OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) Recreation

The Willamette National Forest is home to two designated Off Highway Vehicle trail riding areas: the Santiam Pass Recreation Area and Huckleberry Flats OHV Trail. These areas provide trail riding in forested settings. To find other OHV riding experiences, such as dunes and high desert riding, check out the Oregon State Parks website http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/ATV/

Huckleberry Flats is the only area in the Forest with a developed OHV trail system. Planning for OHV recreation in the Santiam Pass area is currently underway. You can track the progress of this project in our Forest Planning section.

Where can I ride?

Santiam Pass Recreation Area ~ OHV Information
Huckleberry Flats OHV Trail ~ OHV Information & Maps

REMINDER: Lake beds closed to off road riding Low water levels are inviting, but Detroit lakebed is closed to off road riding

In general, you can ride on gravel surface roads that are not maintained for passenger vehicles and on designated OHV routes unless otherwise posted within these important guidelines:

• Some areas are closed for habitat or resource protection reasons. These areas are posted closed or have gates or berms closing them.
• Stay on designated routes. Cross country travel destroys vegetation and displaces soil.
• Mudding is illegal. Driving through wet meadows, streams or lakeshores, or on roads that have not yet dried out from snowmelt damages roadways and sensitive wildlife habitat.
• Fire closures: when fire closures are issued because of high fire danger levels in the woods, off highway vehicle use is prohibited. Check out Fire Section for closure orders.

Paved Forest roads are closed to OHV use, unless these vehicles are equipped to be street legal and registered to operate on public roads. Roads that are signed and physically closed to motorized vehicles are also closed to OHV traffic.

Heads up! The Forest roads where you can ride are also used by a mixture of vehicles including large trucks used for logging and construction. Most vehicle operators on these Forest roads are not used to sharing the road with OHV traffic, so OHV riders need to drive defensively! Travel these roads cautiously and contact the local Ranger District office ahead of riding to find out if timber sales are currently operating in the area.

Remember to use extra care in high use recreation areas where there are likely to be other forest visitors.

Rules for Riding

OHVs are a great way to combine America’s love of motor vehicles with the love of the outdoors. To make your time in the outdoors safe as well as enjoyable, you need to know the laws governing OHV use on public land and etiquette for riding. The cornerstone of any outdoor recreation activity is respect: respect for yourself; respect for others and respect for the environment. See Tread Lightly's Tips for Responsible ATV Riding (pdf document) or visit their website (http://www.treadlightly.org/)

The State of Oregon establishes and administers OHV permits and regulations. You can find more information, including lists of OHV permit vendors and vehicle class definitions, age requirements and who can ride, on the Oregon State Parks website (http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/ATV/) or by calling Oregon Parks and Recreation Department information center at 1.800.551.6949.

Required to ride...

• A muffler that complies with Oregon's 99db sound limit
• A valid ATV permit sticker affixed to your vehicle.
• A USDA approved spark arrester.
  

And remember whenever you ride:

• Don't ever ride while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Always wear safety gear
• Be respectful of other forest visitors