Where You Can't Ride a Dirt Bike in Pennsylvania

State Forest ATV Trails Are Designated For Four Wheelers

If there is one topic that frequently confuses dirt bike and dual sport motorcycle riders passing through Pennsylvania, is what trails are open for riding. Just because you see an ATV trail, it's likely not open to the two wheel crowd.

Pennsylvania has eight state forests with designated ATV trails that are managed by the DCNR Bureau of Forestry. Unfortunately motorcycles are not permitted on these trails, even though they are certainly wide enough. The simple explanation is the ATV trails are groomed and maintained with money collected from state registration fees which are then transferred to the Snowmobile/ATV Fund.

Since there is currently no state managed dirt bike/motorcycle trail fund in Pennsylvania, there is no way to collect money to add to the coffer. This means state forest ATV trails remain restricted to registered four wheelers and snowmobiles.

The good news is there are some public trails that are open to dirt bikes. Seven Mountains Ramble (street legal dual sports only), Shade Mountain, Marienville and Timberline, Rocky Gap and Willow Creek all have designated trails that are two wheel friendly. There are even a few private off-road parks and numerous motocross tracks to check out.