Trail Overview

Shelldrake Road (SM-8), also known as Old W Farm Truck Trail, is a state owned/ locally maintained, Level-2/ Level-3 forest access route with a surface composition of sand, dirt, and native material. It offers access to the town of Paradise, Michigan, for gas, grocery, provisions.

Photos of Shelldrake Road - SM-8

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Difficulty

Deep sand, dirt, route typically unmaintained after rain or snow that may give rise to water crossings and obstacles over 12 inches on the trail, including flooding and tree/ tree branches.

History

A historic, unpaved logging and fire suppression route maintained within the remote woodlands of the Upper Peninsula. Tracing its roots back to the 1930s reforestation efforts by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), it now functions primarily as an access point for backcountry camping, hunting, and overlanding. Originally built to navigate the dense marshes and thick evergreen forests near Lake Superior, the trail system was initially developed to fight forest fires and replant timber.

Technical Rating