Spare tire? Check! Toolkit? Check! Plenty of snacks and a phone charger for the kids? Double check!

Part 1 of 2: Heading out from home on a 525-mile ATV ride isn’t for everyone. But with some pre-planning and a few spare parts you might not normally pack on a short trail ride, long-distance overlanding can be an off-road adventure for the whole family.

The adventure Begins

Scott Grams gave it a shot this year, joining up with Jerry Robbins on his third “525 Ride,” an overland trip from Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota to Wakefield, Michigan and back. On September 28th, eight adults and three kids jumped into seven side-by-sides, fired them up and headed east. They left in the early evening. Thirty miles into the trip, one vehicle threw an engine code and turned back just to be safe. The rest of the group continued, driving in the dark on a pre-planned route, pulling into Lakewoods Resort in Cable, Wisconsin, just before midnight.

They spent the next day driving across Wisconsin to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. “It was the perfect time to do this ride, the fall colors were just beginning to change,” said Grams. Traveling on a weekday, they met very little traffic on the trails and roads.

All Mapped out

Robbins, ride leader, had mapped out the entire route on Ride Command, including stops for food and fuel, and used the Group Ride feature to monitor the location of the other vehicles. The route differed from previous years, and included more miles of paved roads, about 20% of total miles, with the rest on designated and signed trails, gravel roads and fire roads.

Arriving at Northwoods Motel in Wakefield, Michigan, the group then spent two days venturing out to local sites: hiking to a half dozen waterfalls, visiting a memorial to a B-47 crash site, and climbing to the top of Copper Peak, the largest artificial ski jump in the world.

Prior to the trip, all the vehicle owners purchased trail passes online for Wisconsin and Michigan. Total miles traveled was 640, including side trips once they got to Michigan.

Grams’s expenses totaled about $100 a day for meals and lodging, not including fuel.

“It is a perfect kids trip, nothing technical about it. You have to have stops and meals mapped out. It all worked out and was a great ride. We’re carrying spare tires, plugs, a compressor, battery-powered pressure washer for dirty radiators, belts, wheel bearings, U joints and a few tie rods, things that can be fixed on the trail,” Robbins said. And it paid off. Trouble was minimal during the 6-day trip: two flat tires, and a broken shock.

Kid Friendly

Robbins brought his two granddaughters, ages 8 and 11. “They loved it,” he said. “They enjoy the time with their grandfather, building memories as they get older. My best advice when bringing kids? Keep it fun. Make sure they are comfortable, have plenty of snacks and keep their phones charged.”

He plans to do the 525 Ride again next year, and invites others to join in to give overlanding a try.

“I’d like to see it get bigger,” he said. “There are many people that share our passion for this kind of ride.”