treehuggersfriend
Jun 2015
My husband and I have been to Sedona previously and I have driven an ATV only one other time --but it was in the Mountains of Utah. I think our big mistake is that we thought we would take the ATV's out, and ride along some remote area and take great pictures--this is more of the "great ATV adventure" which is fine if that's your intention. Let me say that my hubby pretty much hated the whole thing, but that is through no fault of this company—I think we had an idea of what we wanted and it was not the trip we booked—totally our fault. The fact that we did not enjoy our trip should not reflect on the providing company though, they met our every need and provided good equipment and advice.
Let me say, that the idea that you could roll this thing over on these roads/trails is very real (I didn't) but it was very hard and while I have little experience with ATV's , I have driven cars professionally most of my life at very high speeds in adverse conditions ( sometimes topping over 110 mph) so for me to have trouble would indicate to me that this is really not ideal for 1st timers. The idea is that the first 3 hours of the half -day ride takes you to some Indian Archeological site (which is great if that's your thing) I have travelled a lot and this is not my first one, so not entirely enamored--but I did see Javelina (local wild life that looks like wild pigs but are actually peccaries--I do like the wildlife right after I was told by the site's ranger that I would never see them in midday-1:30 PM). The route is really the long way, because there is a short road back to the facility. The big issue is that you really don't get to see the great views until you stop, cause while you drive this first section, the roads are difficult and deeply rutted (now maybe they get better later in the year, but you couldn't look at the scenery without causing a pretty bad rollover so you just hold on for dear life in the first part--unless you are a pretty regular ATV driver). If you make the first part of the day, you get a bonus hour, we never got there cause it took us all 4 hours to do the 3 hour trail and not fall off. I think that the problem here might have been that we chose the smallest ATV’s they rent and maybe for an amateur that isn’t the best choice. The larger vehicles might have handled the trails better (Polaris?) and in retrospect, if the ATV had been easier for me to handle, I might have enjoyed it a lot more. I am not opposed to just riding for the sake of adventure and I believe you could definitely do that here as well, I was just only in Sedona for the one day and thought I could combine an ATV ride with some great photographic opportunities. As it was, the few times I could look away and see the awesome scenery, I couldn’t always stop the ATV and take the picture because I was frequently on an incline and I couldn’t make it stop rolling without complicating my life.
However, if you decide you do want the adventure, the staff is helpful and knowledgeable. They try to make it dummy-proof not to get lost, (a great job on their part but let’s face it—nothing is foolproof—but if you do get lost, it’s definitely not because they didn’t do everything possible). Check your insurance before you go (hubby and I were taking bets over who was going to have to be airlifted--but we did make it out safely). Also sunscreen, and don't forget the tops of your hands. Animals will cut in front of you --hubby had a cow run out and almost into him --and I have never seen one run before but really that's just using necessary caution. This group does have other options, they have the buggy's available for rent where only one of you has to drive if you are a party of two or more. I didn't like the idea of being a passenger, but if the goal is to take pictures then that may be a better option. I believe they also offer helmet cam’s so that you can record your adventure, which is also a nice amenity.