South River Road Trail

Trail Overview

South River Road Trail is an awesome bidirectional trail within the Traverse City Forest Management Unit. Located just west of Kalkaska near highway US-131, this trail is easily accessible. Starting from the southwestern end of Boardman River Road, you'll start on an open dirt/sandy portion of the trail before it makes a sharp left turn up a washboard sandy hill. Airing your tires down and/or running in 4-wheel drive will help make this section a bit easier. After the sandy washboard hill, the trail levels out a bit with a lot of twists and turns over sandy berms and exposed tree roots. 1.25 miles into the route, you can see off the trail 4 holding tanks, which appear to be for oil. The trail eventually opens up to the vast views of a clear-cut. Towards the end of the trail, you'll find, to the north, a pond that locals frequent to fish. The trail finishes at the gravel road, Smith Lake Road. Like most of Michigan trails, conditions are dependent on the weather. Recent rainfall can cause unfavorable conditions on the trail, including downed trees, mud holes, and washouts. Come Prepared! Most of this trail is only wide enough for 1 vehicle, with limited places to pass. This route is part of the Grand Traverse to Leetsville MCCCT & the Traverse City ORV Route. Although it's open to ORV's they require a Secretary of State License Plate. Keep this in mind. This is not a difficult trail at all, but it contains a lot of fun and beauty, and gives access to other great trails nearby. Regardless of the conditions of this trail, it's a fantastic route to explore with a lot of fun to be had! As always, again, PLEASE TREAD LIGHTLY and be respectful of our public lands so future generations can have access to these trails!

Photos of South River Road Trail

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Difficulty

This was only given a Technical Rating & Difficulty of 2 due to the trail typically only being wide enough for one to two vehicles. Otherwise, this trail could be rated as a 1.

Technical Rating

South River Road Trail can be accessed by the following ride types:

• High-Clearance 4x4
• SUV
• SxS (60")
• ATV (50")
• Dirt Bike