Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Merrill, 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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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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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…
Learn more about East Fireline Trail

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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This trail includes 2 large bowls that can be climbed into and out of from many different paths. My trail only shows 1 of the options, but almost all are accessible in one way or…
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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…
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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.…
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West Snow Lake Road is a fast two-lane dirt road that rips through the north end of the Flat River State Game Area. Along this route, you will see lots of different terrain ranging from…
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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

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

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…
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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 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…
Learn more about Leota South River Route

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…
Learn more about Sumac Trail

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.…
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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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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

West Cannonsville Road is a very fun and fast sandy two-track the beginning of the trail is a long hill and is relatively sandy. After driving through the woods a little ways it will open…
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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…
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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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Cedar Lake Trail is an awesome 8-mile bidirectional trail within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and right outside the Pickney State Rec Area. Located between Marion Township and Putnam Township, this trail is easily…
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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…
Learn more about Lake Station

This loop covers a very nice area, incorporating a couple of State Forest roads and ORV routes. It's a state gaming area, so keep that in mind while traveling through. You'll find a spot for…
Learn more about Backus Creek SGA Loop