An impromptu trail ride posted on Facebook happening during Easter Jeep Safari perked my interest. Over 70 people responding and 32 rigs showing up to tackle Moab Rim at sunset is no small feat for last minute planning, but it worked.  The lighting was spectacular, the trail is steep (especially since yours truly ended up hiking most of it), the participants lively and vivacious.

Those who showed up took their first steps to being a Trail Hero, emulating the enthusiasm “Lil” Rich Klein anticipates to exude during The Trail Hero event at Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, UT, October 5-8, 2016.  Mark your calendar; you will want to go to the inaugural The Trail Hero event, and here is why:

The Trail Hero (noun): A person who exemplifies giving back to the off-highway vehicle community, donates their time, effort and sometimes money to keep our trails open for OHV access, and promotes our sport as a whole as an ambassador. Trail Heroes exist in all of us; you just need to find your inner Trail Hero. Now there is an adventurous way to take your hobby to the next level and give back to keep our trail access open through Utah Public Lands Alliance and Utah 4-Wheel Drive Association.

With a focus on rock sports, The Trail Hero event is four days with over 80 trails offered, and a trail for every level of wheeling enthusiast ranging from our UTV counterparts all the way to rock crawling. However, The Trail Hero event is not just about hitting trails and going on trail rides. This is the first time in rock sports history that all forms of rock sports will converge in one area, be able to give a state of the trails and state of the sport report, and enjoy trail rides and events that include a Maxxis Tires Night Crawl with 20 of the best competitors across the country competing on four courses for an $8,000 purse, and an endurance rock race that will bring in the Kings of Ultra4 and others to battle door to door on a two-mile course with a two-hour time limit. There will also be another event called the Underground Diesel Performance Bounty Run, which will feature a 10-minute time limit and a $2,000 purse, with proceeds going to Utah Public Lands Alliance.  To top it off there is a trail breaker event where the invited participants will not get to walk the course prior to entering the course; in fact, they are not allowed near it so that the trail will all be “new and fresh” when they enter the course’s start gate. All the events are spectator friendly and most are within walking distance of the parking lot at Sand Hollow State Park.

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If that’s not enough, there will also be a vendor show with over 120 vendors in attendance, as well as a concert and gala! Saturday morning the Boy Scouts are putting on a breakfast at the Hurricane Recreation center with proceeds supporting the local Troop. “Lil” Rich didn’t forget about the wives and significant others that are not that into getting dirty, as the Ladies Lounge will be open Friday and Saturday of The Trail Hero event and will feature free manicures, pedicures, and a place to relax on the beach with a book or listen to the music.

The Trail Hero event for Wednesday and Thursday will focus on asking drivers to be ambassadors to our sport by offering up a front seat, and maybe a back seat, for our Special Needs Access day and Veterans Access day. Special Needs Access day will give the opportunity for someone that would never get to enjoy the outdoors on a 4-Wheel Drive trail the experience of a lifetime. If you want to volunteer your front seat to someone with a mental or physical disability, sign up for the Voyeur Trail on Wednesday, put in the comment box you would like to volunteer, and after the trail ride your entry fee for the day will be refunded. Thursday is Veterans Access day, but it’s not limited to Veterans but will be open to active military too. Sign up for a trail on Thursday and bring your military ID or proof of service and you will receive a refund for the day’s registration. The Trail Hero is also working with Wounded Warriors and is looking for open seats to take our true heroes out on the trail. Again, sign up for the Voyeur Trail and in the comments add you would like to volunteer and you will be given a refund.

Participants at The Trail Hero event will have the opportunity to earn custom laser-cut letters that combine to spell out TRAIL HERO. Participants will also get a hero card to help keep track of progress toward becoming a Trail Hero. Once the card is complete and verified, you become a Trail Hero Member and receive discounts on merchandise and various products.

Being a Trail Hero is beyond a name. “Lil” Rich Klein created The Trail Hero event to bring together all forms of rock sports OHV enthusiasts to Sand Hollow State Park.  He’s grown up in the industry and has seen and participated in the power that rock sports provide to keep trails and areas open to access. He also shares the passion to give those less fortunate an opportunity to experience the sport we love.

Want to be a Trail Hero? You can, and it’s simple: Go to TheTrailHero.com and sign up for trails! The vendor show and spectator friendly events will be a great experience, especially if you have never seen rock sports action live. See you in October!

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