Burnett County: Winter Trails remain closed

Image by Craig Lehman

WINTER SEASON NOTIFICATION

As the Natural Resources Committee has chosen to do for many years now, keeping safety in mind, Burnett County will NOT open any Winter ATV or snowmobile recreational trails for our December 1 through March 31 riding season until after all gun deer hunting seasons. There is a muzzleloader season and also an antlerless deer season through December 13. The earliest we might be able to open ANY of these winter ATV or snowmobile trails will be on December 14. (This includes all Frozen Ground Trails.)

During this time, our Fall Riding Regulations are still in effect. If you choose to ride on Burnett County Forest Lands, please consider wearing blaze orange as you are riding at your own risk - see regulations below.

OUR FALL RIDING SEASON SEPTEMBER 16-NOV. 30
(Please read all information below)

Beginning Wednesday, September 16, State-funded trails will be CLOSED. HOWEVER, from September 16 through November 30 the Burnett County Forest woods trails and forest roads are open for ATV/UTV use. What this means is that you can ride your registered ATV/UTV on any woods trail, snowmobile trail, and ATV trail that is located on County Forest Lands and is not bermed, gated, or signed as closed; and is at least eight feet wide. (A good rule of thumb is that if you can drive a truck down the trail, then you can take your ATV/UTV down it.) No off-trail use is allowed and operation on private lands is illegal unless you have permission from the private landowner.

It is very important to note that all of these trails are currently multi-use trails. This means that ANY street legal, licensed vehicle can use these trails during this time, (cars or trucks for example). It's also important to note that these trails are no longer being maintained during this time of year. For these reasons, the State-Funded Summer Use ATV Trail System is officially closed, even though you can still ride the majority of these same trails because they are located on County Forest Lands and township roads that currently allow for the use of ATV/UTVs during this time of year.

Remember, it is illegal to ride your ATV/UTV on the Gandy Dancer Trail in Burnett County south of Highway 77 at this time of year.

USE CAUTION:

Use caution and look for signage regarding timber sale activity. Trucks may be crossing trails.

All ATVs and UTVs must display either a Wisconsin registration or an ATV trail pass to ride on our trails. Only machines meeting the state definition of an ATV/UTV are allowed on these trails. Please go to the WI DNR website for definitions and registration/pass information.

Some township ordinances allow for ATV/UTV use of the town roads and others do NOT allow it. It is the rider's responsibility to contact the township in which you plan to ride in and get the current rules pertaining to ATVs/UTVs and the town roads.

NO OFF TRAIL USE IS ALLOWED - Please stay on the trails. Much of our trail system is on private land, and we appreciate the easements granted by our generous land owners. It only takes one person to have the entire trail system shut down.

Caution: Trail maintenance vehicles may be on the trails at any time.

It is your responsibility to know where you are and whose property you are on. Please be careful, be respectful to other trail users, and ride safely.

Contact Information

If you need any maps, or if you need any other information, please contact Burnett County Tourism at 1-800-788-3164 or feel free to email them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To contact Burnett County Forest & Parks, please visit their website at www.burnettcounty.com/trails.