In the past year, attendance at the Morrow County OHV (off-highway vehicles) Park south of Heppner has doubled – proof that people who own ATVs and other off-road vehicles love to ride.

So far this year, 31,458 people have come to the OHV Park. With 8,125 acres and 200 miles of trails, fee camping facilities, a cook shack and small emergency room and welcome center, the OHV Park, 32 miles south of Heppner on Highway 207, has something for everyone.

Sandi Putnam of Morrow County Parks said the park has been a strong addition to the region.

“As three-day weekends and races and/or poker runs events are scheduled, we find that the towns of Heppner and Lexington benefit from this activity with groceries to fuel that the enthusiasts are requiring,” Putnam said.

Purchased with grant money, the park has on-site training and certified trainers available to assist in certifying riders so they will ride safely, said Putnam, and in preparation for new off-road vehicle laws being implemented in 2009. New grants are being sought for permanent restroom and shower facilities. A Morrow County Sheriff’s deputy patrols the grounds each weekend and EMTs volunteer their time, as well.

The Wheeler boys – dad Phil and sons Nathan, 6, and Kyle, 5 – all ride ATVs. The Hermiston family was at the OHV Park on Saturday, taking part in a poker run benefiting the county’s emergency services. Nathan said he has been riding for two years and loves to go down hills on his little four-wheeler. Phil Wheeler said his family has been to the Morrow County facility a couple of times and said it is a great place to ride off-road vehicles.

The weekend’s poker run brought people from all over the area, said Tylen Mundy, 15, who was manning the first station of the 30-mile run with her stepsister, Kaity Scott, 13. From Arlington, Tylen and Kaity have been riding dirt bikes since they were quite young – Tylen has been riding since age 4 while Kaity got started at age 8.

“We all ride,” said Tylen of her family of six, who have been coming to the OHV Park for several years.

Kaity said she meets a lot of new people riding dirt bikes and is good exercise.

“It is adrenaline releasing,” she said. “It’s something the whole family can enjoy.”

Simon Winters spends his days – and nights – at the park as the supervisor and maintenance person for the county’s public works department. He said the park was purchased five years ago and the county recently purchased an additional 2,000 acres from Grant County to add to the 6,200-acre park. He and volunteers at the park are expanding the campsites to include spaces for larger RVs. A welcome center for information and the sheriff’s department and EMTs was just completed – all with volunteer labor and materials.

“The park is open year round,” said Winters. “We had 4 feet of snow last year, so snowmobiles came up.”

A lagoon is being built to allow for full hookups for trailers as well as the proposed restroom and shower facilities.

Jerry Roberts is the Morrow County deputy who patrols the park. His position is paid for by a grant and sales from the off-road stickers sold at the park for 10 months out of the year. Another deputy is paid to patrol the park for four months, which allows Roberts and the other deputy to overlap their coverage. Roberts loves the park.

“My sole purpose in life” is to patrol the park, Roberts said.

There have been minor accidents at the park, but nothing that couldn’t be handled by the volunteer EMT staff, he said. There is a helicopter pad on the property, which has been used once in five years. For most accidents, the Heppner ambulance does the job.

Despite the number of visitors to the park, Roberts said there are few problems because of the family atmosphere.

“The park has stayed family-oriented,” he said. “People who come here, this has become their spot.”

For more information about the park, call 541-676-5317 or visit www.oohva.org and click on the OHV tab at the bottom of the page. The site will take you to a listing of OHV parks in Oregon and then click on Morrow County OHV Park. You can find a map and driving directions on the Web site.