START YOUR ENGINES
Holly Oaks ORV welcomes first riders
Holly Oaks ORV opened its gates for the first time on Thursday, greeted by a roaring line of vehicles ready to ride.
It’s the county’s first off-road vehicle park, still partly under construction on a 235-acre site located across from the Groveland Oaks County Park and Campground in Groveland and Holly Townships.
Rick and Kimberley Hermansen, husband and wife from Waterford, were two of the first in line to try out the initial 113-acres of trails, rock crawls, climbs and loops open to the public.
“We have five grandkids and we know they’re going to love this, it will be a great way to introduce them to the ORV lifestyle,”
Rick Hermansen said. “We used to drive all the way to the Indian River and Petoskey, but this is so close to home and it really looks perfect.”
Doug Calka was also an early arrival to the park’s opening having driven from his home in Leonard. Calka, who is paralyzed from
the waist down due to a motocross accident, said he was especially grateful for the new park and its location. He rides a modified Wildcat XX with hand controls instead of foot pedals.
“This is so much closer to home. I usually rent a motocross track and go all the way up north,” he said. “It’s not even about the fact that this is cheaper, it’s the convenience of being close to home and having it so well organized. It’s well worth the $15.”
Off-road vehicles of all types are allowed in the park so long as they have a muffler. Tickets are available to anyone over 18. Children 12 and under will be allowed to ride only with an ORV safety certificate from the state, or another state, with direct supervision. Children ages 16 to 17 with
a valid driver’s license can operate full size and street legal vehicles in the park with adult supervision.
The park has been a 40-year-dream in the making, said Dan Stencil, executive director of the county’s parks department. After years of discussion, it finally began to take shape in 2017 when the land was acquired by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources through the use of a $2.9 million Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. Oakland County was named operator of the park, which was designed and developed with two ORV Trail Improvement Fund grants from the state, one for $185,000 in 2019 and another for $262,000 in 2020.
Entrance to the park comes with a $15 per vehicle fee. Vehicles must have off road vehicle stickers and off road vehicle trail stickers, $26 and $10 respectively, in order to enter. Stickers will be available
for purchase at the park. Sticker sales are used as a special funding source by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to provide
grants for off road vehicle facilities throughout the state.
Holly Oaks ORV Park will be open this weekend
from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Sunday, Sept. 20. For additional hours and times, visit oakgov. com/parks.