Echo Snowmobile/ATV access

[WIPERFLY]

I am looking to take a good friend of mine to Echo this weekend for some ice fishing. He is handicapped and the scramble down to the ice in most of the spots I like to fish might be a bit much for him. Does anyone know where a good place is to access the lake by snowmobile? I have scouted it out a bit but come up empty.
[signature]

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Access Echo from the Northeast (old highway) side of the reservoir. If you are familiar with the reservoir in the summer, come off the beach.

I think it's much too early to attempt any machines on the ice yet. Of course if you see other machines out there don't go past the big hole in the ice![:/] GOOD LUCK and be SAFE!
[signature]

[WIPERFLY]

[quote SmokeOnTheWater]don't go past the big hole in the ice[/quote]

That's good advice.

Echo has a good solid 6" of clear ice. You could drive a truck safely on it. I am quite familiar with Echo and have been ice fishing there many times. I cannot remember ever seeing ATV's or snowmobiles on the ice. Access is tough to find. There are a lot of fences and gates and private property to deal with. Even if you do find a place to get through (Grass Creek, for example), there is still a very steep drop or a boulder field to deal with. Therefore, I would guess the best option would be somewhere near the south east corner, close to Coalville.


Does anyone have a specific point where access can be had??
[inline echo.jpg]
[signature]

[FishingWaters]

There are a few lakes that it is illegal to take a OHV on the ice. Echo and Willard bay are two of them. This was hashed out a few year back. The deal with Echo is the property around the lake is all private property in order to ride a crossed it you need written permission for the owner before doing so. This was tried and the owner refused. The campground and boat ramp are also privately owned. However you are allowed to access the water by foot.
This is a good time to remind everyone who wants to access the ice by OHV’s at any water where State Parks manages the land around the water you must access it by the rule on their website at [url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/ohv/ice"]http://stateparks.utah.gov/ohv/ice[/url].

The basic rule is if the property around the water is private you must have permission to access with a OHV. If it is public land the land management agency need to grant use of OHV’s in that area. Fish Lake will only allow Snowmobiles, nothing with tires only skis and tracks. Bear Lake has its own rule also.

The following list is from the site.
State Parks offering OHV access for ice fishing (day-use fees apply):
[ul][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/bear-lake"]Bear Lake[/url] (de-icers are used to extend the boating season - marina ice may be thin)[/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/east-canyon"]East Canyon[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/escalante"]Escalante Petrified Forest[/url] - Wide Hollow Reservoir[/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/hyrum"]Hyrum[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/jordanelle"]Jordanelle[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/millsite"]Millsite[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/otter-creek"]Otter Creek[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/palisade"]Palisade[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/piute"]Piute[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/red-fleet"]Red Fleet[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/rockport"]Rockport[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/scofield"]Scofield[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/starvation"]Starvation[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/steinaker"]Steinaker[/url][/li][li][url "http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/yuba"]Yuba[/url][/li][/ul]
[signature]

[mchris]

Assuming you meant to say "illegal".

Thanks for the info. Just bought a snow machine this year so I can take my little buddy out with me.
[signature]

[FishingWaters]

Thanks I thought I had put the IL in front
[signature]

[WIPERFLY]

That is great information and a great resource for state park information. I am not sure it applies to Echo, however, as Echo is not a state park.

I have been unable to find anything that expressly forbids snow machines on Echo, so I am going to give it a whirl. I think I will speak to a landowner or two.

On a side note: The nice lady ranger at Willard told me that they were, in fact planning to allow OHV's on the ice this year. I'd never take my machines out there, but that's what she said.
[signature]

[FishingWaters]

That’s good to hear about Willard, it was the head ranger there that would not allow them a few years ago when the rules were change to allow OHV’s on the ice at state parks.
Echo reservoir is owned by an irrigation company, I can’t remember which one. They own the land around the reservoir and the water rights. I talk to them several years back about allowing OHV on the ice and they would not grant permission to do so. To take OHV’s on the ice is taking a chance at getting a trespassing and/or improper use of an OHV ticket. Not for being on the ice but how you access the ice.
Last year the CO at Rockport was writing tickets to people who access the ice with an OHV on the west side of the lake because they were not on an approved OHV trail.
I wish I could take my machines to Echo I’ve tried to get permission to do so. If you do please let me know. I’m headed to Rockport tomorrow with the machines. The Parks website says the ice is 4 to 8 inches and I can park and ride out from the boat ramp, doesn’t get much easier than that.
[signature]

[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I don't know if what FishingWaters says about Echo is true or not. I've been using a snowmobile on it the past two years and have seen others use them as well. My access point is the beach area on the southeast corner of the reservoir. I park in the area just outside the beach fenced area and ride around the south end (Coalville end) of the fence and through the beach area to the ice. There have ALWAYS been snowmobile tracks there when I went indicating that many others do the same thing. This does not make it legal, but it does indicate that I'm not the only one doing it.

There have not been ANY reports on here or other Utah forums indicating that anybody has ever gotten a citation from doing so. So let your conscience be your guide. Echo Reservoir was created by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1931 by the construction of an earth-fill dam. The reservoir shoreline is 75% owned by the Weber River Water Conservancy District, and public access is restricted in the remaining 25%.

If you want to actually contact the operator of the facility for answers about using it for recreation, the agency would be the Weber River Water Users Association in Sunset, UT. Their office number is 801-774-6373. If you do call them up, please report back here with what you find out.
[/#800000][/font]
[signature]