Ever wonder about what types of events go on over the course of
a year at an off-highway vehicle park like Hollister Hills? This
upcoming year alone we have Poker Runs, Hare Scrambles, Motorcycle,
ATV and Four Wheel Drive Safety Clinics, Motocross Races, Roadside
Trash Cleanup, and Four Wheel Drive Rallies. There are some
different names for the many events that occur at Hollister Hills.
If you are not familiar with them, here is what they are. A Poker
Run is where people ride their ATVs and motorcycles to stations set
up at different locations throughout the park. At each station they
are given a card until they build a poker hand. The rider with the
best hand wins. A Hare Scramble is an off-road motorcycle race that
travels over a course that, on average, is about 10 miles long.
Ever wonder about what types of events go on over the course of a year at an off-highway vehicle park like Hollister Hills? This upcoming year alone we have Poker Runs, Hare Scrambles, Motorcycle, ATV and Four Wheel Drive Safety Clinics, Motocross Races, Roadside Trash Cleanup, and Four Wheel Drive Rallies.
There are some different names for the many events that occur at Hollister Hills. If you are not familiar with them, here is what they are. A Poker Run is where people ride their ATVs and motorcycles to stations set up at different locations throughout the park. At each station they are given a card until they build a poker hand. The rider with the best hand wins. A Hare Scramble is an off-road motorcycle race that travels over a course that, on average, is about 10 miles long.
Safety Clinics are held by organizations such as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the ATV Safety Institute, and Esprit de Four. These organizations hold classes that teach people to ride and drive off-highway vehicles safely and responsibly. Rallies are held by groups such as the Dodge Power Wagon Club. These rallies give people the opportunity to come out and enjoy the park with their favorite off-highway vehicle club or organization.
There are constant calls about using the park as a venue for events. We try to accommodate as many as possible without impacting the users or the integrity of the park. We also consider the impacts on the surrounding community, such as roadways and the emergency medical system. Use patterns come into play as well. Once upon a time, the four-wheel drive area had been closed for events as often as once a month. The attendance at Hollister Hills has increased and so has the Four-Wheel Drive use, to the point where the impact on park users will not allow that much closure. Now, the four-wheel drive area is only closed a few times a year for historic events.
There is a whole cross section of people and groups that put on the events. There are even people that make their living promoting events.
In fact, professional promoters put on most of the motocross races at the Grand Prix Track. Clubs and organizations put on the remainder.
Scheduling had became an interesting process, so several years ago the entire Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division established a policy so that all of the SVRA’s were uniform statewide.
The Grand Prix Track and the Area 5 Group Camp are the only areas we schedule events and make reservations for. The first events scheduled are “historic”, that is, they occur annually within the same time frame.
Examples are P&D National Hare Scrambles, HHORA Hare Ball or the Esprit de Four Safety Clinics. Once these are penciled in, the rest of the available dates are offered to groups with past seniority and then on a first-come, first-serve basis.
After the dates are reserved, the promoters still have to follow through with providing all of the requirements necessary for the event and must meet the conditions of the state’s permit. Some of the permit requirements include a $1 million general liability insurance policy, contracting for additional portable restrooms, ambulance and personnel, safety flaggers at the Grand Prix Track, and equipment operators as well as equipment for dust management and track preparation. Come the day of the event, everything has to be in line or the event doesn’t happen.
The most important aspects of any of these events are appropriateness, safety and proper management of the resource. What the state is trying to do is provide sustainable off-highway recreation that is safe and promotes the Off-Highway Vehicle Program. Safety is a topic that sounds self explanatory, but we do have to eliminate some events because of safety.
Resource management may not always be thought about while riding in a race, but without it we couldn’t put a race on. Issues such as dust management, sound monitoring and erosion control must also be addressed.
As land managers, the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division is subject to oversight by Department of Fish and Game, Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife regulations must be met before an event can be allowed. Behind the scenes of a hare scramble, the promoters are out after the race with shovels, rakes, straw and seed to restore and rehabilitate areas that may have been impacted by the event. The race may be over for the riders, but work continues on a year-round basis to repair trails and prevent erosion.
Information on these events can be found on line at www.hollisterhills.com.
Dan Dungy has just retired, but was assigned to Hollister Hills for the past 10 years as the Chief Ranger and the District Superintendent. He continues to work for the Department on special projects. Email him at df***@******ca.gov
