The Polaris Adventures Podcast
Welcome to the Polaris Adventures Podcast!!
Join Host Jared Christie each month as he takes you on adventures all over the country. Get to know outfitters in great riding locations, learn about super-cool experiences and stay up to date on the latest adventures.
The Polaris Experience Podcast, Every Adventure Counts!
The Polaris Adventures Podcast
Bear Rock Adventures, New Hampshire
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A phone call, a meeting at the kitchen table and a little bit of luck were all the ingredients needed to change the life of a New Hampshire family. Join host Jared Christie as he sits down for a chat with Bear Rock Adventures, one of the first Polaris Adventures outfitters. Hear the inspirational story of how their business started in a barn and blossomed into a year around destination for the entire family.
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Welcome to the Players Adventures Podcast. I'm your host, Jared Christie, and I'm thrilled to be launching this brand new podcast. This is our very first show, and every month we're going to take you on adventures all over the country, get to know outfitters in great riding locations, learn about super cool experiences, and stay up to date on the latest adventures. Being that this is our very first show, we thought we'd kick off this podcast by inviting one of our very first outfitters. So with that in mind, please welcome to the show Corrine Rover from Bear Rock Adventures in New Hampshire. Corrine, how are you?
SPEAKER_00Oh, I'm excellent, Jared. Thank you so much for having me today.
SPEAKER_01Are you excited as much as I am for the upcoming off-road season?
SPEAKER_00Oh, I can't wait. Winter was wonderful, but really short this year, so it feels like we're even more excited to get going for the new season.
SPEAKER_01What season are we coming up on for you guys now?
SPEAKER_00Um, in right into off-roading our um off-roading season starts Memorial Day weekend and runs through Columbus Day weekend. So basically end of May to middle of October.
SPEAKER_01For folks who don't know where Bear Rock is at and you guys are in New Hampshire, where where are you guys located?
SPEAKER_00So we're located in Pittsburgh, New Hampshire, um, which is the most northern part of the state. It borders both Vermont and the Canadian border. So we're the last town in the state of um New Hampshire and one of the largest when it comes to landmass. So it's like 287 square miles of rolling hills and rivers and streams. It's it's a gorgeous area.
SPEAKER_01You you gotta look at it on a map where Pittsburgh is at, because you guys are almost a stone throw from the Canadian border right there.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. You know, oftentimes people get a bit nervous because when they're riding the trails, their phone will start pinging that they've um they're in in Canada, so they get nervous that they might have crossed the border, but you you you can't do it that easy.
SPEAKER_01Do you tell them don't worry we don't charge any extra if you happen to Canada?
SPEAKER_00Don't worry, they'll find you.
SPEAKER_01Very funny. Very funny. That's gotta be one of the most northern parts of the US, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would I would think so. I mean, it's a unique area. Um the Connecticut River starts in Pittsburgh at the fourth Connecticut Lakes, and Pittsburgh's known for the Connecticut region of lakes. So we have five lakes um in that particular um setup that but it's where the Connecticut River starts and then goes all the way down through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and ends in um through Connecticut and then ends in the sound and um and goes out into um the ocean at that point. So it's like 480 miles, but it starts in Pittsburgh.
SPEAKER_01That's something which is really unique. Yeah, very unique. Now you mentioned you guys have a lot of space there. I wonder if it that means you also have a lot of trails there.
SPEAKER_00We do. Um we've have over a thousand miles of trails that go from one community to an next, through um, through towns, over hills, through the woods. Um, so you can go on. Many people come and visit us in. We'll start in Pittsburgh and then continue on and spend several nights riding from one area to another or several days.
SPEAKER_01That is a unique experience that maybe you can do in a lot of places, I'd imagine.
SPEAKER_00No, you can't, because not everybody is as welcoming um to that sort of activity in their town, but it really is a wonderful asset to our area.
SPEAKER_01Now, for for people who don't know Corinne, uh New Hampshire is really uh a community and a state that is has been focused on ATV and off-road writing for quite a while now.
SPEAKER_00Yes. That is actually so we've had um trails for probably well over two decades for ATV, but it wasn't until the year 2013 that they ate actually made the connection that allowed all of the trail system to come together so that you could go from one area to another. Um, and that really is the thing that sets us apart from other areas because some places may have, you know, fifty, sixty, hundred miles worth of trails you can go out for a day, but this will allows you to go out, you know, day after day or from one area to another.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. And so you can launch right from Bear Rock to do that. Now, I imagine people don't do all of that in then in in a day or so, but you can do quite a bit right from Bear Rock. Talk about some of the adventures that you guys offer there.
SPEAKER_00Sure. So um, you know, it really depends upon what you're looking for, but oftentimes people are just interested in riding and looking um for the natural beauty, so we'll send them out to um Beaver Brook Falls, which is a beautiful waterfall in the area, um, takes you through different communities and out into the forests. Um, we'll send them up to the peaks, which is called uh Diamond Peaks, which overlooks both Vermont and the Canadian border. Um, and it's right near a wind farm that is, you know, kind of otherworldly like because it's so majestic. Um then some people just like to go and they'll pack up their um ATVs for the day with their fishing rods and go out to some of the hidden ponds in the area, um, or just head out and go swimming and hiking and yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's very cool. That's very cool. Now, obviously, you guys are are are far enough north that you offer more than just off-roading. You're almost a year-round place at this point.
SPEAKER_00We're trying, yes. Uh we are trying to accomplish that. Um, so we have the ATVing, which is um again from um Memorial Day to Columbus Day, and then typically our snowmobile trails open December 15th and can stay open as long as um up until April 15th, depending upon the snowfall. Um we also have glamping. Um, we have an outdoor adventure store that um supplies you with all the needs of going out and adventuring, whether it be winter or summer, or um, as well as lifestyle that kind of works with the adventurer that is even going hiking or swimming.
SPEAKER_01Hold on a second. You're telling me that you can come to your place, you can off-road, you can come to your place and you can snowmobile, but then you can also stay there in a variety of different locations in terms of you guys have cabins and clamping and stuff like that. This doesn't seem like your normal adventures location.
SPEAKER_00Uh well, we we like to say that we're our we're focused on the premium experience and we want to make it easy for people to get out and explore. So we kind of take all that guesswork out of it. So you can just show up at our place after making a booking and pick up your vehicle, have everything that you need um in regard to gear, and then take off to one of our locations, whether it be a lodge where you have like a three or four bedroom um recently renovated right on the trails, right next to a restaurant, or you can go to a campground, which is a lamping ground, um, which is 16 miles away from our location, but you can load up your car or load up your ATV and bring all your supplies and head out from there. And then also we have a um a nice cabin that is a little bit more secure than a tent.
SPEAKER_01Now, uh one of the the benefits for you guys, and you mentioned it just a little bit there, is you started because you were right on the trail system. How much of an advantage did that play into what you guys did?
SPEAKER_00Oh, it it is the thing that um sets us apart from many outfitters or um in in the nation. Um, because you do not have to you just show up and then you you can take off right from there. Um is the thing that makes it most enjoyable. You know, you you're not trailering, you're not worrying about that whole piece, which is nothing but an added pain in the back.
SPEAKER_01100%, 100%. Now you you started, you you joined up with the adventures program and you you kind of took off from there. Was it was the slow growth or did did things start really kind of moving quickly for you guys over the years?
SPEAKER_00So we went from being renting a small pace space to purchasing a large 13,000 square foot building, getting into retail, expanding on our camping ground, bringing in e-commerce and working towards a year-round business. So yeah, it it was amazing what happened after that.
SPEAKER_01Did you ever foresee yourself in this crazy adventure world?
SPEAKER_00No. No. But now I have a generational business too, um, which has always been a goal of mine. I have my son operating as a general manager. Um my husband and I work together. We hope to continue to have our family work together, which is a really amazing opportunity to do.
SPEAKER_01Now, just a couple of hours south is Jericho State Park, which I've been to myself uh m at least once or twice for uh and in fact back in the day, Camp Razor uh was was there. That's also a great riding location, just a few hours south.
SPEAKER_00It really is, and we are literally connected to that. That is one of the destinations. So if people either start at Jericho and come to us on a multi-day trip, um, or you know, or vice versa.
SPEAKER_01You guys have done so much, Karina, over the years, from starting just basically in your kitchen and the trail system right there with and then and then grown over the years, and you've got your family involved. What's next for you guys?
SPEAKER_00Uh what's next for us is that we're really trying to maintain an elevated experience. Um so we envision some growth in our uh lamping experience, um adding on a small um convenience store at the campground and expanding through that. Um, as well as currently we're really developing a strong ecom presence for our um for our store. So that's that's where we're focused.
SPEAKER_01What what makes clamping so much fun? I've never done it personally, but it's kind of you haven't? You know, I haven't.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's much better to sleep on a bed than it is to sleep on the ground. And they we have um wood stoves in the tents as well. Um we have grills and fire pits and adround deck chairs and everything set up so those people still show up with a lot of gear. Uh you can really minimize what you need to bring so it's more of like you can you can show up and have the experience.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that sounds like fun. Do what do people typically say when they visit you guys, do they is it a day trip, is it a multi-day trip? What's uh what do people do?
SPEAKER_00Typically, typically it's a two to three day trip.
SPEAKER_01I was going to ask you, what is the best time of year to come ride and visit you guys?
SPEAKER_00I guess my favorite time is fall. We um foliage in New Hampshire is something that people come from all over the world for. And what do you quay to see foliage but to go in an ATV and go out through into the woods, right? I love that experience. And it, you know, you're you're getting cozy at night, so you're sitting around the fire, and I I think that's probably some of the best times to ride.
SPEAKER_01Corrine, if if people are are interested in just seeing what you have to offer or maybe even booking something, where do they go?
SPEAKER_00Bayrockadventures.com.
SPEAKER_01All the information they need. Corrine, how does it feel to be the very first guest on the new show?
SPEAKER_00I'm thrilled for the opportunity, Jared. Thank you so much for choosing me.
SPEAKER_01Well, that does it for our very first Polaris Adventures podcast. Join us next week as we visit one of our newest outfitters. Well, Corrine, thank you for being our first guest and have a wonderful summer season. Be sure to like and subscribe the Polaris Adventures podcast wherever you listen to your podcast, and we will talk to you again soon. Remember, every adventure counts.
