michigan orv trails ride reports with video

[ctk]

I wanted to start this tread as a ride report with video for the michigan orv trail system. My other goal is to showcase atc videos. My channel on www.youtube.com My name on youtube is red rider. Check out my videos and subscribe. I have lots of video and I am still learning the whole edit and host videos so bare with me. As i get videos edited and hosted properly I will stream line this thread. Thanks



Michigan orv trails are great. I see people asking about them with the intent to plan trips from very far distances. I want to be desscriptive of the weather and date. Feel free to ask questions and comment or show video. This is my first attempt at gopro video footage and learning how to correctly shoot and edit video.
First report will be for Gladwin, michigan

[ctk]

Gladwin, michigan 4/12/2015
gps cordinates for the trail head parking lot. N43.97814 W84.20822

70* sunny and a nice breeze. The week before was 50-62* the week before with low temps of 30-45* at night. Rained almost everyday that week.

I thought the trails would be muddy but were 95% dry. Trail is all sand. Was not dusty. For anybody who has rode in rose city, gladwin is not dusty like rose city. Must be a different type of sand or had enough water to keep dust down. No rocks and no roots sticking out of the sides of trails. Trails are almost all whoops. Good sized whoops. Not a trail for a casual ride. This trail is geared to a fast paced whoop style. WHOOPS and tight bermed turns. Although there are some nice side trails to play and explore. Some water and good nature areas to explore from foot and or atc. Dirt county roads run through the trail with is convenient if you have a breakdown. Gladdwin is a good and bad area for a beginner. Good is plenty of short cuts due to county roads. Bad is vey whooped out. There is a scramble area at the south most point of the trail. I did not enter the scramble area, so no report. That being said, I would not drive more than one hour to go here. Cool to ride once but not worth a long drive.




https://youtu.be/8f5ikbuFqlg

[tapper190]

I don't see any video link Chris

[ctk]

I have to learn how to edit my videos. Sigh..... Ill post vids soon. I got video from buddy hill, rose city rides and my infamous baldwin ride/ tow, plus gladwin.... Sigh....

[ctk]

Time for another ride report. I'm heading up to frederic michigan to ride this weekend. Trail report and video to follow. I'll have videos up end of next week. I learned how to edit. I will also have a YouTube channel link.

[nd4speed]

I really dislike Gladwin because of the whooped out miles of trails and for that reason I stopped going there all together years ago.

[ctk]

Frederic Michigan
55* sunny some clouds and light wind. This was a great trail. Basically divided into a North and South loop. Tight and technical trail. My opinion not a trail for 2 strokes. I don't think I ever hit 4th gear on my 350x except for the road entering/exiting trail head. There are some seasonal roads we also road that I could open up 6th gear. There are plenty of side trails and seasonal roads to explore. Gas station and food is available on trail also. I can not stress how well this trail is marked. Orv signs, food/gas, direction arrows, all labeled if you are going clockwise or counter clockwise. When going counter clockwise on the south loop about 3/4 of the way thru they are doing some serious logging. Trees were dropped right across the trail. An alternate route is marked with orv signs, flags and spray paint. Ive never rode a trail like that and was a blast. They went as far as cutting trails out of laid trees, marking both sides with signs and signs even nailed to trees only 6 inches tall. Great job by the dnr. Best way I could describe the trail was like different boards/levels from a video game. One section would be normal woods, then next section would be a birch tree forest, then bam nothing but pines. Then all of a sudden you would be in a open area. Great scenery. Trail was well maintained. Just enough whoops for some fun but not enough to get old. Lots of tight turns, some off camber spots. The 50 inch or less rule applies here. 200x,250sx,350x perfect bikes for this trail. Lots of sand and sections of dirt. I will go back to this trail again. I really enjoyed the ride. This trail also has connector routes to many other orv trails. 4 state forest campgrounds are less than a mile from the trailhead. We stayed at goose creek which does NOT allow any type of orv riding. You must trailer in/out of campground. This is due to the huge horse area where people camp and tie up the horses. Not a big deal it is a 5 minute drive to trailhead. Great trail, I would plan a long trip to come here and ride and camp.


https://youtu.be/8lwOfoWB7As

[tapper190]

Does any of the state campgrounds let you ride to the trail head?

[hublake]

Does any of the state campgrounds let you ride to the trail head?

Dave,

There is one that I know of, but it is located near Onaway, MI. Clear Lake State Park is the name. You can ride from the campground to the trails. There are a lot of trails in that area. The only problem is that it is located so far north. It is in the lower peninsular, but still a long ways north.

LLoyd

[ctk]

Does any of the state campgrounds let you ride to the trail head?

manistee river bridge shows orv allowed.

[ctk]

Bundy Hill Michigan.
Off road park in jerome michigan. Bundy hill WAS a cool park. Ive went every year since they opened. This year 2015 Ive not went since they NO longer allow three wheelers. I would recommend bundy hill for dirt bikes, quads and jeeps. They do allow camping.
wonder boy posted this info........
Hey Chris, Bundy allows trikes again as long as you get an insurance policy for your machine. I checked progressive on-line and you can get a policy for a year for under $100.

...and by the way, this is a really cool thread. I think as time goes by and more info gets added, this thread can be a good reference point for all the cool trails in Michigan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoRjgU8LgWY

[RoscoW]

Thanks for this thread Chris, We have good friends with a cottage near Traverse City, Could be a good reason to take the machines up there……………even a two stroke:lol::lol:

Ross..

[wonderboy]

Hey Chris, Bundy allows trikes again as long as you get an insurance policy for your machine. I checked progressive on-line and you can get a policy for a year for under $100.

...and by the way, this is a really cool thread. I think as time goes by and more info gets added, this thread can be a good reference point for all the cool trails in Michigan.

[nd4speed]

You can camp around Gladwin but uughh. It's Gladwin.

You can camp and ride into Mount Morriis Mounds from the Genesee Co Park grounds. Small swampy park for red neck mud boggers and jeeps. They did add some 4x4 obstacle course stuff which is nice. My test and tune area. It's ok. Lots of mud to sink your self into. Most of park is closed off March 15 - May 15. They really raised the fees there too!

Near Onaway...Black Lake is was one of my favorite places to go when my friends mom had a cabin there. There is camping right on the lake, right at the trail with restaurant and gas on site. And another I think, maybe Clear Lake?? But ,yeah, your are like 15 minutes from the Bridge that far north.

Atlanta has nice groomed wide mostly flat trails and is super awesome for snowmobiling. But I got a ticket there once, my only one ever, and that sucked. There are some fun hilly areas parallel to 33, where you can get tickets. Pretty big place. Wish I had spent more time exploring there on atv, mostly snowmobiling. Should be camping around Tomahawk lakes.

You can camp and ride at St Helen. It is Richfield campground near East Airport. Just try not to venture into Ogemaw Co. unless on the one ORV trail. LOL. Almost a ticket but DNR guy burnt his hand checking for SA in my friends blown out silencer. No holding pen = no ticket.

MIO around Bull Gap and Rose City are by far my favorite places to go. Ogemaw Sport and Trail Center has a motocross track and campground. Who knows you may even get to ride with Travis Pastrana since he has been there in the past.
http://www.ogemawtrails.com/
Now I dont think you can camp at Bull Gap but Mio changed the laws so you can ride into town, right past the police station of course, but this means essentially it is possible to ride from a hotel in town.


I am trying to remember the one camp ground we parked by was either clear lake or by rose city...cant remember.
I think it was Ambrose Lake near another Clear lake, may be why I am getting them confused. Not one of my favorite places but you can camp there.

Anyway if you visit Michigan DNR and look at all the PDF trail maps they will show the camp grounds and trails. Most of them probably have camping somewhere.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10365_15070-38330--,00.html

[ctk]

Rose City Michigan
Not much to say about rose city except its freaking rad!!!!!! Rose city area is great. All types of riding, exploring, and a great area to start and branch off to other trails/towns. Definitely a place to travel to from long distances. You will not be disappointed. Here is a video link from Ma deters lodge in luzerne mi to rose city.
http://youtu.be/mfFQldjMNOE
*Bad news* Ma Deters recently burned to the ground and no longer exist.


Rose city orv loop
This is a blast to ride. One of my favorite trails. Nice trail length to ride once of do some laps. Tight, berms, elevation changes, some great whoop sections, rocks, couple of flat spots to open the throttle, and plenty of sand. This trail can be very dusty. Trail markers are not great but have been improving over the years. No gas station on this loop. A must ride trail. This video link is from the 10th anniversary sandpuppi ride. R.I.P Roger. Im riding a 250sx and is the group leaving from the waffle house right to the trail. Guys you need to make the annual sandpuppi memorial ride!
https://youtu.be/jG86P3hJaxI

[nd4speed]

Ha Ha Ma Deters, cool, I had friends that rented a house in Luzerne and he took us on dune buggy ride to Deters and showed me the trail heads, but I never launched rode from or to Luzerne before.

[ctk]

Ambrose lake michigan 5/16/2015

Ambrose lake state forest campground is a great place to camp. Big lake, hiking trails and not far from the town of rose city and west branch. Campground allows riding to trailhead. Trailhead and parking is about 300 yards from campground. The ambrose lake trail is 7 miles. Fun trail. Not whooped out, has some nice banked turns. A really fun straight whoop section is a blast to open the throttle and get it. Great trail for night ride.
This trail has orv routes that lead to rose city and ogemaw orv trails. You can also get to the meadows orv trail. Some seasonal roads can also lead you to other towns. Clear lake is close and the bar has a great pizza and a nice lake to swim in. Riding on the side of paved roads is also allowed(check laws accordingly, some are off limits) Ambrose lake is a great place to stay with all the other riding spots that are easily accessed. A great place to plan a out of town trip.



trail connector from ambrose lake to ogemaw hills orv
https://youtu.be/UD4lPavpw9g

[ctk]

Wow, time for some updates. In the next few days ill be posting ride reports with video links. I went on some really great rides this year. For the people who have never rode michigan orv trails............your really missing out. Make the trips this year to some of our group rides. For the people who ride michigan orv trails feel free to post up your thoughts,comments on the trail systems for others who have not and our thinking about making the trip.

[ctk]

Here is the link to our annual baldwin birthday ride. http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/175863-Baldwin-Michigan-Birthday-ride

Baldwin Mi orv trails review.

Tincup orv review

First trail we rode was Tincup. I think we rode 20-25 miles that day. Tin cup is a nice scenic trail. Mostly flat, wide and smooth. This is a great cruising trail or fun to really stretch your trikes legs out and go fast. Tin cup has nice trail markers and is easy to follow. Ive ridden this trail on a 1981 honda atc 110 and my 1986 350x, both are fun. Tin cup is a great trail for beginners due to the easy riding conditions but experienced riders can still have lots of fun. No gas stations but also no need to bring gas because trail is short.
https://youtu.be/ouWQxwthGBU


Little O orv review
Little O is awesome! This might be my favorite trail. Tight trails, great berms, some whoops, wide trails in spots, good elevation changes. Good trail markers make this trail easy to follow. We ended up at club 37 for lunch. I would bring gas because this trail is long and I can't confirm any gas stations. This is a great trail for people who really wanna go fast. A slow pace ride can also be lots of fun. I would highly recommend this trail to everybody. Doesn't matter if you live close or far away, you will not be disappointed.

https://youtu.be/bf6euYbf7jE

Lincoln hills orv
Another great trail. Nice mix of terrian. Lots of great scenery. Beginners to experts will have fun.

video link soon to come.


Little manistee orv
Great scenic trail. Wide trails, easy riding. Beginners to experts will enjoy. There is a gas station/liquor/food mart on this trail.
video link soon to come.

[ps2fixer]

Neat thread, I live just south of Gladwin and the trails are full of whoops. The "scramble" area is where grim hill used to be long ago, but they took the hill down to build up the dirt roads from my understanding. The sand there is super loose, you need at least a 250 to really have any fun there, and the area is kind of small. A 250 2 stroke or a 350x is ideal. Sand is very ruff. Generally the trails are pretty dusty, but seems like every time I have gone there is a good wind that keeps you from being choked out. DNR wise, I have only seen them there once in 6+ trips there, each trip I spend the full day there, and the DNR truck was just driving down the road. Not suggesting anything, just stating the fact DNR isn't there that much, so help isn't really around, and enforcement isn't either. There are wider flatter trails north of M66 (i think that was the road), but most of the trail there seems like a normal dirt road with small turns here and there.

There are some nice trails south of the area, all the way to my house basically, but sadly they are not dedicated ORV trails, but they *might* be counted as forest trails. Midland county now allows ATVs on the roads and based on my understanding a road permit allows a 3 wheeler on the roads too and the law states they are allowed on forest trails too. Problem is, the wording is such crap it can be taken in several ways and county laws fight state laws in their wording. *IF* it is legal for 3 wheelers to be on forest trails, and *IF* the trails by my house are counted as forest trails, then there are a ton of non-dedicated "forest" trails to ride on that are mostly flat, fairly wide, mostly wet sandy with spots of light mud (most areas you can drive around the mud). I stopped going out there in the state land since I'm unsure if it is legal for me to do so or not. From my understanding, a truck with an orv sticker can drive the same trails all day long no problem and likely do tons more damage than any atv would.

[nd4speed]

I disliked Gladwin and the whoops so much I vowed never to go back. Also there were people there getting tickets for what I can only guess was riding on the fire road. But you had to in order to get around water and connect to the trail. Well I wasnt going to stop and ask, we just GTFO and never went back. The laws have changed since then but the whoops and poor conditions of Gladwin surely have not. I can't recommend it to anyone. No video needed.

Oh and I always wondered where the Grim Hill of Gladwin was. I thought it was the hill they covered with boulders off that fire road north of the parking lot right by the DNR writing people tickets. Kinda like the mounds of the Mt Morris Mounds. I looked at old aerial photos and a map someone made and tried to treasure hunt it one day. They of course had to close that fun part too.

And thanks to CTK for the videos, I liked to watch them and really made me wish I could ride or could have went to Tin Cup.

One of my Favorites is still Black Lake. Ambrose is ok then rose city is some of the best too !

And Ma Deters in Luzerne burned down, not sure if it being rebuilt.

[ps2fixer]

Yea Gladwin isn't anything super special, but is nice to have some different trails for once, I ride mostly at my mom/dad's place, great trails there, and a good mix of stuff including hills to jump, but that isn't state land :).

The grim hill details I don't know exact details of since I'm pretty young, I'm just going off from stories I heard. My uncle said the road used to be so sandy his old Chevette would barely make it floored. The grim hill went out into the road too based on his story. From my understanding, only people with built up machines were able to make it up grim hill, sand rails and such.

I almost always try to go up during the week days, so maybe the DNR is there a lot more often on the weekends. I know most of the riders I meet on the trail ride like jerks, skinny trail and a machine with no reverse and the guy drove over my rear tire before I had a chance to do anything about the situation. I also met a guy up there years ago that had a 3 wheeler (200 big red I think) and he was cool and down to earth.

[nd4speed]

If I lived right by Gladwin trails, I would ride there and more often, even if I didnt like it. I have to use the mounds for test and tune and just to get out because it is the closest and cheapest. It is not big and mostly a swamp for mud boggers. They have done a lot of nice work to it with the main roads and obstacle courses over the last few years but it still is what it is. Everyone's opinion of a good ride can have a lot of factors.

One can reason the DNR are out most and writing tickets when it is busy with the most potential to generate revenue- holidays and weekends.

Clearly state local and federal enforcers now work for "for profit corporations" and follow policy to generate operating revenue to please their corporate overlords and use seizures laws at will to please themselves. The seizure court cases are actually against the property not you so you can be innocent of any crime. The property was used or was going to be used in the future to commit a crime. So they could say "you did not ride your 3 wheeler on a fire lane illegally, but I believe (opinion not fact) the 3 wheeler is going to be used illegally on a fire road in the future by someone to harvest drugs". Then the court case reads "State of Michigan vs one 1986 Kawasaki Tecate KXT250 drug mule". How on earth does one fight in court against the accusation of future crimes that have not happened yet? You can't and you lose because that's how the game is designed.

Police when they pull you over are now asking (per policy) if you "are carrying any large sums of money on you or in your vehicle?"
I saw a video of that and the guy said he a couple grand on him cause he was traveling and the cop's reaction was "No normal person carries that much money around", and I believe that is drug money basically. WTF. Then you realize that most money in circulation has traces of drugs on it and that fighting "City/State/USA vs $2000 US dollars" is impossible to fight (within a reasonable amount of time and money) and they rob you. Some believe this tactic is also to brainwash people into the fear of using cash to push forth the cashless digital money society for total taxable control. And you wont get a jury of your peers, because if you explain this common sense to 12 common people, they might probably agree with you.

[ps2fixer]

Didn't know it was getting that bad, but knew they operated for profit like 90% of the government. The large sum of money thing I haven't heard of myself but I do carry cash on me most of the time as I hate using plastic and all the tracking that goes along with it.

Grim hill (what we call the Gladwin trails locally) isn't a bad spot to camp, but never been there on the weekend due to the "type" of rider I seem to run into the most while there. Just to compare, I might have seen 1, maybe 2 people I didn't agree with at trike fest vs 100s, but haspin is a long drive, so once a year :).

[ctk]

https://www.bundyhilloffroad.com

4-16-2016

honda 250sx
https://youtu.be/BZ1ZesZ1oEg

[ctk]

Ogemaw hills orv 5-2016

Rode the entire trail on my honda 250sx. WOW!!!!! Amazing trail.. Every kind of terrain. Sand, dirt, rocks, roots, and mud. Slow technical spots, some nice open flat sections, tight turns with berms, fun whoop sections. One of the best look out spots I've ever seen. I will say while riding this trail i wish I was on my 350x, then minutes later Id say I'm glad I'm on my 250sx. This trail is worth riding multiple times on different atc's. Im really looking forward riding ogemaw hills on my 350x. Guys/gals you need to ride this trail. Plan a vacation around this trail and ambrose lake, rose city area, you will NOT be disappointed. Last thing is Mr and Mrs. Tapper.......thanks for the great ride!!!


video soon to come

[tapper190]

Ogemaw hills orv 5-2016

Rode the entire trail on my honda 250sx. WOW!!!!! Amazing trail.. Every kind of terrain. Sand, dirt, rocks, roots, and mud. Slow technical spots, some nice open flat sections, tight turns with berms, fun whoop sections. One of the best look out spots I've ever seen. I will say while riding this trail i wish I was on my 350x, then minutes later Id say I'm glad I'm on my 250sx. This trail is worth riding multiple times on different atc's. Im really looking forward riding ogemaw hills on my 350x. Guys/gals you need to ride this trail. Plan a vacation around this trail and ambrose lake, rose city area, you will NOT be disappointed. Last thing is Mr and Mrs. Tapper.......thanks for the great ride!!!


video soon to come
Yes I have to agree that trail was a lot of fun! Its to bad they are logging in the area, really takes away from the trail system. We covered a lot of ground that day!
It was a pleasure to ride with you, as always...

[ctk]

Time for some more video links and trail updates.

M-20 to Big O Trail, Motorcycle & MCCCT & White Cloud Loop Newaygo County, Michigan..

The M-20 to Big O Trail MCCT has a ATV/Motorcycle shared straight section and a loop. The shared trail(12 miles) is called White Cloud Loop. This review and video link is for White Cloud Loop.
October 2016. Nice warn weather but had rained a couple days before. This is a low land and will hold water longer than all the other trails in this area. Trail is mostly sand, with some small rocks scattered every so often. Smooth terrain not much worry for cutting tires because of rocks or tree roots. Due to the rain earlier that week this trail was flooded out pretty bad. Hop on your sport trike and rock out. This trail has lots of high banked berms and some great whoops. I can't wait to go back when the trail is dry on my 350x.

video link...https://youtu.be/cxrpE3ljTPY

https://youtu.be/5egqx4hxHj4 i need to fix the sound on this video

[ctk]

Tincup orv trail Lake County Michigan

2016 Parking lot was under construction and was temporarily moved about a mile down the road. This lot is still connected to the trail does not affect the loop. Tincup really is a fun trail. Great mix of whoops, berms, flat straights and flat turns. Ive ridden this trail on 110-350 cc motors and had fun all trikes.

video link... https://youtu.be/qgSyNPJuGgI

[ctk]

Lincoln hills orv route and Little Manistee Motorcycle Trail & Route. These orv routes are open to all vehicles. Dirtbikes all the way to full size trucks. Two way traffic. Be cautious. Wide open throttle or booze cruisin are the only two speeds. Couple of bridges and a unbelievable look out are mandatory stops. Gas station and liquor store and state camprounds are directly on the trail. Lake county Michigan has some great trails and many types of fantastic places to camp or rent hotels.

https://youtu.be/gdrasT_Bxes

one of the many video links for these trails.

[ctk]

Lake County (baldwin) Michigan

I thought I would do a write up on this general area. Usually we stay at http://www.cloud9baldwin.com There are many other hotels/resorts and state campgrounds in this area. Some have direct trail access or a short trailer ride to the orv trails. 7 orv and mcct trails within a short drive of one another. No crappy chain restaurants or big box stores here. Plenty of great Ma and Pa bars and restaurants in town and accessed directly on the orv trail. Family owned hunting/fishing outdoor stores can provide any and all outdoor needs. Some of the best fishing and hunting in the country. A great camping/hunting/fishing/orv action area.

[Matt85'350x]

Thanks for the videos, great thread.

[ctk]

The Meadows orv trail Oscoda county Michigan April 2017
The Meadows orv trail has 3 different trailheads all with road access for a truck and trailer.
Parking (M-72) - N44.61097 W84.39131
Parking (Luzerne N44.61137 W84.27114
Parking (Red Oak) -N44.67051 W84.29198

The Meadows orv trail was a great trail. Sand and hard packed dirt is the majority of ground terrain. Smooth trails with few rocks and whoops. Plenty of wide smooth trails asking for the sport trikes to really open up the throttle wide. Tight, banked, winding trails with some elevation changes great for sliding the rear tires around or just cruising. Deep, thick forest and meadows with any and all scenery in between. Lots of seasonal roads and off map trails to explore.
Plenty of trail access. Gas, food, and camping all located on this trail. The Meadows orv trail has routes to Bull Gap and Rose City orv loops.

Video link #1 https://youtu.be/uNbo206K1SQ

Video link #1 started at the M72 highway trail head and rode north/east to the town of luzerne. The town of Luzerne has a hardware store, Gas station/general store and Ma deeters bar is reopened. Rental cabins and campgrounds with trail access are available.


Video link #2 soon to come

[Maico]

If the Meadows is anything like it was 20 yrs ago....you'll like it! Also....Mio and Parmalee area just over the Parmalee bridge has some awesome fast trails. Honda CR500 and Maico 490 fast type trails. :)

[ctk]

Pine Ridge trail. Luce county Michigan

http://www.midnr.com/publications/pdfs/forestslandwater/ORV/Maps-Trail/pine_ridge_trail.pdf


video link
https://youtu.be/gviV2Deo4NE

[ctk]

Video of my first view of lake superior. This was beyond what I imagined.

https://youtu.be/tP3YV0P-mvw

[ctk]

two-heart trail. Luce county Michigan


http://www.midnr.com/publications/pdfs/forestslandwater/ORV/Maps-Trail/two_heart_trail.pdf