Courtesy photos Above, off-road vehicle riders take a break on an Upper Peninsula trail, one of many trails open to the sport in the region.

HANCOCK — For those looking to enjoy all the great off road vehicle trails the western Upper Peninsula has, the weekend to check those trails out is June 11-12. This is the weekend you do not need an ORV Trail Pass.

That means Michigan residents and non-residents can see the beauty of a ride from Hancock to Calumet and all the way to Copper Harbor. One can ride from Houghton and go all the way to Ironwood. One can enjoy the variety of trails on the Baraga Plains. What about a ride from Sidnaw to Bergland?

While you may have an ORV for yard work, working on your property, or even to use for hunting, June 11-12 is a great opportunity to ride the trails!

It is common for people to continue to ride certain trails, time and time again. It is also common for people to not broaden their horizon and ride trails they are not familiar with. On Michigan’s No Trail Sticker weekend, it’s a great opportunity to ride new trails.

It is easier than ever with the new ORV Trail Signing program and maps. All you need to do is look for the black alphabetical letter on a white sign to know you are on a legal ORV trail. You can look at a map to see where the ORV trails go with the corresponding alphabetical letter.

It is important to know that not all snowmobile trails are open to ORVs. If the trail just has a number on an orange diamond, and no alphabetical letter, that trail is not open to ORVs. It is important to abide by the decision of the private landowners. Riding an ORV on a snowmobile-only trail may cause that trail to be shut down to everyone, including snowmobilers.

One area to consider riding is on Michigan Department of Natural Resources state forest land. Two-track and roads that are not posted closed to ORVs or closed to vehicular traffic are open to ORVs. Go to the Baraga DNR office and purchase a map showing where you will find Michigan state forests. One cannot imagine all the opportunities ORV riders have on Michigan state forest land!

What is a concern to the hard working volunteers of the Keweenaw ATV Club and other local clubs is when an ORV rider assumes they are on public land when they are, in fact, on private land. Even if that private land is considered CFA/CFR land, that does not mean it is open to ORVs. CFA/CFR land is open to hiking, hunting, fishing, but not open to motorized access without the specific permission from the landowner.

On some of these large tracts of land owned by timber holding companies, officials are kind enough to allow for a trail to go through their land. However, they specifically provide this trail easement only for the trail, not cross-country travel. Going off trail is one of the main reasons these landowners shut their entire land off to all motorized use.

The Ottawa National Forest has a designated motor vehicle use map depicting which roads on the Ottawa National Forest are open. An ORV is not allowed on many of the heavier highway vehicle-use roads. It is critical that you get the DVUM map from your local Ottawa National Forest office to find out where you can ride.

When one puts all the state forest roads, Ottawa National Forest roads and the extensive ORV trails this area has, you have many places to ride. Take advantage of the No Sticker Required weekend, June 11-12 and go riding!

Don’t forget the Keweenaw ATV Club has a meeting this coming Monday at the Hubbell VFW on M-26. The meeting is for members and prospective new members. It is at 7 p.m.