Just an hour North of Detroit, Michigan is a 260 acre oasis for off-road recreation lovers. Holly Oaks ORV Park features water crossings, rock crawling, sand dunes and Mt. Magna, an obstacle designed to replicate various famous features in Moab, Utah. Recently they opened additional land called “North 60” that is a ‘scramble area' where users can create their own path. The area consists of old mining roads and extreme terrain such as 40’ verticle cliffs.  Considering it was my first time on an off-road park and I was driving a stock Ford Bronco, I stuck to the less aggressive obstacles.  

My guide for the day was Tony Carvallo, an off-roading expert who’s made a career designing and building vehicles. Although Tony is a Jeep guy, he was happy to teach me the basics, like proper cueing techniques for rock crawling obstacles, the use of rear lockers to avoid getting stuck in the mud and how to successfully complete multiple donuts in a row, and kick up a ton a sand in the process! I think the Baja Race Track was my favorite part though; the sun finally came out so I put back the Bestop Trektop for the full open-air experience. I just loved the feeling of my hair blowing wild in the wind as I cruised effortlessly over the large dirt humps.

If you are in the Detroit, Michigan area and looking for a fun place to test your off-road skills, Holly Oaks ORV is open to all types of vehicles including full-size vehicles, ATVs, side by sides, Dirt bikes, and motorcycles. 

Visit their site for more information, and don’t forget to bring a flag for your vehicle.