Just got back from a great trip up north Mi. with my son, and some terrific weather, too!
Started the trip out on day one from St Helen's campground and rode, round trip through Clear lake with store,gas,bar restaurant, onto Rose City for gas fill up, then north of West Branch, up to Wagon Wheel area then back, close to 50 miles. Make sure if taking this route its advisable to take a GPS, flash light, spare gas, compass, emergency tools, waters, snacks, jacket in case your stranded after dark for some reason, gets pretty cold up north, after sun go down! and tow strap just in case you happen to get stuck in the muck like we did, then ''stunk'' from the muck the rest of the trip back lol, but fortunately we were near camp heading back, hitting the showers and tossing clothes away lol Mosquitoes were eating us up alive all the way back after getting swamped too! Might also be a good idea to pack a can of mosquito spray as well! Their no joke, back in swampy areas!
Rode for 4 days, riding hard every day, from early dawn till dark, and not exactly the way I prefered it, but my son said, that he had been waiting all year to finally get up there (while also on his vacation) and he was going to RIDE!!!
Made it to places, way back in areas we've never been before, and rode into heavily forested/wooded places with foliage so thick, growing over the trails, which seemed like no one had been back in there for quite some time! Not sure if we'll ever head back in there again, because of the way we were scratched, hit/poked by branches, and those pesky mosquitoes, following us all the way back after getting swamped! Definitely worth the ''trip/view''! Real easy to get disoriented/lost back in there too!
St Helens area also has 5 greata rock climbs, 3 different sand climbs, lakes and tons of trails with so much sand you can leave the sand paddles on the entire time there! Close to 20 sq. miles.
Still looking for a friend/buddy over 50, to ride with ''anytime''!! Is a good time for me! Just let me know. Any riding skill is fine with me, I just love the time out, camping and trailing, great MIX! Thanks Steve

 

I don't usually take mosquito spray with me on rides but before we take off I spray my head, neck, and arms (I wear T-shirts all the time) with Cutter Backwoods or OFF! Deep Woods. Maybe around my waist and ankles too, and if I think the mosquitoes are going to be bad I spray everything except my face. The Backwoods and Deep Woods have more DEET than the regular Cutter and OFF! sprays. That makes it harder for the mosquitoes to smell you, and makes them last longer than the regular sprays. If it quits working after 8 hours and the mosquitoes are still out, I'm usually back at camp and will use more spray.

St. Helen Trail & Route has exactly one scramble area and it's 1 mile wide by 2 miles long. That's only 2 square miles, but that's bigger than it used to be. Other than that all 3 maps of the trail system say, "STAY ON SIGNED TRAILS ONLY!" If you found 20 square miles like that, and we can legally ride there, let me know where to get a map that's newer than what the DNR has on their website. I may be able to talk my friends in to going back and tearing it up, especially if there are hill climbs. You can only go up and down Bull Gap Hill so many times over the years before you're ready for a different hill to climb.

 

I was only listing a portion of this map, of the St Helens area, where anyone might want to do a shout trip, within so many sq. miles, which is a reasonable area for most riders. for a weekend trip, more or less depending on the style you are accustomed to. It connects to other trails from here, I also copied this to help others know where to legally ride in town and in the scramble area Of St Helen:

The St. Helen Motor sport Area is 1,280 acres, 50 miles of trails, and is only one of five scramble areas in the state. It is operated by The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and maintained by volunteers from the Michigan Recreation Vehicle Association of Michigan.
A scramble area is a "designated area" in which an ORV operator is NOT restricted to the use of the existing trails or pathways. The operator is able to travel wherever they wish, unless of course the area is posted closed.

This is where we start out and ride here, near camp, and try to go a little further out on each trip. When we do the St Helen To Mio trip, it is close to 50 miles one way! Been doing small portions of that trip since 86, but just recently combining them all in one trip and very exhausted, when making a round trip in one day! My son lost his kick start pedal heading back last trip there, causing us to swap mine to start his, adding to our time out making the full trip! Anything can go wrong that far from camp and a lot of times walking back could be your only choice! Fortunately that time we both had the same model and year atv!
Hope to explore the trails north of Mio this year, which I've heard is pretty decent, and there's not too many whoops lol Anyone familiar with that trail system, and good places to camp?

 

Looks like a great trail, just wish it wasn't so far away from me.

 

I wish that map was bigger. It's looks different from the one I have but it's hard to compare them. There's a campground on the Meadows Trail that you can get to going north from Rose City Trail. You can ride into Luzerne from there to a big store and gas station that has a private campground behind it. I think Ma Deeter's restaurant re-opened too. You can ride the shoulder of the road from there to Mio Trail which really isn't that great, but there's a campground at Muskrat Lake. The north part of of the trail is always whooped out and is probably still cluttered with trees from a tornado that went through on the 3rd of July, 1999. North of there is a motorcycle trail, and farther northwest are Big Bear Trail and Crapo Creek Trail that I don't like riding all the way to on the shoulder of the road. The trails go farther west on North Branch Route which I haven't been on. Even farther north of Big Bear is Atlanta Trail & Route but you need a street legal motorcycle to get there by trail. It's marked MCCCT (Michigan Cross Country Cycle Trail). I haven't been to Atlanta Trail in years but its mostly wide open snowmobile trails. If you have a need for speed that's a good place to go, but you would have to haul your ATVs there. You probably already know you can cross M-33 from the Meadows Trail to Bull Gap Trail and get gas in Mio from there and maybe the Pink Store too, and you can camp at Mack Lake campground.

 

Here's The map of the St Helen, Mi. area and the southern trails S. of I-75, heading over to the Houghton lk direction. Haven't trailed over there in 25 yrs. Planning on going back this year. My neighbor and his wife and kids, love riding/camping there, and always has great things to say about it! I can't remember anything special about the trip, pretty flat, and very little else! Anybody?

 

St Helen, Mi. southern trail route map

 

My son and I are heading up mon-thur next week. Its been nearly 2 months since our last ride, and is why I'm looking for anyone that can help get me out of town lol ''more often''!! There's got to be someone out there that is just sitting on their ***, like I am, instead of on our quads and out camping and enjoying the great out doors here in Michigan! Summer is winding down in our northern part of the state, where the cold nights soon will be too cold for camping out in a tent! Need to get a camper, I guess lol If you know someone over 50 that's just seems to be staring at the walls lately, looking like they need some oxygen in their lungs and a little sun on their face, then have them get in touch asap, before its too late! Time is closing in quickly!!
Thanks Steve

 

Been back few more times and really loving it!! There's 4'' of the white stuff on ground right now! Anybody been up lately? How are the trails so far?

 

I would love to try this trail out! What kind of ATV do you have? I have only sport quads, do you think they will make it through the trails?