Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Freeland, Michigan

Wildlife Drive, located in Schiawasse National Wildlife Refuge, is a scenic, flat dirt road designed for a leisurely drive in a clockwise direction. Take your time to enjoy the stunning views, hiking trails, and beautiful…
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This narrow and scratchy trail will leave a mark. This sandy trail is off a longer trail in the Gladwin Forest. This trail can be run either direction, but we found the overhead branches favored…
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Center Fireline Trail is a part of the Gladwin Scramble, a mixed-use riding area in the Gladwin Forest Management Unit. This trail is a two-lane dirt trail with mixed access and cross-traffic. You can expect…
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A simple sandy trail in the Gladwin ORV area with the most beautiful wetland views. This trail has thick sand, many turns and curves, and is relatively flat, but the various wetland views along it…
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This stretch of Wildwood Road is a narrow, sandy, and unmaintained road. It is easy in difficulty, and its only obstacle during the summer season is some whoops. The surrounding scenery varies between dense woods…
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Michigan DNR ORV Route is open to full-size, 50-inch, and motorcycles with ORV permits and Trail permit stickers. This is a small ORV Route but is surrounded by many more miles of 50-inch trails. The…
Learn more about Gladwin ORV Route

Mosquito Alley Truck Trail is a flat and sandy trail that parallels the Molasses River. It is a wide trail that easily accommodates both directions of traffic, and it is an easy, non-technical trail during…
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Sterling Truck Trail is a seasonal road that is a great connector trail for many of the trails in the Gladwin area. The terrain is sandy and flat, and it is easily wide enough for…
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This connector trail runs north and south between Lame Duck Truck Trail and Sterling Truck Trail. It can drastically vary in difficulty depending on trail conditions. On a dry summer day after the groomer has…
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Lame Duck Truck Trail is a seasonal road that borders the north edge of the Lame Duck wetland area. The terrain is sandy and flat. It is very easy in difficulty, but it is unmaintained…
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Hilly adventure awaits on this unmapped trail in the Roscommon Forest. This trail is South off of Sandy Trail, and is just West of the St. Helen's South ORV Route. There is a loop off…
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Dow Road is a 2-ish vehicle-wide hard-packed road that will take you through older forest. This trail will take you to the West Branch area or the Clear Lake area for food and fuel. Plenty…
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Aginaw Loop to Knoch is part of multiple trail systems in the area of the checkerboard. This trail is made up of pines and hardwood and starts as double-lane dirt and then drops to single-lane…
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This Michigan DNR ORV Route is open to full-size, 50-inch, and motorcycles with ORV permits and trail permit stickers. This area connects with St. Helen ORV Route on the west side. The west side of…
Learn more about Ogemaw Hills ORV Route

Michigan DNR ORV Route is open to full-size vehicles, 50 inch, and 24 inch with ORV and trail permits. The route is mostly soft sand. This section of the route is a connector between St.…
Learn more about St. Helen ORV Route - West

St Helen Trail is a 3ish-wide vehicle sandy trail that will take you through new growth forest and older forest. This trail will take you to the St. Helen area or the West Branch area…
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This route runs through mature woods and recent clear-cut areas. The route runs from the Ambrose Lake area to the south along the YMCA camp. The route has everything from hard pack to mud holes…
Learn more about Piper Lake Rd

This trail runs from north to south. At the south end, it starts off Sage Lake Road and dead ends right before Rose City Road. While traveling the trail, the width alternates between one and…
Learn more about Lentz Trail

This is a scenic ORV route near the St. Helen Motorsport Area. The trail features sandy terrain with occasional deep ruts (from ATVs and razors) but nothing a Jeep couldn't manage. When going around the…
Learn more about Denton Creek Trail

Heavily wooded trail in the middle of the Gladwin State Forest. The trail runs north and south and is dirt and sand. On the north section, trees hang over the trail, making for difficult passing.…
Learn more about Markey Road

Beaver Lake Trail is a 3 or so vehicle-wide sandy trail that will take you through new growth forest, older forest, and recently clear-cut areas. This trail will take you to the St. Helen area…
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This trail starts in the Northwest Corner area or off of West Side Drive. It is a multi-directional trail that runs through the trees with a couple of hills. If you're a full-size vehicle and…
Learn more about The Highway

This trail is sandy with little rocks and loops around the far back area of the park. It's easy to drive and in most areas wide enough for two vehicles. There is a section near…
Learn more about Katy's Loop

This is an easy trail that loops around the wall edge of the open riding area in the far back corner of the park. The open riding area can be very mucky if it's been…
Learn more about The Fish Bowl

Work Around is a very short trail that runs along the edge of the property and backs up to the area that is still being mined. It can be picked up at the end of…
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This trail is multi-directional, steep, and with large bumps causing your vehicle to articulate. Either entrance to this trail can be located along the South Rim Trail. The trail is very rutted. There was standing…
Learn more about West Point Hill Climb

South Rim is the main hall road that runs from the middle of the park to the back area. Many trails branch off of this road. There are some areas that are rutted and muddy,…
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This sandy trail can be found at the bottom of the Electric Slide and runs to the back portion of the park. It is sandy and there is a small rock in the middle of…
Learn more about Cat Walk

This sandy trail runs between Catwalk and Sweet Water. Once you get near The Sloppy Joe Bypass, the trail turns uphill and becomes a rock crawl. 12" and bigger rocks closely layered together making for…
Learn more about Catwalk Bypass and Rock Crawl

This trail is an easy trail that connects to the middle of The Troubles trail. It runs along the hillside where you can find the Sloppy Joe trail and connects to the Catwalk. This trail…
Learn more about Sloppy Joe Bypass