Michigan’s Best Wheeling (for Jeeps)
These are the best places IN MY OPINION to off-road a Jeep in Michigan. We may not have the hardest wheeling or much natural rock, but here in Michigan, we sure are fortunate to have a ton of options for off-roading.
There are a few areas I still haven’t been to, so this is based off all the places I have wheeled personally. One place I have yet to wheel that I know has the potential to be on this list is anywhere in the Western UP. I hope to travel there in the future.
Rocks & Valleys Off-Road Park - Harrison, MI
Near the middle of Michigan is a privately owned off-road park called Rocks & Valleys. This park is in the woods and has countless marked trails all throughout that include several obstacles varying from easy to difficult. There is also a “playground” at the back of the park, which is an open area with several concrete, mud, hill, and rock obstacles. My personal favorite trail is Python (which is rated as a black trail but has bypasses for all the hard obstacles), so do not skip this trail! If you’re looking for a challenging rock crawl, I also enjoy the parking lot crawl. This is a well maintained park that I HIGHLY recommend visiting. There is also a rustic campground on the property, if you need a place to spend the night.
Requirements to enter: a flag and entrance fee
A few pictures of my time at Rocks & Valleys. If I shared pictures of all my adventures there, this page would be never-ending.
2. Silver Lake Sand Dunes - Mears, MI
On the west side of the state, we have the PARADISE that is Silver Lake Sand Dunes. This is unlike any other Michigan off-road park as it is a large scramble area all on the sand. It is state owned and operated. Smaller tires and horsepower are ideal on a Jeep here, as there are huge sand dunes to climb. This park also overlooks Lake Michigan and has a beach area that you can park at. Rip around the dunes, watch others rip around, and be sure to stick around for the most beautiful sunsets. For me, Silver Lake is my off-road and beach vacation in one.
Requirements to enter: a flag, ORV sticker, ORV trail sticker, and MI state park pass. ALSO, AIR DOWN — 10 psi or less. You will not make it up the entrance if you do not air down enough.
Pictures do not do Silver Lake justice. The views are absolutely incredible.
3. Drummond Island, Michigan - Eastern UP
Drummond Island is a small remote island off of the east side of the upper peninsula. The entire east half of the island is only accessible by state-owned ORV trails. This island is entirely made of rock, so the trails are rocky and have incredible scenic views. There are iconic destinations like Marblehead, Glen Cove, Shale Beach, and Fossil Ledges. The DNR has done a lot of bulldozing of these trails lately, but it is still a beautiful place. Please use responsibly and stay on the trails.
Aside from the ORV trails on Drummond Island, there is also Turtle Ridge Off-Road Park. This park is located on the northwest side of the island, and has two sections of park: one features rock obstacles and the other is mud/swamp. I personally prefer to run the “upper” park which is the rock obstacles. It includes what just might be Michigan’s best natural rock obstacle: the cliffhanger. Do not skip this park if you are on the island. It is not well advertised so a lot of visitors don’t even know about it.
Requirements: ORV and ORV trail stickers for the state trails. For Turtle Ridge, just pay the entrance fee at Drummond Island Resort & Conference Center.
There is not enough space to include pictures of all the iconic places on Drummond. You will just have to see them all for yourself.
4. Saint Helen ORV trail area - Saint Helen, MI
In the northern lower peninsula of Michigan, there are COUNTLESS acres of state land and ORV trails. The heart of it just might be Saint Helen. This is for mild trail days where you wish to cover a lot of miles. It is not an off-road park and there are not many obstacles — just thousands of miles of sandy trails in the woods. There are a couple scramble areas and a small rock obstacle area that you may find along your adventure as well. Please note, these trails have a lot of SXS traffic, so the main trails have a lot of whoops. Check OnX off-road or your maps app of choice for alternate trails if you find yourself on an unbearably whooped one. This trail system can get you to other trail systems as well like Denton Creek, Leota, Rose City, Mio, etc.
Requirements: ORV and ORV trail stickers and a good trail maps app to navigate
Find the Exit 222 sign on the trails in Saint Helen
5. Holly Oaks ORV Park - Holly, MI
Holly Oaks is Michigan’s newest off-road park which opened in 2020, which is state-owned and county-operated. It is built in an old gravel mine, so it is very open with very few trees and shade. There are many man-made rock obstacles as well as many hills and washouts to climb. These vary in difficulty from easy to difficult. Mt. Magna is the big shotcrete mountain in the park that was built to replicate some of the iconic obstacles out in Moab, Utah. My personal favorite obstacles to wheel here are the washouts — these seem to change every time it rains, so you never know what you’re going to get. This is a smaller park currently and can be covered in just a couple hours, but they have a contract in place to add more land in the future.
Requirements: A flag, ORV and ORV trail stickers, and entrance fee
Since Holly Oaks is a newer park, it is changing all the time. You never know what fun obstacles or trails you will find there next.
6. The Mounds ORV Park - Mount Morris, MI
The Mounds is a county owned and operated park with tons of trails in the woods, rock obstacles, scramble areas, and MANY MUD OBSTACLES. If you are not into mudding, do not trust the mud here… it can be deceiving. There are man-made rock obstacles of all difficulty levels. Notable hard obstacles are the concrete slab and the woodlands course. The biggest day of the year at the Mounds is Thanksgiving morning. A cool thing about this park is that it is open every day of the year. I tend to visit it most during times of the year where our other off-road parks are closed. Avoid it during March-May though where they do close off a portion of the park for bird migration season.
Requirements: ORV and ORV trail stickers, and park pass (daily or seasonal)
My pictures at The Mounds only show the rock obstacles because that is personally my favorite part. However, there are tons of trails and mud to play around with as well.
SPECIAL MENTION of other Michigan wheeling:
The above 6 are usually my first choices of places to wheel in our state. However, Michigan has so many opportunities to wheel all around the state. Below are some other places that Michigan has for off-roading your Jeep.
MILD ORV TRAILS (minimal obstacles):
If you like to run lots of miles of mild trails and see a lot of nature, Michigan is LOADED with public ORV trails all over the state. Download the OnX off-road or Polaris Ride Command app to see where all the trails are located. I mentioned Saint Helen and Drummond Island here, but other areas with lots to trails and seasonal roads include but are not limited to Mio, Grayling, Kalkaska, Leota, Gaylord, and Copper Harbor.
Other ORV parks I have visited:
Bundy Hill is a privately owned ORV park located in Jerome, MI. I have only been there once at the time of writing this, but I recall it being similar to Holly Oaks. It is built into a gravel pit with lots of man-made obstacles. It is a great park to visit if you are from Ohio or Indiana and making your way up into Michigan. I believe it is our southernmost park.
Twisted Trails is a privately owned ORV park located in Copemish, MI. If you are traveling up near Traverse City, MI, this may be a good time to visit. I have only been to Twisted Trails once and it was a smaller park, but a couple cool rock crawls and lots of trails in the woods. Last I knew, this park was up for sale, so I am not sure what the future of this park will be.
I attempted to create a map showing the general locations of each off-road area
I hope you found this post helpful if you plan on traveling to Michigan to wheel your jeep! You can always reach out to me if you have any questions. Happy wheeling!! :)
- Becca