Perhaps the biggest disappointment from the recent two-day adventure riding—and driving—several of Polaris 2015 off-road models is that we missed the first day of the adventure.
You see, we were caught in the middle of the recent torrential downpour that hit southern Utah and southern Nevada earlier this week. You’ve heard all about it right now so no need to bore you with any details. We’re grateful we’re safe and that we finally made it to the Polaris event, which was held in southern Utah on the east side of Zion National Park.
But we would be lying if we didn’t admit we were very disappointed to miss the first day of riding.
Honestly, who knew we could be stranded in the desert because of rain. We’re believers now. Mother Nature showed once again who really is in control.
Anyway, we made the most of our day or riding the new Polaris off-road vehicles. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time riding and driving.
Hog Canyon, north of Kanab, UT, was our first destination for racking up some miles on the 2015 Polaris ATVs and side-by-sides this morning. We mounted up on a Sportsman 1000 and a RZR S 900 and went hunting for wild hogs (not really) but did see little lizards scampering off the trails to avoid the squish scenario. The trails were quite scenic and big fun as they were very windy and generally tight with transitions from firm sandstone to soft sand, and a few boulder patches mixed in here and there.
These conditions were ideal to thoroughly test the power, handling and comfort and both the RZR and Sportsman passed our expectations with flying colors. It is incredible what a good suspension and power steering has done for the off-road enthusiast.
We could have (and wanted to) spent way more time in Hog Canyon but about lunch time we were headed back to our home base, Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, which has dozens of trails in the area.
So our second half of the day was spent on those trails behind and above the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. This time we took the RZR 900 and Ace 570 out as the trails we attacked here were also windy and even tighter than the stuff we rode in the morning. Not much sandstone or large boulders on these trails as it was mostly soft, loose sand and mud/water puddles from the torrential rains two days prior.
Once again, our ponies handled the terrain with ease, although, we feel the Ace could use EPS and engine braking/ADC to feel more confident in the conditions we rode. Hey, Polaris spoiled us with these features so now we have grown accustomed to them and feel the need.
We also took some time to take the new Ranger 570s out for a spin.
We’ll have a full report on these and other new Polaris off-road vehicles in upcoming issues of Dirt Toys Magazine so stayed tune. And bring an umbrella along.
