Frostbite 2016
Kansas Rocks Recreation Park
Mapleton, KS
February 27th
The weather in Kansas can be unpredictable; this time last year the small town of Mapleton, Kansas was under heavy snow fall in 30 degree and dropping temperatures. That didn’t stop us and a number of off-road enthusiasts from attending the annual Frostbite event at Kansas Rocks Recreation Park. Although we had a blast playing in the snow at Frostbite 2015, we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for this year’s event.
Sixty-eight degrees and sunshine accompanied us on our visit to KRRP for Frostbite 2016; it was the kind of day where you could really appreciate the outdoors and to reach your fill of trail riding was impossible. This year’s beautiful weather brought more side by sides out to the event than last year, around 290 rigs including many jeeps, trucks, custom rigs and UTVs would break the event attendance record with just under 800 people, not including KRRP’s friendly staff and volunteers.
There were no shortage of prizes; many sponsors supported the event by donating tons of off-road products and gift certificates for a raffle. Even if you didn’t win anything, you didn’t come home empty handed; there was plenty of free stickers and swag given out too.
With no fast food joint in the rural area surrounding KRRP, you still didn’t have to worry about going hungry, a meal was provided for attendees to fill their stomachs along with free coffee and donuts.
Primarily focusing on rock crawling, the 240 acre park has a 200 ft. elevation change and a trail system made up of dense woods, creek crossings and steep rocky hills. Kansas Rocks has trails for everyone ranging from beginner to expert along with a main loop that can be traveled by spectators to get to some of the most popular spots in the park. Navigation at the park is easy, KRRP has their trails mapped out with names and difficulty levels labeled on the park map and posted on the trails. There are several high difficulty areas, like Carnage Canyon and Zook Squeeze, where spectators hangout as they watch others attempt to crawl the steepest and toughest challenges of the park.
In rural Kansas, it’s not uncommon to see a substantial amount of wildlife, the thick woods of the park provides a home to many animals. By mid-afternoon we found ourselves on a trail unaccompanied by others and decided to stop and grab a couple waters out of our cooler, while quenching our thirst we took a good look at our surroundings and just enjoyed nature. At that moment we realized we had entered a staring contest with two deer, both does where standing about 6 ft. into the woods off the trail (which was about 15 ft. from where we were standing). Although some guys would have wished they had a rifle, we took a moment to appreciate the day and life in general.
Frostbite 2016 was a huge success for KRRP and everyone who attended. Whether you’re a hardcore rock crawler, an avid trail rider or just into enjoying nature, Kansas Rocks Recreation Park offers something for everyone. We enjoyed our visit; Frostbite 2016 was a great way to kick off a year full of SxS riding as well as putting some of the latest additions of parts and accessories on our Polaris RZR to the test. We look forward to going back to Kansas Rocks real soon!
