Courtesy of KATV Club A special dedication of the BD ORV Trail, shown above, will be held Sunday, May 19.

The Keweenaw ATV Club will have a special Off Road Vehicle trail dedication next week. The BD Trail dedication will be Sunday, May 19.

This trail dedication is the completion of many years, many hours and a lot of money. It deals with repairing the destruction caused by the 100-year flood. The flood took place on Father’s Day Weekend in 2018. Flooding destroyed bridges and washed out major segments of the KATV ORV Connecting Trail System.

To compare how important this trail is, imagine what would happen if something happened to the Portage Lift Bridge. It is on the east side of the bridge that the Trail Dedication will take place. This location makes it accessible to walk from your highway vehicle to the dedication or come via ORV.

The dedication will start at 1 p.m. EST. The public is not only invited but encouraged to attend.

Your attendance shows your appreciation for all the work the KATV Club has done on the BD Trail. It will also be a show of gratitude to the KATV Club’s 20th Anniversary. The KATV Club was formed in May 2004 by a group of volunteers and businesses that knew how big ORVs would be to the Copper Country tourism economy.

Twenty years later, it is the KATV ORV Trail Network connects to ORV Trails in Ironwood, Iron River and Ontonagon. Hundreds of miles of trails to ride your ATV or side by side.

Recently, the Cadillac Area Chamber of the Northern Lower Peninsula announced they are opening 100 miles of ORV Trails, mainly in the Manistee National Forest. All ORV riders are happy to see when any chamber of commerce or convention and visitor bureau notices how big of an economic impact ORV riders make – even if it is only 100 miles.

That’s how the original AT Club in the Western Upper Peninsula started, that being TRALE-UP. They only had 100 miles.

Now to look at how far the KATV Club has come in miles of trails. ORV Trails South and North of Houghton. Trails to Dollar Bay, Lake Linden, Laurium, Calumet, Phoenix and Copper Harbor. It really is a testament to the hard work done by so few for so many. It is also due to the support of those businesses that support the KATV Club. Either through buying an ad in the KATV Trail Map, services and equipment to work on the trails, or outright donations to the club.

This past week, I asked Kitty Beleck for a list of the businesses that support the KATV Club. Little did I know she would send me a list of close to 40 businesses!

To mention a few, support for the KATV Club comes from Copper Country Rentals, M & M Powersports, Mariner North, Drift Inn and the Loading Zone. The KATV Club has over 35 more sponsors on the back of their ORV Trail Map. Please pick up a Map and support those that support this sport.

“We also want to thank TRG, American Forest Management (AFM) and the Nature Conservancy. We really appreciate their support, along with all the businesses…big and small,” stated Beleck, of the KATV Club.