Coshocton, OH38 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2020 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 3.6, 31s
day after Thanksgiving and i am planning trips instead of shopping. yes my username is this question.
where i live most of the public riding areas are built for ATVs and dirt bikes with a width limit, so a full size SUV is not allowed on them anyway. that means i drive somewhere else to wheel, and every state has its own rules about whether a plated, insured, street legal Grand Cherokee needs an OHV permit to drive a trail.
this spring i want to do the Ozarks in Arkansas, and maybe Colorado in the summer. what i think i know, correct me:
Colorado wants OHV registration or a permit for off highway vehicles. my reading is that a plated street legal vehicle does not need one on OHV routes, but i have heard both.
Michigan wants an ORV license even on a plated truck if you are on the designated ORV trails or at the dunes.
Arkansas national forest roads i assume are just open roads. anybody actually been asked for a sticker?
Austin, TX34 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2016 GX460 Premium, stock height, 265/70R18
Michigan one i can confirm, i did Silver Lake dunes in a borrowed Wrangler two summers ago and the guy at the staging area checked for the ORV sticker on a plated Jeep. bought it online in the parking lot with one bar of signal. you also need their state park pass to get in.
Ouray, CO141 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2016 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 2.5 in lift, 35s on 4.88s
Colorado. what i tell people who come out for our club runs: your plated, insured, street legal SUV does not need the Colorado OHV sticker. ATVs, side by sides and dirt bikes do, including the ones from out of state. the rangers on the Alpine Loop check side by sides constantly and almost never look twice at a plated rig.
that said, read it yourself before you come, it is on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife site under OHV registration. i would hate for somebody to get a ticket because a guy on a forum said so.
the bigger trap out here is closures. half the passes have gates until July and the Motor Vehicle Use Map for each national forest is the legal word on what is open to what. free at the ranger station or as a PDF.
Fayetteville, AR47 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2015 4Runner Trail, Warn Zeon 10-S on a hidden mount
Arkansas. Ozark National Forest roads are forest roads, no sticker. what matters is the MVUM, same as nate said. some roads are open to everything, some are highway legal vehicles only, some are closed seasonally for wildlife and some are closed for good with a berm across them. driving around a berm is how you lose a trail for everybody.
if you come down in spring, the roads around Oark and the Mulberry River are great and they turn to grease when it rains. bring a strap.
Flagstaff, AZ19 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2022 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium, stock, 265/70R17
Arizona, from a new guy. on the Coconino around Flagstaff the forest roads are on the MVUM and the plated rig just goes. Arizona has its own OHV decal for off highway vehicles, and my understanding is it is for the ATVs and side by sides, not my 4Runner, but somebody correct me. the Cinder Hills OHV area east of town has full size rigs in it all the time.
winter note: a few of the forest roads up here close seasonally and some just get unplowed and stay that way until april. check before you drive up on a saturday.
Rapid City, SD102 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2009 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 2.5 in lift, 33s, Warn VR10
Black Hills, since nobody asked. no sticker for a plated rig on the forest roads, the MVUM rules everything, and a lot of the high roads are closed to wheeled vehicles in winter for the elk and the snowmobile trails. do not drive a snowmobile trail in your Jeep. i have pulled the tracks out of them with the grader and the snowmobile club will find you.
ohv guy, i would add one thing to your list: call the ranger district office the week you go. they know what is washed out, what has a gate, and what they are writing tickets for this year.
Coshocton, OH38 posts · joined Nov 2025Rig2020 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 3.6, 31s
called the Ozark St. Francis office yesterday like hank said. the woman who answered spent ten minutes with me on which roads near the Mulberry flood out in April and which ones have a gate the district shuts after a big rain. she also told me to grab a paper MVUM at the office in Russellville because my phone will be useless down there. booked a cabin for the second week of April.
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