Moto-Masters Park

Moto Masters runs on US Route 11 just north of Parish, in the snowbelt country between Syracuse and Pulaski, and its tagline tells you what you are getting: do it in the sand.

The track is about 1.4 miles of sandy natural terrain with only a handful of man-made jumps, because the ground does the work here. The signature obstacle is Devil's Drop, a 62 foot downhill that the track sometimes runs in reverse, at which point it becomes Lucifer's Ladder and a very different problem. Rich Bristol bought the property in 2007 and he and his family still run it.

It is one of the four tracks that put the UpState Motocross series together back in 2011, alongside Thornwood, Cato MX and Frozen Ocean, and it still hosts USMX and WNYMA rounds every season for bikes and quads. The track opens around those weekends rather than for general riding: open practice on the Saturday, racing on the Sunday.

Sign-up is at the track, Saturday evening from 6 to 8 PM and Sunday morning from 7 to 9 AM. Admission is $15 per person for racers and spectators alike, with non-racing kids under 10 free. All districts are welcome and District 3 cards are honoured without a day pass.

House rules worth knowing before you unload: no glass containers anywhere on the property, absolutely no pit bike riding, and dogs stay leashed. There are permanent restrooms, though no showers, and water hookups for pressure washing and filling tanks.

Beyond its own series rounds the place takes guest promoters, so vintage and ATV racing turn up on the calendar alongside the motocross.