ABOUT
GNARfest is a DIY ADV motorcycle ride held in the spirit of real adventure. It’s not an organized ride. There is no registration required. There is nobody to send money to. There is no support. Nobody is in charge. Everything is a suggestion. We’re shirking all responsibility. You will need to figure out how to get to the start and how to get home from the finish. You will need to figure out your own lodging and food. You will need to handle all repairs and roadside issues. You will need to figure out navigation. However, you just might meet some cool people and make some new friends.
GNARfest is a motorcycle ride that follows the Great Northern Adventure Route (GNAR), an ADV motorcycle route from Hayes Lake State Park in Minnesota to the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace, Michigan, roughly 1300 miles of forest-road motorcycling. We’re planning to do the inaugural 2025 GNARfest version of the ride starting on July 20th and ending on July 25. We’re going to ride the GNAR on these dates and we think that the more just might be the merrier. So if you want to come along for the ride, please do.
You can camp every night if you want or stay in hotels. You can cook your own food or eat at restaurants. You can wear the same underwear the whole week or bring a fresh pair for each day. It’s up to you. Just remember that if you want to stay in a nice place every night, you’ll want to call ahead and make reservations.
The route is available at gnaradv.com and at REVER on the GNAR community page. REVER is a navigation app that uses your phone as a navigation device. Files on REVER can be converted to GPX files for your GPS unit if you prefer that. REVER works very well, but like any app with a bunch of features, it takes a little practice to get used to using. Whatever you use for the route, you are responsible for figuring it out. If it were us, we would just load the REVER app on our phone, practice using it beforehand, and be done with it, but we know some of you are going to want to do it some other way. Whatever, but don’t ask us for advice because we are just going to tell you to get the REVER app. We will not be making paper copies of the route. If that’s how you roll, total respect for kicking it old style, but you need to make them yourself.
GNARfest is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be an adventure. If a DIY motorcycle experience with a group of like-minded people sounds like fun, this is the ride for you. GNARfest is intended to highlight the great parts of group rides–meeting people, sharing experiences, post-ride hanging out. You can ride at your own pace and stop as often as you like. You can make changes to the route and go your own way. You can be as social or antisocial as you feel like being. The most important thing is having the right mindset and being a positive addition to the ride. We can’t stress this enough: you are responsible for you. Ride your own ride. Long live the GNAR!
