Earlier in the week we called about renting an ATV for the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. This was for Father’s Day and we knew it was going to be a blast.
We left the house that morning and traveled to the place we were going to rent the ATV from. The house was located about 15-20 minutes away from the dunes. Lizzy and Ricky drove the ATV to the dunes and mom, dad and I followed in the SUV. (I am not going to mention where we rented from for reasons I’ll get to later.)
The short drive there was pretty scenic and all the while on back roads. As we got closer you could see a lot of off road trails that the ATV’s use so there weren’t just sand dunes but also other options to ride on. You CANNOT use your park pass here and it costs EACH vehicle (yes, the ATV too) $10.
The day started off great and we all had a blast on the dunes. We were literally the only people in an ATV on the dunes! There were some other people sledding on the sand, but I do NOT recommend that since there are ATV’s out there too, SHARING THE SAME HILLS!! I honestly thought this was so dangerous and irresponsible of the park.
Ricky was a great driver and was taking us all over the place. The odd thing is, is while you’re driving, you’re in a massive open area but you cannot see certain hills and drops offs. We talked to one of the rangers that told us we need to be off the dunes at high noon because there are no shadows on the sand at that time, so you cannot see other drivers or drop offs.
Unfortunately, we didn’t even make it till noon. Our ATV’s check engine light came on and it would not stay in 4-wheel drive. TOTAL BUMMER! I feel it was the one thing my dad was really looking forward to… and the ATV just had to take a dump.
Fortunately, we all were able to ride in it for an hour and we got our money back 100%. The owners were very apologetic and later followed up with us that a sensor went bad on the ATV and that there really was nothing wrong with it. The ATV was new ATV so I’m sure they’re following up with the manufacturer.
TIPS:
- We rented a Kawasaki and we do NOT recommend, nor would we rent one again.
- Look for companies renting Polaris RZR’s – these are lower and squattier to the ground.
- You’ll need something with at LEAST 1,000 cc’s for extra power climbing the sand.
- Wear gaiters/tube mask/ sunglasses/ hats to keep sand out of every crevasse.
- Go with someone who knows how to operate and ATV
- If you get stuck in the dunes you need to get your own tow and it can be $500 – $2,000!!
- Be aware of sandboarders & sledders
- Make sure your ORANGE flag is up so others can see you coming over the dunes
- You cannot drive at high noon because the sun plays tricks on your eyes and you need to see shadows to maneuver over the sand