Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Marion, Michigan

This is a continuation of County Line Road that turns to 60th Avenue, a single-lane seasonal road. This short trail is a fun side path for those looking for some quick mud. This seasonal road really shines after heavy rainfall or during a storm; it quickly floods and offers small water crossings and...
Learn more about County Line and 60th

Take a quick shortcut to Temple, Michigan, through this scenic trail that begins near Marion, Michigan. This trail passes through the Gladwin Forest Management Unit and also many Consumer Energy paths that are interconnected throughout the area. This area is also occasionally active with logging ope...
Learn more about Lake Station

The south end of this is groomed gravel that turns into a Seasonal Road about a half mile in. There are no wet areas, but there is some soft sand along the way. This is easily traversed by a high-clearance vehicle. It is a nice scenic drive through the woods following the river, although the river i...
Learn more about Bo's Trail

This is a Seasonal Road that leads back to an area known as the High Banks. This used to be a State Forest Campground accessible to full-size campers. The State has since installed gates to keep traffic from the actual High Banks area itself. There are two separate River View turnouts that allow cam...
Learn more about Thornapple Trail

This is a scenic drive through the woods that has a little of everything to offer. There is one wet area that could be troublesome depending on the time of year. Most of it is dirt and sand. Some of the sand is loose, and ground clearance is necessary to make it through. The north end leads to lake ...
Learn more about Dyer Lake Drive

This is a standard Michigan seasonal road that passes through the Gladwin Forest Management Area. If you travel too far south, you'll eventually leave the system of trails. This seasonal road will reconnect you to many of the trails in the north. It is easy as well as scenic and relaxing.
Learn more about Sumac Trail

The East Evart trail is located off of 110th Avenue and connects the North and south parts of the road. The trail permits full-size vehicles. The trail is comfortably one vehicle wide with places to pass; the south end of the trail is two vehicles wide. The trail has often been used by logging traff...
Learn more about East Evart

This loop is less traveled and there is plenty of mud and foliage to navigate through. There are also off-camber obstacles. These are completable by all off-road vehicles, however, the mud obstacles may be difficult for smaller vehicles.
Learn more about Loop with Soup

This is a beautiful and fun trail that runs through the Floodwood Swamp Reservoir in the Gladwin Forest Management Area, offering some obstacles and amazing wildlife spotting opportunities. It's a full-width trail with mixed traffic. You will encounter a bridge crossing, banks, and lots of mud, sand...
Learn more about Floodwood Swamp Reservoir

This trail begins on a standard dirt road with great views of the windmills and farm fields. The elevation lowers as you approach the entrance to the seasonal road, where you will enter a thick wooded area. This trail features a few obstacles and has plenty of wildlife/plant life to see. You will li...
Learn more about County Line Road

This trail is a combination of routes that go up, down, and loop back to themselves. Located on a decent-sized hill with some of the terrain being sand-based, this can be a fun, yet potentially challenging area depending on the dryness. At the beginning of this route, there is an optional bypass to ...
Learn more about Ups, Downs, and Arounds

This trail offers a beautiful, meandering, drive through the woods. The trail is one lane, with places to pass. There are a couple of mud puddles. The trail is wide enough that the brush won't scratch, but there might be a branch or two that hangs close enough to scrape. The trail enters and exits o...
Learn more about Twin Creek Twisty Trail

While it seems like a straightforward trail, there are many overgrown trees, which we attempted to groom back, and towards the end (depending on the direction you go) there is a little bit of an off-camber uphill section. While this is overgrown some, it was groomed back by myself and a friend. But ...
Learn more about Whisker's Trail

The trail is nicely wooded with soft-packed sand, with a few sandier sections at intersections and in the corners. In August, mudholes are still possible. Little Leota has many intersections to hop back onto the hard-packed two-track to take you back to the trailhead. This is a wonderful sand trail ...
Learn more about Little Leota Trail

Wooded one-lane trail that passes by the Mark Knee Memorial Grouse Walking Trail parking lot. On the drive through this area, the trail passes through a very wooded forest that has some shallow mud puddles. There are also open areas to park and camp. The dirt motorized trail has areas to pass or pul...
Learn more about Mark Knee Memorial Grouse Trail

On the border of Wexford and Missaukee Counties lies a seasonal road that turns into a forest management road. It passes through the Cadillac Pathway hiking trail area, allowing access to the hiking trail, camping, and nature spotting opportunities. It can be accessed either by the north or south en...
Learn more about Cadillac Pathway #2

This is a direct line to the Leota High Banks on the north side of the Muskegon River. This will take you through a mix of recently forested and older-growth forest. Along the way, you will encounter mostly Forest Service roads that are easily passable with a high-clearance vehicle. The draw to this...
Learn more about Leota High Banks

This short trail goes through the beautiful Cadillac Forest Management area. It offers multiple access points to the Cadillac Pathway footpath as well as camping. It is not a through road and has a turnaround at the end at a private property line. It is a beautiful scenic trail that could offer some...
Learn more about Cadillac Pathway

This is a combination of ORV route and Forest Service roads. The trail can have numerous chatter bumps if it hasn't been groomed recently. There are some great views of the Muskegon River at 3 different locations along the way. These are very popular places for dispersed camping. The trail is very s...
Learn more about Leota South River Route

This is a nice wide trail that winds its way through part of the Cadillac Forest from Evert to Sunrise Lake. It can be run in either direction north or south. There is some mud section that could require four-wheel drive when wet. There are also a few hill sections that could be slick when wet. The ...
Learn more about Evart to Sunrise Lake Trail

This is a continuation of County Line Road that turns to 60th Avenue, a single-lane seasonal road. This short trail is a fun side path for those looking for some quick mud. This seasonal road really shines after heavy rainfall or during a storm; it quickly floods and offers small water crossings and...
Learn more about County Line and 60th

Take a quick shortcut to Temple, Michigan, through this scenic trail that begins near Marion, Michigan. This trail passes through the Gladwin Forest Management Unit and also many Consumer Energy paths that are interconnected throughout the area. This area is also occasionally active with logging ope...
Learn more about Lake Station

This is a Seasonal Road that leads back to an area known as the High Banks. This used to be a State Forest Campground accessible to full-size campers. The State has since installed gates to keep traffic from the actual High Banks area itself. There are two separate River View turnouts that allow cam...
Learn more about Thornapple Trail

This is a standard Michigan seasonal road that passes through the Gladwin Forest Management Area. If you travel too far south, you'll eventually leave the system of trails. This seasonal road will reconnect you to many of the trails in the north. It is easy as well as scenic and relaxing.
Learn more about Sumac Trail

This is a continuation of County Line Road that turns to 60th Avenue, a single-lane seasonal road. This short trail is a fun side path for those looking for some quick mud. This seasonal road really shines after heavy rainfall or during a storm; it quickly floods and offers small water crossings and...
Learn more about County Line and 60th

Take a quick shortcut to Temple, Michigan, through this scenic trail that begins near Marion, Michigan. This trail passes through the Gladwin Forest Management Unit and also many Consumer Energy paths that are interconnected throughout the area. This area is also occasionally active with logging ope...
Learn more about Lake Station

This is a Seasonal Road that leads back to an area known as the High Banks. This used to be a State Forest Campground accessible to full-size campers. The State has since installed gates to keep traffic from the actual High Banks area itself. There are two separate River View turnouts that allow cam...
Learn more about Thornapple Trail

This is a standard Michigan seasonal road that passes through the Gladwin Forest Management Area. If you travel too far south, you'll eventually leave the system of trails. This seasonal road will reconnect you to many of the trails in the north. It is easy as well as scenic and relaxing.
Learn more about Sumac Trail