The purpose of this project is to establish the Greater Cadillac Area as a premier destination in the State of Michigan for family friendly ORV recreation.

Building on collaborative efforts supportive of the tourism economy, we intend to create well-considered resources for defining and maintaining a trail system experience that drives ORV users to our region in all four seasons of the year, while encouraging responsible recreation practices. STEWARDSHIP IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR THIS PROJECT. We recognize that with the promotion of tourism for motorized and non-motorized recreation opportunities also comes the responsibility to guide users in the proper stewardship of our natural resources.

PHASE 1: Research, Development & Planning – Ongoing

PHASE 2: Education & Asset Development – In Progress

PHASE 3: Wayfinding Development

PHASE 4: Installation/Launch & Promotion

PROPOSED PROJECT LAUNCH – Summer 2023

Please stay tuned to regular updates on progress in the page below:

Updated: March 10, 2023

This week we had the opportunity to discuss the ORV initiative on the 9&10 Morning Show, Good Day Northern Michigan!

Later the same week we were able to attend the North Country Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (NCCISMA) annual meeting in Baldwin, MI. Lots of great presentations and topics discussed about invasives in our area and ORV’s specifically.

Progress continues on mapping discussions! Stay tuned for more updates…

Updated: February 20, 2023

With a master base map now complete, several potential “scenic ride” options for ORV’s have been discussed using existing roads and trails within Wexford County. Discussions between top land management stakeholders all centered around maintaining integrity of the land, ORV user safety and experience, as well as the interests of local business owners, residents and all other primary stakeholders involved. Connectivity to neighboring networks are also being discussed. Proposed “scenic rides” for our 2023 version of the user map are currently under review.

We continue to build our list of points of interest to be considered as stopping points along these “scenic rides” and coordinators of this work group will be reaching out to more stakeholders to collect feedback on the initial version of the proposed map.

Updated: January 20, 2023

Base mapping is nearly complete after very productive discussions between key local partners, including the US Forest Service and the MDNR. We will now circle back to local law enforcement and other stakeholders about next steps in identifying potential issues related to recommended routing. The press release below outlines two national partnerships we have entered at the start of this year. This step forward will be important as we move further into the stewardship messaging, branding and wayfinding phases of this project.

Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau Partners with Tread Lightly! & Leave No Trace for Sustainability in Local Tourism

Updated: November 29, 2022

GIS Base mapping is in progress and we have had preliminary discussions with local law enforcement and other stakeholders about first steps in identifying priorities and known issues related to connectivity. The press release below explains funding sources and more details on this initiative.

NEXT STEPS:

Stakeholders will be emailed with various workgroup opportunities over the next several months – currently these are:

• Mapping/Routing & Stakeholder Discussions – In Progress
• Zoning/Land Use
• Law Enforcement
• Maintenance/Stewardship
• Organizational Partnerships
• Branding & Marketing