I don't know what kind of access you have to wood chips but we have had such
good success in our ring with them that I wouldn't have anything else. I live
in a very sandy based area near the Chesapeake Bay and my husband made us a
65x95 ring that was leveled with the sand and covered with the wood chips. I
prefer it over sand as it isn't covered and if we have only sand it becomes too
dusty to ride on during the dry summers, but the wood chips hold the moisture
just like mulch and the ring is very cushy in case you fall off. No regular
watering needed to keep it comfortable, although we did water it down a couple
of times last summer as we had the worst drought ever since I have lived here,
so even the wood chips were disintegrating in the dry heat and we put fresh
chips out on top of the old. My husband takes his crawler over it after a fresh
layer is placed to pack it down, usually only once a year to keep it neat and
tidy. We get our wood chips from the power and electric company who hires
contractors to clear power lines paths and they just bring over the truckloads
for free. They need a place to unload and go back to grind up more and we also
use it to cover some of our trails to minimize damage from the 4 wheelers in
the mud. Great erosion barrier.
