Michigan has icy cold winters and but the spring, summer and fall are fantastic ATVing weather. The summers don't tend to get blazing hot and for the most part riding your ATV on any of the trails in Michigan can be a great day or even a long weekend as most of the trails allow camping so consider bringing your whole family along and making a weekend out of it.
The rules and regulations for owning an ATV in Michigan are pretty light when compared to a lot of States. Your ATV must be registered through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and you will be given a sticker that must be prominently displayed at all times on your ATV when you are riding. The minimum age for riding an ATV for a child is 12-years of age as well as all ATV riders from the ages of 12-16 years of age must have a licensed and registered adult along for the ride who is also riding an ATV. Anyone riding an ATV must have working brake systems, a noise muffler attached - the decibel cut off for ATVs is 90 dbs, and if you are on an ATV, you must be wearing a DOT approved helmet and eye protection at all times. Headlights are required only if you will be riding your ATV at night.
Michigan has three National Forests that allow ATV riding. The Hiawatha National Forest, The Huron-Manistee National Forest and the Ottawa National Forest. The Rangers do require that you ride only on designated ATV trails and that you never go "trail blazing". Hiawatha is especially interesting to ATV as they have densely foliaged ATV trails and four great lakes islands to explore.
If you're looking to join an ATV group to ride your ATV with, check out the following: The State Association is Michigan ATV Association and you can see their website here : https://www.michiganatv.com/. Addtionally another great group to check out is the ATV Offroad Club and their website is located here : https://www.atvoffroad.net.
Riding your ATV can be a great way to promote family oneness and enjoy a weekend away from the television, video games and computers. Gather up your gang and take them ATVing this weekend.
