Mountain Bikes on Wyoming BLM Land

[tomengineer]

I have drawn tags in a limited public access unit for the 2019 pronghorn season. There is lots of public land but access points from public roads are minimal. I have the BLM paper map of the area along with onXmaps and they are showing me alot of "roads" and trails that are on BLM but cannot be reached via truck. My question is would it be practical to use mountain bikes to get us back into the deeper parts of BLM using the trails and dirts roads available? I'm not talking about riding on private property at any point. Is this legal? Do you think it would be beneficial in getting into deeper parts of the unit and then hauling meat out. I've never hunted the west before and only know what I see on aerials on Google streets so any input would be appreciated.

 

[midwesthunter]

Me personally I would leave the bike at home.

 

[NoWiser]

Shhhhhh

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I have drawn tags in a limited public access unit for the 2019 pronghorn season. There is lots of public land but access points from public roads are minimal. I have the BLM paper map of the area along with onXmaps and they are showing me alot of "roads" and trails that are on BLM but cannot be reached via truck. My question is would it be practical to use mountain bikes to get us back into the deeper parts of BLM using the trails and dirts roads available? I'm not talking about riding on private property at any point. Is this legal? Do you think it would be beneficial in getting into deeper parts of the unit and then hauling meat out. I've never hunted the west before and only know what I see on aerials on Google streets so any input would be appreciated.

Yes and no...

Yes it's legal as long as you are on public land.

Whether it's practical depends on the spot and your setup. Riding uphill with a 30lb-45lb pack on sucks to the point of almost being impossible (keep in mind if a runner and biker are in similar physically shape a runner will smoke a biker on an uphill single track) ... in a mostly flat area and/or if you are day hunting it could help you get in a lot deeper.

 

[riley]

We did a 0 preference point Wyoming antelope last year with “limited” access. We did about 10 miles a day hiking . I would say It might work but prolly just end up being a pain. Most two tracks in our unit would cross from BLM/ private very often navigating that while riding might be a waste of time .it could be easyer for you to just hike .

Now if you can find a road that is all BLM that takes you miles into a place you plan on hunting it might be an option.

I will say the hiking is really easy. We have similar tags for the same type of hunt this year and we don’t plan on bringing a bike .


Good luck and post your results come fall.

 

[wytex]

Better slime those tires.

 

[tomengineer]

We did a 0 preference point Wyoming antelope last year with “limited” access. We did about 10 miles a day hiking . I would say It might work but prolly just end up being a pain. Most two tracks in our unit would cross from BLM/ private very often navigating that while riding might be a waste of time .it could be easyer for you to just hike .

Now if you can find a road that is all BLM that takes you miles into a place you plan on hunting it might be an option.

I will say the hiking is really easy. We have similar tags for the same type of hunt this year and we don’t plan on bringing a bike .


Good luck and post your results come fall.

Ok thanks for this. Kind of what I was thinking. We are fit enough to do that level of walking anyway. Were you successful in a zero point unit?

 

[tomengineer]

Yes and no...

Yes it's legal as long as you are on public land.

Whether it's practical depends on the spot and your setup. Riding uphill with a 30lb-45lb pack on sucks to the point of almost being impossible (keep in mind if a runner and biker are in similar physically shape a runner will smoke a biker on an uphill single track) ... in a mostly flat area and/or if you are day hunting it could help you get in a lot deeper.

Ok makes sense. Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Better slime those tires.

and pack a bunch of tubes...

 

[riley]

O yea . I forgot about the reallllly sticky mud and cactus everywhere. As those two guys just posted

Still though ,like anything, you want it bad enough you can work at it and prolly pull it off ...


To answer your question, my wife and I went for the first time we got a decent buck , we didn’t fill Any doe tags. But it was way fun.and we are looking forward to hunting again this year . I posted the hunt on here last year . Im guessing you can find it if you click on my history.

 

[WapitiBob]

I have a Cow Elk hunt in Wyoming this year and my bike is the main mode of transportation in that HMA. Legal on roads where vehicles aren't; WYGF classifies them the same as game carts. I use the bike/trailer up here as well. They work great on roads, not so much for cross country travel.

 

[schmalts]

If you have room, take it along. If you are riding 2 tracks the only ones that would be mad are the ones that wished they had brought one.

 

[NEWHunter]

First off, it’s legal on public two tracks.

Second, the answer is, it depends.

I’ve thought about this approach quite a bit. I would have brought my mountain bike last year if I had room for it in my Camry when I hunted my 0 point unit.

If it’s a two track you can legally access via truck, just drive on it like everyone else.

If you have to walk your bike overland to access the road, then definitely maybe. I would not ride your bike overland as you could probably do ok riding around sage but the little cacti would likely destroy both your tubes and eventually the tires. Stick to the two tracks.

Something else to consider is topography. I kind of looked at it but not as closely as I should have. You can look at a map, as I did, and think hey I only have to carry my bike about 600 yards and I can ride for miles - no big deal. It the plains it’s relatively flat, blah blah blah. Until you realize there are two or three washes/cuts between you and that road that require you to lose 75 of elevation and then gain the 75 feet back and do that two or three times - not worth it.

I think the first question I asked on a forum was “how much ground can I cover.” The consensus (if i remember correctly) was 2-4 mph depending on terrain. Useful info if your on foot only and trying to approximate your range.

Not the first time I’ve said it (kinda proud of my stubbornness overcoming zero experience), but I did 20 miles in a day and that included about 2,500’ of elevation gain/loss. Half of the miles were loaded down. I’m not in great shape. I could have easily done more with a buddy to share the load.

Hopefully you find the info useful. All that said, I do have a 0 point unit I’ve OnX scouted. I will definitely bring the bike on the hunt if I ever pull it as a 2nd or 3rd choice. Good luck - it’s a blast.

 

[Aperventure]

Following this, I’ve just drawn a 0 point unit and wondering about the same approach. Seems like some boots on ground scouting would help answer these questions on washes/draws. Thanks for sharinf

First off, it’s legal on public two tracks.

Second, the answer is, it depends.

I’ve thought about this approach quite a bit. I would have brought my mountain bike last year if I had room for it in my Camry when I hunted my 0 point unit.

If it’s a two track you can legally access via truck, just drive on it like everyone else.

If you have to walk your bike overland to access the road, then definitely maybe. I would not ride your bike overland as you could probably do ok riding around sage but the little cacti would likely destroy both your tubes and eventually the tires. Stick to the two tracks.

Something else to consider is topography. I kind of looked at it but not as closely as I should have. You can look at a map, as I did, and think hey I only have to carry my bike about 600 yards and I can ride for miles - no big deal. It the plains it’s relatively flat, blah blah blah. Until you realize there are two or three washes/cuts between you and that road that require you to lose 75 of elevation and then gain the 75 feet back and do that two or three times - not worth it.

I think the first question I asked on a forum was “how much ground can I cover.” The consensus (if i remember correctly) was 2-4 mph depending on terrain. Useful info if your on foot only and trying to approximate your range.

Not the first time I’ve said it (kinda proud of my stubbornness overcoming zero experience), but I did 20 miles in a day and that included about 2,500’ of elevation gain/loss. Half of the miles were loaded down. I’m not in great shape. I could have easily done more with a buddy to share the load.

Hopefully you find the info useful. All that said, I do have a 0 point unit I’ve OnX scouted. I will definitely bring the bike on the hunt if I ever pull it as a 2nd or 3rd choice. Good luck - it’s a blast.

 

[Sytes]

Mountain bikes are great for transportation. A bike trailer is a fantastic bonus... If you spend for the quality type.
Any gated road is not worrisome over cactus and crap of that nature. Have a spare or two. Slime is great as a flat is crap. A bike is a fantastic tool for access 4-5x's the distance in the same time frame and 2-3 X's the weight capacity to haul game back.