You need a permit to ride off-road in Utah; Here's how I got one

Utah is famous for its beautiful off-road riding. We've written about it ourselves, from this story about Spurgeon's trip with his friends in 2020 to even older stories of Moab deep in our archives. What you may not know — and need to know, if you're thinking of a riding vacation in Utah this year — is that a permit is now required to ride off-road on public land. The law took effect January 1 and enforcement began February 1. (The rider's permit is in addition to the permit for your out-of-state motorcycle, if you bring one into Utah. The permit for the bike costs $30 and is good for a year.)

Fortunately, the rider's permit is free and relatively easy to get. Just to see for myself, I took the online course. As promised, it took about half an hour. The course consists of a series of multiple-choice questions and a few short videos you have to watch on safety, trail etiquette, environmental concerns, and other issues. You check a box indicating you watched the video and then move on to answer more questions. (I watched the videos but really you're on the honor system here.)

The questions aren't difficult. The answers are given to you in the text above each question and most are so simple I can't imagine anyone could get them wrong in any case. (See example below.)

You can see all the registration and permit requirements at Utah's web site. For example, side-by-sides and ATVs are required to have license plates, though off-road motorcycles are not.

Spurgeon's always preaching to me about the joys of off-road riding and suggesting we go to some remote location far from medical care so I can join him in the experience, but since I haven't done any serious off-road riding in about 15 years — and by "serious" I mean "not really all that serious" — I keep putting him off. But now I'm trained. So who knows? Maybe this is the year.

Either way, I have a Utah off-road riding permit and Spurgeon doesn't.

Eat your heart out, Spurg.