Where can I ride? Michigan's trails, forest roads, and county roads

2026–27 season. Forest road maps refresh every April 1; closures change in real time — the map is current, prose never is.

The Ladder, expanded

The pillar page teaches the five land types. Here’s each one, with the exact map or office that settles it.

Designated trails and routes (license + permit): the ~4,000-mile system, in three widths — 24-inch motorcycle trails, 50-inch ORV trails, 72-inch routes. The honest modern problem: many new side-by-sides exceed 50 inches, which limits them to routes, forest roads, and scramble areas. Measure your machine; the DNR maps mark widths. Long-distance riders chain trails into multi-day systems, and the trail towns along them — Mio, St. Helen, Gladwin, Atlanta — are built for riders.

State forest roads (license only): the quiet revolution. A 2016 law (PA 288) made the DNR inventory and map every state forest road, and about 89% are now open — 11,841 miles for 2026. The U.P. is ~98% open; the practical rule up there is “open unless posted closed.” The northern Lower Peninsula is ~84% open — check the map rather than assume, and in 2026 some roads remain closed for storm cleanup, including damage from the historic 2025 ice storm. The southern Lower Peninsula has about nine miles total. Every November, the DNR takes public comment on the next year’s map — a small civics moment for riders who want a road opened or protected.

County roads (license + a local ordinance): counties and townships may open roads to ORVs, and many Up North have. Typical terms: far right of the maintained surface, 25 mph, lights on. But terms vary, and there’s no statewide map — call the county road commission or sheriff. The never-list is absolute: no M-highways, US-highways, or interstates, except at signed connector crossings.

National forests (license): eligible roads in the Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha, and Ottawa are ridable; the federal motor-vehicle-use maps govern. The St. Helen and Bull Gap country sits in and around national forest.

Frozen lakes (license; plated vehicles free): legal — and the same warning that anchors our ice fishing page applies on a machine: no ice is safe ice.

Private land (permission): no stickers needed. And the fastest way to lose riding access for a whole township is to skip the permission part. The etiquette page carries the neighbor-relations material.

Camping with the machine

A string of state forest campgrounds offer direct trail access. Dispersed rustic camping on state forest land pairs naturally with multi-day rides — pull a trailer north, camp where the trail sleeps.

The maps toolbox

The DNR’s interactive ORV map (with PDF and GPX downloads), the forest roads maps at Michigan.gov/ForestRoads, and the closures page. Between those three, “can I ride here?” has an answer before you load the trailer.

The signpost

Maps and current closures live at Michigan.gov/ORVInfo. Start with ORV riding in Michigan, explained.