Before the tires touch sand

Registration, equipment, and the rules that travel with you.

Grant County publishes real equipment specifications for the dunes, not vague advice. Getting them right at home is easier than getting them wrong in front of a deputy.

Add it to a trip

A rider and ranger check the registration decal on a side-by-side before it is unloaded at Moses Lake — Illustration of checking a current Washington ORV registration tag before riding.

A valid ORV tag

Every machine needs current Washington ORV registration. Requirements differ depending on where the vehicle is registered and how it is used, so confirm your own situation with the Washington Department of Licensing rather than assuming a friend's answer applies to you.

A four-foot square bright orange safety flag flown high above a side-by-side, meeting the Grant County requirement — Illustration of the Grant County flag requirement: a four-foot square flag flown nine feet above the ground. Not a documentary photograph.

The safety flag has a specification

Grant County Code 11.30.030 calls for a bright red or bright orange flag measuring at least 48 inches square, on a pole putting it at least 108 inches above the ground while the vehicle is stopped, and visible from all directions while moving. That is a four-foot flag flown nine feet up, which is considerably more than a stock whip, so check yours against the ordinance rather than against what everyone else in the staging area is running. Motorcycles are exempt from the flag requirement.

Helmets, and the one exemption

A helmet is required. The exemption is narrow: a vehicle fitted with both a roll cage and seatbelts. Not one or the other. Motorcycle riders are exempt from the flag rule but not from the helmet rule.

Noise is measured, not estimated

The limit is 105 decibels at 20 feet, and a muffler with a working spark arrester is required. If your machine has an aftermarket exhaust, this is worth knowing before you tow four hours to find out.

Riders under 16

A rider under 16 must be accompanied by a licensed adult. Plan the group around that rather than discovering it at the staging area with a disappointed teenager.

County roads are not part of the riding area

Grant County states that ATVs are not allowed on county roadways unless specifically authorized by law. An open ORV area does not make the roads around it legal to ride. Trailer between locations.

Keep proof reachable

Save your registration and the current county rules to the phone as files and keep a paper copy in the rig. The current rules live with the Grant County ORV Unit, and the county's main line is 509-754-2011.

Verify before travel. Conditions, zones, and regulations can change. Use the responsible agency's current information for final decisions.

Open Grant County's official source →