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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Over the last few years I have enjoyed exploring Mason County on my side-by-side. I don’t have the more powerful sport vehicle but rather one that combines utility and recreation allowing me to use it on the farm, in the yard, the roads and trails. I prefer the back country roads and the trails of the Manistee National Forest rather than the designated ORV trails in neighboring Lake County.
Side-by-sides (SXSs) are also often referred to as UTVs (utility terrain vehicles), ORVs (off road vehicles), or OHV (off highway vehicle).
Andrea Benedict of Scottville said she and her three boys ride their 2020 Polaris RZR XP4 1000 frequently.
“I bought a SXS to use as a family with my three active boys and we have been riding since 2018. My youngest son, who is now 7-year-old was 9-months-old when we started making a habit of riding. We enjoy riding to the beach on back roads, to the playground, out to dinner, and of course hitting the trails. We love to play in the mud and just make memories together.”
While Mason County itself does not have a county-wide ORV ordinance, like Lake County, every municipality in Mason County has an ordinance that allows the use of ORVs, including the cities of Ludington and Scottville. Ideally, the citizens would be better served with a county-wide ordinance which would cover all the townships (the cities would still have to have separate ordinances). This would cause less confusion and would allow for better enforcement of the law. It also would allow for easier promotion of ORV riding in the county. Currently, many ORV groups/communities do not necessarily recognize Mason County as an ORV county because it does not have a countywide ordinance, basically meaning that the county is not promoted as such and loses valuable tourist money as a result.
Most of the ordinances throughout Mason County are similar, but they do vary slightly and it is the driver’s responsibility to be familiar with each ordinance.
All the ordinances require the display of a Michigan Department of Natural Resources-issued ORV sticker on the back of the vehicle, limit speeds to 25 mph, require headlights to be illuminated while driving and require the vehicle to travel on the far right of the road (but typically the vehicle must remain on the paved portion of a paved road, and not on the shoulder while traveling). The ordinances consistently have age restrictions and certain safety requirements.
Exploring northern Mason County along the Big Sable River with the Mule.
These ordinances do not only address side-by-sides but all off road vehicles, which are usually defined — in the ordinances — as a motor driven off road recreation vehicle capable of cross-country travel without benefit of a road or trail, on or immediately over land, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, or other natural terrain. Most ordinances go on to state that ORVs include, but are not limited to a multi-track or multi-wheel drive vehicle, an all terrain vehicle (ATV), a motorcycle or related two-wheel, three-wheel or four-wheel vehicle, an amphibious machine, a ground effect air cushion vehicle or other means of transportation deriving power from a source other than muscle or wind.
ORVs, as defined in the ordinances, do not include a registered snowmobile, a farm vehicle being used for farming, a vehicle used for military, fire, emergency or law enforcement purposes, a vehicle owned by a utility, oil or gas company when performing maintenance on facilities or on property over which there is an easement, a construction or logging vehicle used in performance of its common function, or a registered aircraft.
Snowmobiles are addressed in separate ordinances and state laws.
Variations to local ORV ordinances typically deal with the time of day ORVs can be driven. Generally, you are not allowed to drive them after dark, but some ordinances state sunrise to sunset versus actual times of day based on the time of year (summer or winter).
Unless it is registered as a plated vehicle with the Michigan Secretary of State (which also requires regular vehicle insurance), an ORV/UTV cannot travel on a state highway. In Mason County, that means un-plated UTVs cannot travel on US 10, US 31, M-116, and South Pere Marquette Highway between US 10 and the US 31 on-ramp (because it is the US 31 business route). Keep in mind that in the City of Ludington, James Street south from Ludington Avenue to the carferry dock is part of the US 10 route. All of Ludington Avenue is a state highway; from the eastern city limits (Jackson Road/Atkinson Drive) to James Street, it is US 10 and from James Street west to Lakeshore Drive, it is M-116. Lakeshore Drive from Ludington Avenue into Hamlin Township is part of M-116 until the “Y” where M-116 and Lakeshore Drive split. M-116 travels west then north to the Ludington State Park. Lakeshore Drive from this point north is no longer a state highway as it travels to and ends at Duneview Drive, which means that ORVs are allowed on this segment of the road. In the City of Scottville, State Street is part of US 10. UTVs are allowed to cross a state highway.
The City of Ludington and Pere Marquette Charter Township have separate ordinances for golf carts while the rest of the municipalities in Mason County (including City of Scottville) include golf carts in their ORV ordinances and lump them in with ORVs.
The Mason County Road Commission’s website lists the ORV ordinances for the different municipalities here. You can find the golf cart ordinance for Pere Marquette Township here and the ordinance for the City of Ludington here. The City of Scottville’s ORV ordinance does not appear on the road commission site at this time, but can be read here. The ordinances referenced in this article also appear at the end of the article.
All local ordinances refer to Part 811 of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (Michigan Compiled Law 324.81101), basically meaning that what isn’t covered in the local ordinance is covered in the state law. There are some redundancies between the local ordinances and the state law.
When discussing these ordinances, please keep in mind that ORVs utilized solely on private party are not covered by the ordinances or state law. Once you enter the public roadway or state or federal land, you must comply with the ordinances and/or state law.
For the sake of this article, we are discussing utility terrain vehicles (side-by-sides) not golf carts. Nor are we discussing motorcycles and quad runners.
UTVs come in a variety of sizes, styles, and speeds. Generally, they are divided into three categories: Utility, recreational and sport/performance. I personally believe that those categories are rather limiting and do not exactly summarize all machines. My UTV, for example is a Kawasaki Mule Pro FXT. This particular UTV would be categorized as a utility UTV, but I (and many more Mule Pro users) utilize it on roads and trails frequently. Kawasaki does make the Mule 4010, which is certainly more restrictive to utility use, but could also be used to travel on local roads and trails. My particular side-by-side is not necessarily the most comfortable for long rides and for challenging terrain. However, I often drive it throughout the county from my home in Scottville, and sometimes travel into Lake, Oceana and Manistee counties as well.
In 2009, the Mason County Board of Commissioners voted 8-2 to not take on the task of adopting a county-wide ordinance, instead leaving the issue up to the municipalities, though the majority of municipalities had encouraged the county board to pass a countywide ordinance. Michigan Public Act 240 of 2008 allowed counties to decide by July of that year to pass an ordinance or not. If they hadn’t, then the townships could In Mason County, all the townships, except one, began passing their own ORV ordinances. Eventually the cities of Ludington and Scottville also passed ORV ordinances. The passage in Scottville was especially important as Scottville is in the center of the county and has a bridge crossing the Pere Marquette River. The next accessible crossing of the PM River is the Custer Road bridge.
Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole has said, on the record, that Mason County law enforcement has very few encounters with side-by-side riders. There are crashes from time to time, but those incidents are infrequent. He said there are also occasional complaints, but his deputies typically have very few issues with the UTV community.
Dan Quinn, owner of U-Win Motorsports, 2284 US 10-31, Amber Township, was instrumental in lobbying the county commission and local municipalities to pass ORV ordinances.
A new Yamaha Wolverine at U-Win Motorsports
“Motorsports such as side-by-side riding, motorcycle riding, and snowmobiling have been proven to be beneficial to the economic development of a community,” Quinn said. “It’s been great to see each of the townships and cities in Mason County to open up their roads and streets to ORVs but I believe it’s time for a countywide ordinance.”
While Mason County does not have a designated side-by-side compatible ORV trail, it does have thousands of acres of national forest. Up until 2021, it was illegal for un-plated ORVs to ride on the national forest roads (those marked by four numbers with brown posts). In October of that year, the U.S. Forest Service opened up the vast majority of Huron-Manistee National Forest trails to ORVs.
With the opening of the national forest trails, the Meade Township Board of Trustees passed an ORV ordinance in January 2023. This not only meant that all Mason County municipalities were now open to ORVs but also meant that ORV users could access the extended trail system from northeastern Mason County into Lake County. Those two decisions were major pluses for the ORV community.
One of the best ways to discover which Manistee National Forest Trails are open is to download the Avenza Maps app. Maps are also available at ranger stations: 650 N. Michigan Ave., Baldwin; 1170 Nursery Rd., Wellston; 1755 S. Mitchell St., Cadillac. Please note that the USFS uses the term OHV, off highway vehicle.
“I absolutely have seen the benefits of being able to use the SXS on all roads but highways,” Andrea Benedict said. “It acts as a jeep or convertible-type of style for my boys and me. So on those beautiful days we love to just ride the SXS into Ludington and park at the beach or go to the playground, etc. we wouldn’t use it nearly as much if this wasn’t possible. So we love that we can do this and try to use it at much as possible.”
We are also seeing neighboring Oceana and Manistee counties opening up more areas. With the exception of the four townships along the Lake Michigan shoreline (Benona, Claybanks, Golden and Pentwater), Oceana County’s municipalities allow ORVs, including the City of Hart and the villages of Shelby and Pentwater (however, Pentwater Township, which surrounds the village, does not allow ORVs and therefore ORVs cannot access the Village of Pentwater from the outside). The Oceana County Sheriff’s Office website offers a list of the ordinances. See that website here. I recognize that ORVs are allowed in limited areas in Golden Township, which allows for access to Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Like the golf cart topic, that’s a different discussion.
Information about ORV ordinances in Manistee County is more difficult to find. Pleasant Township’s website includes a map of townships that allow ORVs along with the routes through those townships. However, the map is outdated since it is from 2020. Unlike ordinances in Mason, Lake, and Oceana counties, the Manistee County townships have select routes, rather than allowing ORVs on all roads (this may be a vague statement as some townships may allow ORVs on all roads). This is very confusing and I am not even sure how law enforcement can enforce all the specifics of each individual ordinance.
Lake County has offered the most logical and simplified solution. It has a countywide ordinance. That ordinance can be read here. The Village of Baldwin also allows ORVs. Its ordinance can be found here.
My goal is to make a comprehensive list of local recreational vehicle ordinances and post that list on a dedicated page on Mason County Press.
It’s undeniable that UTV riding has become one of the most popular recreational vehicle activities across the country, with Michigan as no exception. As we have experienced winters with lesser amounts of snowfall, this activity allows people to enjoy it almost year-round, which can be a great boost to economic development. There is even a Blessing of the ORVs held in May in Irons. It’s a great activity that provides a wide variety of venues and adventure levels for people.
Local ORV ordinances
Editor’s Note: This list may not be complete. If you have access to a local ordinance not listed here, please email to editor@mediagroup31.com.
Click on names for links
Mason County ORV Ordinances
Free Soil Township ORV Ordinance
Riverton Township ORV Ordinance
Sheridan Township ORV Ordinance
Sherman Township ORV Ordinance
Victory Township ORV Ordinance
Mason County Golf Cart Ordinances
Pere Marquette Charter Township
Lake County ORV Ordinances
Oceana County ORV Ordinances
Ferry Township
Oceana County Golf Cart Ordinances
Manistee County ORV Ordinances
Click here for 2020 map of townships that allow ORVs. This link does contain various township ORV ordinances as well.
Dickson Township
Manistee County Golf Cart Ordinances
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