“It is sort of like Walt Disney was asked to create a
playground that was part Mad Max, part wild-west ghost
town, and all of the kids had engines.”
Over a decade in the making, Holly Oaks ORV Park is a joint venture between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Oakland County Parks and Recreation.
More than 235 acres of depleted sand and gravel mines were acquired with financial support from a MNRTF grant and development funds from the State ORV Fund.
The goal has been to create a self-sustaining ORV public riding area close to urban population centers in Southeast Michigan.
As part of the agreement between the State and Oakland County, the entire park would be open to all ORV types and rider abilities. The idea is a good one: create a park where you can introduce people to ORV recreation and provide them with trails and technical driving courses that encourage them to grow their abilities and vehicular interests.
To this end, the park has been designed as a series of “Adventure Areas” that offer a variety of driving experiences from rock features and water fording to looped short courses and trails based on MDNR standards.
Each Adventure Area is, or will be, uniquely themed to enhance the experience and provide some photo worthy backdrops.
113 acres are available for riding in this first year of operation. For more information on individual riding areas check out the Holly Oaks website.