Surrounded by one-fifth of the planet’s fresh surface water, it’s no surprise Michigan is home to great boating and fantastic freshwater recreation opportunities. With more than a thousand public boating access sites and 82 public harbors across the state, you'll find easy access to 3,300 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 11,000 inland lakes and tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams. Fun fact: Our state ranks second in the nation (behind Florida) for total watercraft registrations.

Start planning your summer boating adventures today by accessing the Michigan Boating Facility Finder at Michigan.gov/MiBFF. This summer, be sure to grab your printed Michigan Harbor Guide highlighting 19 state-managed and select local government harbor/marina facilities. Ask harbor staff for your copy.

Questions? Email Jordan Byelich at [email protected]. 

With thousands of miles of state forest roads to explore, Michigan’s beautiful outdoors offers endless adventure to hikers, anglers and off-road enthusiasts. It’s time to grab your gear, download a map and hit the open roads.

On April 1 of each year, the DNR updates the state forest road maps to keep them current. These maps are available in an easy-to-use, interactive web format and as printable PDFs, making it simple to plan your next outing.

After the annual road inventory and review, 11,810 miles of Michigan’s forest roads and trails, listed here by region, are open to off-road vehicles:

• Upper Peninsula: more than 5,706 miles – about 98% of the total mileage.
• Northern Lower Peninsula: about 6,095 miles – about 84% of the total mileage.
• Southern Lower Peninsula: about 9 miles – about 2.5% of the total mileage.

This is an increase of 45 miles from the state forest roads open to ORVs in 2024.

Forest road maps are updated to reflect changing road conditions and to incorporate data cleanup and input received from residents. Maps show which state forest roads are open or closed to off-road and conventional vehicle use. It’s important to stay on these roads to prevent erosion and damage to wildlife habitat.

With April 1 marking the start of Michigan’s 2025-26 ORV season, it’s a great time to purchase your license and trail permit. A license is required to ride eligible county roads, frozen surface of public waters, state forest roads (open to ORV use) and eligible national forest roads, while a trail permit is required in addition to your ORV license when operating on state-designated ORV trails and scramble areas.

Review ORV rules, regulations, closures and more at Michigan.gov/ORVInfo. Find updated maps and other information at Michigan.gov/ForestRoads.

Questions about state forest roads? Email [email protected]. Send media inquiries to Scott Shooltz at 989-506-8553.

The conservation officer recruits in the DNR’s Training Academy No. 13 have hit the halfway mark in their journey toward becoming fully licensed law enforcement officers. You can learn about their experiences and insights through weekly academy blog posts written by the recruits.

These 16 men and women are preparing for county field assignments that will see them patrolling and enforcing laws related to outdoor recreation and fish and wildlife conservation, responding to general criminal situations and serving as first responders (alongside federal, state and local law agencies) in natural disasters and emergencies.

Most of the recruits’ training – including water rescue, firearms safety, fish and wildlife identification, conservation law and more – takes place at the Michigan State Police Training Academy in Lansing, with hands-on instruction from DNR and subject matter experts in a variety of other fields. It’s a focused, detail-oriented setting in which recruits learn the importance of teamwork, preparation and community.

“Our recruits have been working hard to complete classroom assignments and physical training, while doing their best to build each other up and achieve common goals,” said Sgt. Kyle Bucholtz, training academy commander. “It’s a long and rigorous process to complete the academy, but these candidates are well on their way.”

Sign up to receive email updates about the CO academy and other DNR topics, and learn more about the work of these officers at Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers.

Questions? Contact Sgt. Kyle Bucholtz at 810-280-2274.