So I tried out a new ATV park that is just a little more than an hour away. At first I was a little disappointed because it seemed mostly dusty trails with a few mud holes thrown in. The mud holes were pretty popular for people riding and there was usually a large number of people watching folks take their machines through the pits. Not an ideal situation for someone like me wanting to jump in! But as the day wore on, more people riding in the pits made the pits deeper, thicker and harder to get through. More people were getting stuck. So I offered to help push a guy out. The mud was about waist deep in most places but was chest deep in some where spinning tires had dug out the bottom. After I helped him get out another guy got stuck so I was back out pushing. Several folks decided not to attempt this pit since it was definitely getting deeper and more difficult to get through. Not too far away from this pit was a slightly smaller and shorter pit. Thought I'd try my luck up there. Sure enough, there was a mud hole at the end that was much deeper than it looked. Someone was stuck there, and since I was already muddy I offered to push him too! In a few minutes another unsuspecting rider was caught off guard by this hole's depth but luckily I was there to push! About this time a larger group came up to try the side by side strips of mud that they knew were pretty deep. It wasn't long before the guy's side by side was hopelessly stuck ! His girlfriend crawls out and gets herself stuck in the mud. Another friend reaches down to give her a hand but lets go as she is nearly out of the deep pit. Of course, she falls back and goes under the mud!.Now a couple of other friends jump in to help push, save the floating cooler of beer, etc. I jump back in to help too. There are probably about 5 of us in chest deep mud trying to get this guy out. Eventually he has to be winched out and one guy goes completely under the mud to attach the winch hook. He finally gets pulled out and the group of us heads to the pond for clean up. Since it is still April, the pond was ice cold, but a small price to pay to get in my first mud wallowing of the year!

I've had great messy times at off-road parks.

You discovered what I've found - it's best to go near the end of the day. By then, a lot of the drivers aren't out, the "newness" is worn off, the pits are much messier, and a lot of people are dirty. I've also enjoyed the mud before the event starts and being covered throughout the day, but the pits usually aren't nearly as churned up.

Also, the "helping out" works well for ATVs - hop in to push someone if they are stuck, and you'll now be in the role of helping out anyone who is stuck. I have found the timing is better for getting in is when someone is stuck, as there won't be other vehicles storming through - they will be waiting for that person to get out.