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Information on ORVs on Michigan County Roads Back to our ORV Trail Guide (maps, photos & video) Public
Act 240 of 2008 enabled counties and townships in Michigan to allow ORVs
to travel upon roads under the their jurisdiction.
Each has to enact an ordinance allowing for this, else their
roads remain closed to ORVs. Subsequent legislation has granted this power to all counties within the State. State and Federal Highways are not under the jurisdiction of the counties. These are roads such as "M-33" and "US-2" and "I-75". Counties can petition MDOT to open up select portions of State Highways. Forest roads, on both State and Federal Land, are NOT covered by these ordinances. Some forest roads are graveled or easily traveled by car yet they are not a county road. A good map is the only way to know which is which (our GPS Maps visually show which county roads are open). There are three National Forests in the State (Ottawa, Huron-Manistee and Hiawatha). Each of these has claimed ownership of some county roads and thus "supersede" the local ordinance. We do not show these county roads as open to ORVs. If you can explain how the USFS can claim a road and a county can claim the same road yet they have different laws applied, we would like to know. Generally speaking in the counties that allow ORVs on their roads, the rules are:
Some counties vary from the original legislation, we've attempted to point out those differences in the table below. The following table lists each county that has adopted an ordinance allowing ORV travel on their roads. Linked is a map that shows open county roads as defined by the county's ordinance as interpreted by VVMapping. No guarantee of accuracy is given or implied. We believe
the information is true and correct as of the date of their publication
but have not verified every road depicted. State and Federal highways
are included in the maps for reference - they are not open to ORVs.
All county roads not included in each ordinance are excluded from
the map. Forest roads are also excluded. Counties/Townships that we do not have a copy of the actual ordinance do not have have a link to our maps. We'll update as often as possible. News on what's happening these days. Use Shoulder of Roads: Y = If the road has a shoulder (ie paved road), then you must be on the shoulder; N = Do NOT use the shoulder; blank means no preference defined. Some counties say only on the shoulder, others say not on the shoulder.
Do you know of a township that opened or a county that adopted an ordinance we don't have listed? Please let us know! Staying on top of these changes is difficult at best.
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Information regarding ORV use in Michigan Trail Guide at a glance Big Picture of trail locations Detailed Map Legend Map Book Information GPS Map Information |
