We were finally checked after many years of not seeing a G&F officer in 33—and it was a good interaction. He was driving a CAN-AM SXS X3 with a small decal on the door, so I didn’t realize he was an officer at first. It wasn’t until he asked to check my son’s license that I figured it out. He wasn’t on the main trail either; we had just stopped like we normally do to chat and see how things are going.
He checked my OHV tag and I noticed he also looked in the back of my Honda (it’s open), which was fine—there was just an ice chest and a yellow bin back there.
Now to the actual question: They can ask to search, but you don’t have to allow it, right? I don’t have anything to hide, so I probably would have asked why he wanted to look and then said “okay” anyway.