Rickie Taylor is the winner of a brand new 2021 CF Moto 400cc ATV, which was the first prize in the early bird registration draw hosted by the ATV Association of Nova Scotia in December. The ATV was kindly donated to ATVANS for the draw by CF Moto and Canmac Watercraft.
Rickie has been a long-time and dedicated member of ACAMUTS and he has also been a member of our Board of Directors over the last number of years.
On behalf of all of us in the Annapolis County ATV and Multi-Use Trails Society, we wish to congratulate Rickie on winning this beautiful new CF Moto ATV.
We look forward to seeing Rickie cruising down the trail on his new machine at our first formal club run in the Spring.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS - Secretary
Rickie has been a long-time and dedicated member of ACAMUTS and he has also been a member of our Board of Directors over the last number of years.
On behalf of all of us in the Annapolis County ATV and Multi-Use Trails Society, we wish to congratulate Rickie on winning this beautiful new CF Moto ATV.
We look forward to seeing Rickie cruising down the trail on his new machine at our first formal club run in the Spring.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS - Secretary
No ATV's Allowed on Harvest Moon Trail in the Winter in Kings County
I was asked by an ACAMUTS member last week to clarify the provincial rail-trail rules as they relate to ATV use in the winter. Here is what you need to know:
The only rail-trail in the Annapolis Valley that is completely off-limits to ATVs in the winter months is the section of rail-trail that runs through Kings County. So, the section of that trail that runs from Kingston to Coldbrook is closed to us from mid-December to the end of March.
That particular section of trail is designated under the provincial OHV Act and under the wording of that law, can only be used by snowmobiles who have a valid SANS (Snowmobile Association of Nova Scotia) trail permit. This applies whether there is snow present or not as it's only defined by dates in the act and not by snow conditions.
Here in Annapolis County, it is not illegal for ATV’ers to use any rail-trails in the winter BUT under no circumstances should we be riding over any trails that have been groomed by SANS. Individual members of SANS pay a huge annual membership fee to cover the cost of grooming the snow on the main trails and as you can imagine, once an ATV runs a groomed trail, it is no longer much use to the snowmobilers.
There are a number of official snowmobile trails in the south-east end of our county that are also off-limits to ATV’s in the winter and as always, we need to stay out of the wilderness protected areas at all times.
In reality, due to the usual lack of deep snow in the west end of Annapolis County, SANS rarely grooms the Harvest Moon Trail west of Middleton but when they do, we should avoid running that trail out of respect for our many friends in the snowmobile community because their season of trail usage is very short compared to ours.
Hopefully that clarifies the situation and if anyone has any questions, please let me know.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS – Secretary
The only rail-trail in the Annapolis Valley that is completely off-limits to ATVs in the winter months is the section of rail-trail that runs through Kings County. So, the section of that trail that runs from Kingston to Coldbrook is closed to us from mid-December to the end of March.
That particular section of trail is designated under the provincial OHV Act and under the wording of that law, can only be used by snowmobiles who have a valid SANS (Snowmobile Association of Nova Scotia) trail permit. This applies whether there is snow present or not as it's only defined by dates in the act and not by snow conditions.
Here in Annapolis County, it is not illegal for ATV’ers to use any rail-trails in the winter BUT under no circumstances should we be riding over any trails that have been groomed by SANS. Individual members of SANS pay a huge annual membership fee to cover the cost of grooming the snow on the main trails and as you can imagine, once an ATV runs a groomed trail, it is no longer much use to the snowmobilers.
There are a number of official snowmobile trails in the south-east end of our county that are also off-limits to ATV’s in the winter and as always, we need to stay out of the wilderness protected areas at all times.
In reality, due to the usual lack of deep snow in the west end of Annapolis County, SANS rarely grooms the Harvest Moon Trail west of Middleton but when they do, we should avoid running that trail out of respect for our many friends in the snowmobile community because their season of trail usage is very short compared to ours.
Hopefully that clarifies the situation and if anyone has any questions, please let me know.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS – Secretary
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Phinney Mountain Run official club video, thanks to A. Hennigar
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Phinney Mountain Run - November 15
I am pleased to announce that ACAMUTS will host their last formal club run of the year on Sunday, November 15.
ACAMUTS member Tim "Chainsaw" Hennigar will be leading us straight up and over the North Mountain, from the Phinney Mountain Road, all the way over to the Bay of Fundy at Phinney’s Cove.
We will be parking and then departing from Tim’s beautiful property, located at 260 Phinney Mountain Road in Upper Granville at 10:00 AM sharp. We will be parking beside Tim’s big apple barn, located just south of his house. We will tour multiple trails and locations on the North Mountain before stopping to enjoy our lunch. After lunch, we will move our way south and back down to the Valley floor.
This run is just over 60 kms and we anticipate being back to Tim’s by 2:30 PM.
This route can be wet after a rainfall, so select footwear accordingly.
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
In order to participate, you will need a 2020 or 2021 ATVANS trail pass on your machine.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded. Please do not show up without preregistering.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS – Secretary
ACAMUTS member Tim "Chainsaw" Hennigar will be leading us straight up and over the North Mountain, from the Phinney Mountain Road, all the way over to the Bay of Fundy at Phinney’s Cove.
We will be parking and then departing from Tim’s beautiful property, located at 260 Phinney Mountain Road in Upper Granville at 10:00 AM sharp. We will be parking beside Tim’s big apple barn, located just south of his house. We will tour multiple trails and locations on the North Mountain before stopping to enjoy our lunch. After lunch, we will move our way south and back down to the Valley floor.
This run is just over 60 kms and we anticipate being back to Tim’s by 2:30 PM.
This route can be wet after a rainfall, so select footwear accordingly.
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
- We can only accept a maximum of 50 machines total on the run. There can be no exceptions.
- All attendees must pre-register via email at acamuts@hotmail.com. We need to know the full names of anyone attending, including passengers. Passengers must be family members.
- Members are required to bring their own food and drink. Members are encouraged to wear masks during rest breaks on the run and to bring hand sanitizers.
- All participants MUST practice social distancing during the rest breaks and when loading / unloading ATV’s at the start and at the finish of the run.
- No handshakes, hugs or other customary greetings that could result in person to person contact.
In order to participate, you will need a 2020 or 2021 ATVANS trail pass on your machine.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded. Please do not show up without preregistering.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS – Secretary
GPS TRAINING - November 14
I am pleased to announce that ACAMUTS will be hosting a GPS and Map Traks training event for ACAMUTS members-only on Saturday, November 14 at the Moschelle Hall, beginning at 9:30 AM and running until mid-afternoon.
Corey Robar, ATVANS Trails Coordinator and a highly-experienced Garmin GPS power-user will be leading the training course. It will be a mix of classroom training and then practical use in the field. As such, we will require participants to bring their ATVs / SXS's with them, along with your own GPS. Corey will show us how to use the GPS in the field and then how to download, share and use the information after each excursion.
Some of the topics to be covered are:
Corey will be using Garmin equipment, so if you use a competitive GPS brand, some of the training may not be 100% relevant BUT the basic processes are very similar across all major brands.
Space is limited, so please sign up soon because availability will be assigned on a first come / first served basis.
All participants MUST register ahead of time, so if you plan to attend, please let me know directly via email before October 29, 2020.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know at once.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS - Secretary
Corey Robar, ATVANS Trails Coordinator and a highly-experienced Garmin GPS power-user will be leading the training course. It will be a mix of classroom training and then practical use in the field. As such, we will require participants to bring their ATVs / SXS's with them, along with your own GPS. Corey will show us how to use the GPS in the field and then how to download, share and use the information after each excursion.
Some of the topics to be covered are:
- Introduction to Trak Maps
- Garmin "Base Camp" overview
- How to create a route in your GPS
- Leave the Hall in our ATVs and learn how to mark waypoints and label them on the trail
- Learn to create a GPS track and how to save the tracks
- Back to the Hall to download the tracks and waypoints in a computer and saving them for future use
Corey will be using Garmin equipment, so if you use a competitive GPS brand, some of the training may not be 100% relevant BUT the basic processes are very similar across all major brands.
Space is limited, so please sign up soon because availability will be assigned on a first come / first served basis.
All participants MUST register ahead of time, so if you plan to attend, please let me know directly via email before October 29, 2020.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know at once.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS - Secretary
BAY OF FUNDY RUN - October 25
I am pleased to announce that ACAMUTS will host their next club run on Sunday, October 25.
ACAMUTS member Eugene Thorne has worked hard in identifying and then taking a practice run on a brand new route for our club. We are calling this our Bay of Fundy Run.
We will be departing the Lawrencetown Fire Department parking lot at 10:00 AM sharp. All vehicles must park on the grass on the EAST side of the fire hall property. Please avoid parking near the fire hall itself. We will be travelling east past Kingston on the Harvest Moon Trail, before turning north and heading straight up and over the North Mountain. We will run all the way to the Bay of Fundy shore, where we will stop and enjoy our lunch while sitting beside the ocean. After lunch, we will move our way south and back down to the Valley floor.
This run is just over 70 kms and we anticipate being back in Lawrencetown by mid-afternoon.
As a club, we have never travelled in this area and we want to thank Eugene for taking the time to scout out the route and for bringing it to our attention.
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS – Secretary
ACAMUTS member Eugene Thorne has worked hard in identifying and then taking a practice run on a brand new route for our club. We are calling this our Bay of Fundy Run.
We will be departing the Lawrencetown Fire Department parking lot at 10:00 AM sharp. All vehicles must park on the grass on the EAST side of the fire hall property. Please avoid parking near the fire hall itself. We will be travelling east past Kingston on the Harvest Moon Trail, before turning north and heading straight up and over the North Mountain. We will run all the way to the Bay of Fundy shore, where we will stop and enjoy our lunch while sitting beside the ocean. After lunch, we will move our way south and back down to the Valley floor.
This run is just over 70 kms and we anticipate being back in Lawrencetown by mid-afternoon.
As a club, we have never travelled in this area and we want to thank Eugene for taking the time to scout out the route and for bringing it to our attention.
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
- We can only accept a maximum of 50 machines total on the run. There can be no exceptions.
- All attendees must pre-register via email at acamuts@hotmail.com. We need to know the full names of anyone attending, including passengers. Passengers must be family members.
- Members are required to bring their own food and drink. Members are encouraged to wear masks during rest breaks on the run and to bring hand sanitizers.
- All participants MUST practice social distancing during the rest breaks and when loading / unloading ATV’s at the start and at the finish of the run.
- No handshakes, hugs or other customary greetings that could result in person to person contact.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS – Secretary
HENDRY LAKE RUN - September 20
Our next club run will take place on Sunday, September 20 at 9 AM sharp.
We will park our vehicles at 843 Hwy 201 in Moschelle.
Chris has selected another fantastic route for us. He will lead us east on the Harvest Moon Trail to Round Hill, then south up the Mill Lane, past Goldsmith’s Lake and Gibson’s Lake. From there we will head south-west past Five Finger Lake, Croker Lake and then we will stop for lunch at Hendry Lake. We will then head north-west around East Stoney Lake until we get to the Lynch Mill Lake. From there we will head north around Dargie Lake, back towards Gibson’s Lake and then back down to the valley floor into Round Hill and on to Moschelle.
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
- We can only accept a maximum of 50 machines total on the run. There can be no exceptions.
- All attendees must pre-register via email at acamuts@hotmail.com. We need to know the full names of anyone attending, including passengers. Passengers must be family members.
- Members are required to bring their own food and drink. Members are encouraged to wear masks during rest breaks on the run and to bring hand sanitizers.
- All participants MUST practice social distancing during the rest breaks and when loading / unloading ATV’s at the start and at the finish of the run.
- No handshakes, hugs or other customary greetings that could result in person to person contact.
- We will be expected to schedule staggered start times with five-minute intervals of groups of not more than 10 machines per group.
In order to participate, you will need a 2020 ATVANS trail pass on your machine and you will need to be a member of ACAMUTS.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded.
We have tentative plans for ACAMUTS runs in October and November. We will publish those dates and locations under separate cover.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
ALBANY CROSS RUN - August 23
We are now ready to announce the details surrounding our next club run, which will take place on Sunday, August 23 at 9 AM sharp.
We will park our vehicles and then depart on the West Dalhousie Road, where it meets Hwy #10 in Albany Cross. Attendees will turn west off of Hwy #10 on to the West Dalhousie Road and club representatives will be there to show you where to park.
Chris has selected an awesome route for us. He will lead us west to Mud Lake, then north around Trout Lake, before heading southeast past Squirreltown and the east side of Waterloo Lake before turning left at the Dalhousie Crossing. We will then head south through the Falkland Ridge, Hastings and Springfield. Finally, we will cross the Hwy #10, run around Lake Pleasant, out to Skull Bog Lake and then north past McGill Lake and back to Albany Cross. Chris calls it one of the most picturesque routes in the entire County!
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
- We can only accept a maximum of 50 machines total on the run. There can be no exceptions.
- All attendees must pre-register via email at acamuts@hotmail.com. We need to know the full names of anyone attending, including passengers. Passengers must be family members.
- Members are required to bring their own food and drink. Members are encouraged to wear masks during rest breaks on the run and to bring hand sanitizers.
- All participants MUST practice social distancing during the rest breaks and when loading / unloading ATV’s at the start and at the finish of the run.
- No handshakes, hugs or other customary greetings that could result in person to person contact.
- We will be expected to schedule staggered start times with five-minute intervals of groups of not more than 10 machines per group.
In order to participate, you will need a 2020 ATVANS trail pass on your machine and you will need to be a member of ACAMUTS. If you wish to purchase a 2020 trail pass, please contact us or renew on the ATVANS website.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded.
We apologize for all the rules and regulations but adherence to these same rules is now mandatory in Nova Scotia.
We have tentative plans for ACAMUTS runs in September, October and November. We will publish those dates and locations under separate cover.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Roxbury Run - July 26
ACAMUTS will host our first club run of the year on Sunday, July 26 at 10:00 AM. We will park at the bottom of the Roxbury Rd. off Hwy 201 in West Paradise. We expect that the run should take about 6-hours in total as we travel through the old ruins in Roxbury and up around Paradise lake, over to Trout Lake and then on to Blanket Hill before returning to Roxbury
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
In order to participate, you will need a 2020 ATVANS trail pass on your machine and you will need to be a member of ACAMUTS. If you wish to purchase a 2020 trail pass, please contact us or renew on the ATVANS website.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded.
We apologize for all the rules and regulations but adherence to these same rules is now mandatory in Nova Scotia.
We have tentative plans for four ACAMUTS runs between now and November. We will publish those dates and locations under separate cover.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Given the issues around Covid-19, the Provincial Government has mandated that all ATV Clubs adhere to a very strict set of rules when hosting a run, so please be advised of the following:
- We can only accept a maximum of 50 machines total on the run. There can be no exceptions.
- All attendees must pre-register via email at acamuts@hotmail.com. We need to know the full names of anyone attending, including passengers. Passengers must be family members.
- Members are required to bring their own food and drink. Members are encouraged to wear masks during rest breaks on the run and to bring hand sanitizers.
- All participants MUST practice social distancing during the rest breaks and when loading / unloading ATV’s at the start and at the finish of the run.
- No handshakes, hugs or other customary greetings that could result in person to person contact.
- We will be expected to schedule staggered start times with five-minute intervals of groups of not more than 10 machines per group.
In order to participate, you will need a 2020 ATVANS trail pass on your machine and you will need to be a member of ACAMUTS. If you wish to purchase a 2020 trail pass, please contact us or renew on the ATVANS website.
So, if you plan to attend, please pre-register via email because if you don’t, you could be excluded.
We apologize for all the rules and regulations but adherence to these same rules is now mandatory in Nova Scotia.
We have tentative plans for four ACAMUTS runs between now and November. We will publish those dates and locations under separate cover.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
New Trail in Lequille
On behalf of the Annapolis County ATV and Multi-Use Trails Society, I am very pleased to announce that we have completed work on the new trail in Lequille that runs from the Harvest Moon Trail up to Tom’s Pizzeria and Helen’s Cabins on the Hwy 201.
The route is well marked and we have installed signs on the Harvest Moon Trail, directing OHV drivers to the new trail. This new trail now allows OHV riders heading west on the Harvest Moon Trail to enjoy a meal or rent a room at the far end of the old Dominion Atlantic Railway line.
The trail is a little rough in two spots but it is all cut out and it is SXS friendly. We hope to smooth out the rough spots later this year. We have a dedicated spot roped off by the restaurant for parking our ATV's and SXS's. Please use this parking spot when you visit the restaurant.
Many thanks to those members who worked so hard in negotiating the land use agreements and those who worked so hard in actually building the trail itself. We also want to acknowledge the support of Tom’s Pizzeria because the land that we cross belongs to them and they have been great to deal with. Finally, thanks to Robbie Bent Excavating for the expert installation of the culverts and the building of the two driveways at each end of the trail.
We wish to thank ATVANS for their guidance and their help in sourcing funding to help us build the trail. We could not have done it without them!
If anyone has any questions as they relate to the above, please feel free to contact Ron Guest (President) or I at once.
Mike McKinley
ACAMUTS - Secretary
