Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Midland, Michigan

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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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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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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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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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

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

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

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

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

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 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 trail is a point-to-point section of DNR Trail 6, which is part of extensive off-road vehicle trails that branch out from the ORV-friendly community of St. Helen, Michigan. This short but popular section of…
Learn more about Sacred Chimney Trail

This 50" trail is a loop leaving from Ambrose Lake trailhead. You will find hard-packed and soft sand with some decent elevation changes, mature trees, and recent clear-cut areas. While running this trail you will…
Learn more about Ambrose Lake Trail East Loop

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

This 50" trail is a loop leaving from Ambrose Lake trailhead. You will find hard-packed and soft sand with some decent elevation changes, mature trees, and recent clear-cut areas. While running this trail you will…
Learn more about Ambrose Lake Trail West Loop

This trail runs east to west, at the west end of the trail is Ambrose Lake State Campground, along with the Ambrose Lake ORV trailhead. The east end of the trail runs dead-end into another…
Learn more about Hougton Creek Trail

This is a single-lane two-track trail made up of compact sand and dirt, often featuring whoops similar to other popular trails in the area. The south end of the trail winds through a patch of…
Learn more about Jack's Trail

This trail runs north and south between the West Branch Big Creek and Ambrose Lake area with a nice open view from a recent tree harvest. The north end of this trail is 4 vehicles…
Learn more about Tower Trail

Geels South Loop is a fast paced 50" trail, roughly 25 miles long. It contains mostly shallow sand with some soft dirt, in the wooded sections. The trail is well maintained with intersections clearly marked.…
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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…
Learn more about Little Leota Trail