Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV)

Want to find roads and trail for your OHV recreation?
The Colville National Forest has made finding your OHV routes fast and easy with the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). Use your Colville National Forest MVUM to find roads and trails to open to OHVs, dirt bikes, ATVs, and full-sized vehicles such as Jeeps. MVUMs are available online and at the District Offices and Supervisors Offices on the Tonasket, Republic, Kettle Falls, Colville, Sullivan Lake, and Newport. In the Southeast and Northeast quadrants of the Forest, 3-inch diameter reflective Green Dots have been placed on the brown fiberglass road markers - if the road sign has a Green Dot, it's open to OHVs! Look for these Green Dots to appear in other parts of the Forest going forward.

Prefer to use a cellphone app?
The free Avenza mapping app turns your smartphone or tablet into a GPS that shows your location on the MVUM - simply download the app ("PDF MAPS") from you App Store and then download the free USFS maps for the regions of the Colville national Forest that you wish to visit (SE, SW, NE, NW1, NW2 Forest quadrant maps). If you use other mapping apps such as Gaia or OnX, make sure to check their maps with MVUM, as they may not have current MVUM information on road and trails open to OHVs.

Are there any requirements for special equipment, training, or experience for OHV use in the Colville National Forest?
All OHVs and drivers must be licensed – check out Washington state OHV licensing requirements at https://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/watv.html . Before you travel, plan for challenging weather and terrain - many routes in the Colville National Forest are in rugged mountain country, and there are many areas without cell phone coverage. Recommended equipment includes cellphones or radios (or satellite phones), wood saws, winches, first aid kits, spare tires, repair kits and tools, food, water, maps, warm clothing, and a GPS if you’re not using a cellphone mapping app. Helmets are required for dirt bike and ATV riders; OHV operators using side-by-side vehicles need to wear seatbelts and have a roll cage. Helmets are advisable for side-by-side users on the more difficult Jeep trails if you’re not experienced on challenging trails.

What route is best for your vehicle?
Remember to check the map’s legend to find which routes are limited by vehicle size. Smaller ATVs and dirt bikes have their own trails in some areas, such as Gillette Ridge, LPO OHV Area, and Batey-Bould OHV Dirt Bike trails. Larger OHVs such as side-by-sides must use the Green Dot Roads or Jeep trails - there are over 800 miles of roads open to OHVs in the Colville National Forest, plus challenging Jeep Trails, so there are plenty of routes for your enjoyment!

When can you ride?
From April 1st to Nov. 30th AVT trails are open for use. After November 30th these trails transition into Snowmobile only.

County roads connecting to USFS roads may also be open to OHV travel, depending on county regulations – in Stevens County, all county roads adjoining or accessing the Colville National Forest are open to OHVs; for information on current OHV road use regulations in Pend Oreille or Ferry Counties, call the Commissioner’s offices.