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new silver lake regulations

8K views 92 replies 35 participants last post by  jmdzuk 
#1 ·
hey does anybody know anything about the rumor i heard -they were going to make a dunewide speedlimit of 35m.p.h.?that would suck bad!1st they stopped letting us drive in lake michigan,then the 25m.p.h. entry speed ,then they stopped letting us put our watercrafts in the lake,then the decible limits,then they closed the mud off,and made 1/2 the dunes one way,then they started not letting us smooth the drag strip off,then last year they closed off a bigger section around the mud and made a 25 m.p.h. speed limit down by the beach.
did you know the dunes used to be open year round?there used to be outhouses and fresh water supply out there. the 1st thing we did when we got there was to open up our exhausts.by the time my grandchildren are grown they will get to go to the big fence around the dunes and look in and remember all the stories they heard about how much fun the dunes used to be.
 
#8 ·
well, they just re-opened the mud up 2-3 years ago after being closed for over 10 years, when they opened them up I heard it would only be for a couple years and then they would start opening/closing them every 2-3 years. They are not closed by wetlands rules.

you are correct about new rules and regulations being caused by the people out there doing stupid things, and taking exhaust off when you get out there is actually one of them things.

where ever you wheel, keep in mind someone likely lives near there, or goes there besides you, if you are a nusance then it gives them reasons to bitch, which in turn makes the DNR form rules...
 
#11 ·
the signs have only been at the beach for the last year. I really did not like it for riding my raptor because you could haul ass down the beach for such a long ways. For vehicles i think most everybody already went about the fast most of the time and there is alot of kids playing around vehicles too. So as a parent I do understand the 25 mph but don't like losing one more thing at the dunes. It used to be you drove up and down the dunes listening to the beer cans slide back and forth in the truck bed. Not the I want people to drink and drive, but just saying how things have changed.
 
#28 ·
It used to be you drove up and down the dunes listening to the beer cans slide back and forth in the truck bed. Not the I want people to drink and drive, but just saying how things have changed.
I don't agree with this. I have been going to the dunes since 1976 and there has never been alcohol allowed in the dunes. For 30 years they have been asking if there is alcohol in your cooler and also done spot checks.

If you drink & drive in the dunes........ you were an idiot back then and an idiot now.
 
#13 ·
rules

thanks to yetti,and then steve kubisiak i got a contact number with the supervisor up at silver lake.he said they were going to start a safety commitee and that they were talking about a speed limit,but no new changes planned for this year.he said the towing issue(no more straps)is going to be inforced by the police (not the state park).he said he would send me info on joining the safety commitee.i am going to try to get on it.
i wasn't trying to say all new rules are bad.but more rules means less freedom.i don't ever like to see any body get hurt at the dunes,but the safest they could make the dunes would be to put a fence around them and not let anybody in.these are the only dunes we can drive in for 1000 miles and i am willing to fight to keep them open.
 
#16 ·
It is interesting.. I have been going to S/L since 1973. When we started everything was wide open, no limits......
We used to ride on the back of pick up's going up test hill w/o seats or belts. Now the dunes are so busy that the area has to be regulated so tightly to keep the users safe.
 
#19 ·
honest to god..........I don't think it would really bother me either.........if your truck is built correctly there is really no reason that you need anymore run than that.........the dunes just are not that difficult.........most days I can do test hill in 2wd.

People need more of a run for 3 reasons

1. they are dumb and can't drive
2. they are dumb and did not air down far enough
3. they are dumb and are trying to run a small bock, stock gears, and 40's

so really it can be summed up that people only need more run if they are dumb
 
#20 ·
most of the time i just put around. but its kewl to see people drag race. I understand the beach speed limit rule and it makes sence to me. but over the whole place would be a pain in the ass. my truck has no guts so i need the momentum to get up test. but even then i dont think i hit 35.. maybe. never payed attention. i guess im dumb then... becasue i cant put up it.. but what ever.

i have heard stories about silver back in the 70's and yea its changed alot. i dont think its all that bad though. the sound rule is stupid in some ways for the fact that ive seen stock trucks not pass... i think you should have some mufflers on the truck.. but it dont have to be supper quiet. ..
 
#23 ·
wow.........people get butt-hurt easy around here don't they???

I don't know it all.........and no my truck is not really built........but it works.........why???

because my gears match my tire size and horsepower and I am not scared to air down.........and because of that I can run the hills with out needing to haul ass.....simple as that.

I will admit I am very coservitve with the skinny pedal and I prefer to wheel with people who are like-minded.....it is not only safer but there are fewer holdups from people breaking parts for no good reason.

speed limit or not......I don't give a shit........either way I will still be able to go and have a fun day of wheeling......and that is what is important to me:woot:
 
#30 ·
Why do you need that much momentum.............the dam hill is not that big...........nor is it difficult............it does however do a very good job of sorting out the rigs that are built correctly and those that are not.........if your tire size matches your gearing / hp then you don't need to haul ass to make it...........it is that simple.
 
#32 ·
towing

here's the question and answer i just got from the state park ,regarding the new towing law inforcement
question: I was just talking with some other people and started wondering
about a new problem.with the new enforcement of towing laws, has the
park thought about the new problems it might cause?if every vehicle that
got towed in with a rope last year has to be trailered in this year, the
voucher line is going to look a lot like the old park line.people will
have to line up a day in advance to get a parking lot voucher.and if the
people who want dune ready vouchers have to wait in the same line, it
will be half way to pentwater again.
does the park have any plan to deal with this kind of problem?I know
the park is not responsible for these changes,but it looks like the
duners and the park will have another problem to deal with.
answer: Bill - Yes, we have thought about that and are curious how that is going
to impact activities. My guess is that if folks want to access the ORV
Area and continue to want to do that during the busy times
(weekends/holidays) they are probably going to be developing tow bars or
making their ORVs street legal, if that is possible.

Lines will not necessarily get much longer because there still will be
the limited number of vouchers available. What we may see are more
people going back and forth with their tow bars trying to get their
equipment into the area. There is no more parking available so
trailering isn't really an option. It (ORV Area) is a small area with
only so much room and when its full, its full and when the day's
vouchers are gone, they are gone. If lines get longer than the end of
Ridge Road I am sure they will be disbursed as has been the case since
the introduction of vouchers and no over-night waiting lines. My guess
is we will probably see more mid-week use, if people are able to make
that work into their schedules.

One of the big problems (as I see it) is that populations keep growing,
but resources are pretty stagnant. There hasn't been a new off-road
vehicle area in decades and all attempts to create new locations have
failed. What exists today simply can not meet the demand, on occasions.
For businesses associated with tourism that relates to the Silver Lake
ORV Area specifically there is a big problem too. They have to consider
a real cap on growth... it is very hard to grow a business when it is
so closely tied to such a limited resource. There needs to be a variety
of things for folks to do in the area since they can't all go "duning"
at the same time... spread the use out as much as possible. Efforts
need to be spent moving some of the use to less busy times (weekdays),
but I am not sure how that will be done.
 
#39 ·
but it suck for my friends who have 2.5 l engines up there with 40in tries


That is exactly what I am talking about............a 4cyl will not effectively push 40's.............so why even try it.........those people will have problems, but the problems are not caused by the speedlimit they are caused by a severe mismatch between engine power output and tire size.
 
#47 ·
I don't know how much it will effect the states take on the tourisum with the tow restrictions. they don't ussally care about who's lives they ruin by changing rules and driving folks away. I don't know if you have been watching but the state is loosing about 50,000-65,000 residents a year due to the crappy things this state offers in jobs and recreation. the last thing they need is to drive more people away. at some point people will quit coming and then who will pay to keep the park open?
 
#48 ·
Jack Warfield is a cry baby anyway, but what are you gonna do? I have a question on how all this works. I used to have my wife tow me on the strap with my crap bronco to the parking lot, then drive my crap bronco and good bronco out in the dunes. I used to get "dune ready" vouchers for both. Does this new rule mean I can't have her tow me down there any more?? If thats so, I am done with the dunes. First the dang noise thing and now this, what next???
 
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