Vilas County ATV/OHV Trails
Vilas County is Wisconsin's northernmost county: a 854-square-mile block of Northern Highland lake country bordering the upper Michigan border, containing over 1,300 named lakes and some of the densest lake concentrations of any county in the United States. The county ATV and OHV trail system covers more than 350 miles of designated routes through the county forest, private land easements, and township corridor connections that make Vilas County one of the largest county-level ATV networks in Wisconsin and the entire upper Midwest. Eagle River is the county seat and the established hub of Vilas County's four-season outdoor recreation economy: a community built around snowmobile culture (Eagle River hosts the World Championship Snowmobile Derby, the sport's oldest and most prestigious race) that transitions to ATV and watercraft recreation in the summer and fall months. The ATV trail system connects the resort communities of Eagle River, Minocqua, Lac du Flambeau, Boulder Junction, and St. Germain across the county's forested interior, threading through the characteristic Northern Highland boreal lake country: mixed forest of northern hardwoods and boreal conifers (balsam fir, white spruce, paper birch, and sugar maple), on the upland terrain between the county's countless lakes and bogs. The trail character is moderate, lake-country riding, rolling Northern Highland glacial topography with consistent lake and forest views. Width restrictions apply on some trail segments. Wisconsin non-resident ATV/UTV trail pass required. Vilas County Tourism and Recreation (715-479-3660) coordinates ATV trail information across the county. The system connects to Oneida County's ATV network to the south, extending the rideable range for multi-day visitors based in the Eagle River or Minocqua resort areas.