Three vehicle classes, and only one has no size limit
Wisconsin writes its off-road definitions in inches and pounds:
- ATV — straddled, handlebars, three or more low-pressure tires, originally built 50 inches wide or less, 900 pounds dry or less.
- UTV — steering wheel, cargo box, roll bar, originally built 65 inches wide or less, 2,000 pounds dry or less.
- OHM — Wisconsin's term for an off-highway motorcycle: a two-wheeled machine the operator straddles, with handlebars, built for off-pavement use.
Notice what the third definition omits. No width figure, no weight figure. The OHM class, created in 2016, is the only one of the three never given a size cap — which is why a 28-inch-wide fat-tire machine lives in a different administrative world than a side-by-side.
The state then splits that class again. Some OHMs also carry a plate; the rest are what the DNR calls limited-use OHMs, and the directory says plainly that not every trail allows them. Read that field before you plan a weekend around a number on a map.
What it costs: three fees, not one
Wisconsin has a registration layer, a trail-pass layer, and a gate layer, collected by three different parties.
| Credential | Who needs it | Cost | Valid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public-use OHM registration | Wisconsin residents | $30 first, $30 per two-year renewal | Two years, April 1 to March 31 |
| Nonresident annual OHM trail pass | Out-of-state machines | $35 | Expires March 31 each year |
| Nonresident 5-day trail use receipt | Short trips | $20 | Five consecutive days, carried on you |
| State trail pass | OHM riders 16 and over, specific state trails only | $25 annual, $5 daily | Calendar year or day |
| Private park gate fee | Everyone, on top of registration | Varies; $20/day at Tigerton | Day or season |
Two details cost people a Saturday. The decal is mailed and takes roughly two weeks, but a temporary operating receipt issued at purchase lets you ride immediately — print it. And the state trail pass is not accepted on county or local trails, which set their own price. Cheese Country is one of those, which is why it shows as fee-required on the state list.
Our read: the annual nonresident pass is $35 and the 5-day receipt $20, so break-even sits at one and three-quarter trips. Two weekends in a season, buy annual. One scouting trip, buy the receipt — and carry it, because no decal gets mailed.
Five systems that fit a 26x4 machine
1. Tigerton OHV Park and Campground — Shawano County
Tigerton is the one place here where two-wheel riders get their own dirt instead of a shared corridor. More than 500 acres, roughly 28 miles of general trail for ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and Jeeps — plus, separately, more than 10 miles of dedicated OHM single-track cut by volunteers with DNR funding.
The rule matters more than the mileage: OHMs are barred from the ATV and side-by-side trails. You stay on marked single-track unless posted otherwise. That is the reverse of how most parks work, and it is why the two-wheel trail stays intact.
Fees are $20 per machine per day, or a $75 OHM season pass expiring December 31 — three and three-quarter days before the season pass wins. Helmets are required everywhere except inside fully enclosed 4x4s and UTVs. The OHM trailhead is on County Road M, about half a mile south of the office at 1100 Quad Park Lane: chain-link gate on the left, parking just past it. Opens May 1, trails run 8 a.m. to dusk; call 715-535-2169 before hauling. Camping is $25 non-electric, $50 with power.
One limitation: these trails are privately owned and connect to nothing else. The trade is a village route into Tigerton for food and fuel.
2. Black River State Forest — Jackson County
Sixty-eight thousand acres outside Black River Falls, open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. year-round, with a vehicle admission sticker required at the gate on top of your OHM credentials. About 34 miles of ATV, UTV and OHM trail link straight into the Jackson County system, so a forest loop can become a long day.
Plan around the season: the trail runs May 15 to October 15, then reopens December 15 to March 15 — two windows with a closed gap while the ground thaws. Castle Mound campground holds 35 sites, and the butte above it is 180 feet of Cambrian sandstone roughly 400 million years old with an observation tower on top. Recreation line: 715-284-4103.
3. Cheese Country Trail — Iowa, Lafayette and Green counties
Forty-seven miles one way, Monroe to Mineral Point, on the grade of the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific line. The state directory marks it fee-required and, critically, marks limited-use OHMs as allowed. Crushed stone and dead flat, which makes it the lowest energy per mile in this guide.
No motorized travel from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.; the route closes to ATV and UTV traffic at an inch of snow and opens to snowmobiles at four. A half mile west of Browntown it crosses a 440-foot trestle with stone supports dating to the 1880s — narrow enough that you should not stop mid-span with anyone behind you.
4. Tri County Corridor — Ashland, Bayfield and Douglas counties
Sixty-two miles of mostly rail corridor in the far north, no fee, limited-use OHMs allowed. It is the longest run in the state directory that costs nothing beyond registration, and northern forest makes it a different ride from the southern grade. Tri-County Recreational Corridor Commission: 715-969-4150.
5. Douglas County OHM single-track — Solon Springs
Five miles of true single-track, no fee, run by Douglas County Forestry with the Straight Arrow Enduro Riders (715-378-4528). We would not drive across the state for it alone — but it is one of the few entries the DNR describes as single-track rather than a graded bed, and it pairs with the Tri County Corridor in one weekend.
Range math on the trail long enough to strand you
Published range assumes mixed terrain. A rail grade is not, so the arithmetic runs clean. The ED-SN01's 52V 32Ah pack is 1,664 Wh; against a 65-mile pure-electric claim that is 25.6 Wh per mile.
- Cheese Country, one way: 47 miles = about 1,203 Wh, or 72 percent of one ED-SN01 pack.
- Cheese Country, out and back: 94 miles = about 2,406 Wh, or 1.45 packs.
- Same 47 miles on a 60V 20.8Ah STK-01 pack (1,248 Wh) consumes roughly 96 percent of a full charge. The return leg does not exist without a second battery.
- Black River's 34-mile loop: about 870 Wh, or 52 percent of an ED-SN01 pack — comfortable margin.
- Tri County Corridor, 62 miles: about 1,587 Wh, or 95 percent of an ED-SN01 pack.
We would not plan a 47-mile out-and-back on one 1,248 Wh pack, and we would not trust any flat-ground figure once the surface turns to sand or fresh mud — multiply by 1.5 to 2. On the Cheese Country Trail, plan the turnaround at Mineral Point with a charge or carry the second battery. On the Tri County Corridor, treat 62 miles as a one-way number.
Season windows and the shoulder-month trap
Wisconsin's trail calendar is built around frozen ground. Black River runs two windows with a gap; Tigerton opens May 1; Cheese Country stays open until snow arrives. The trap is late March and early April, when soft ground means a loaded off-road machine cuts ruts volunteers spend the summer repairing. A closed gate then is not bureaucracy — it is why the trail still exists. Check the property page the morning you leave; openings move with the weather, sometimes daily.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Wisconsin registration if my machine is registered in another state?
Yes. Wisconsin does not recognize another state's OHM credentials. Display either a Wisconsin public-use registration or a nonresident OHM trail pass, affixed by its own adhesive in a clearly visible spot forward of the operator. Decals take about two weeks by mail; the temporary receipt issued at purchase works immediately.
Is the 5-day receipt or the annual pass the better buy?
Two trips decides it. The receipt is $20, the annual pass is $35, so anything past one and three-quarter weekends favors the annual — which expires March 31 with no proration.
Can I ride the ATV trails at Tigerton on an OHM?
No. Tigerton's rules require OHMs to stay on the marked single-track unless posted otherwise. Helmets are mandatory park-wide except inside enclosed 4x4s and UTVs.
What if a trail says limited-use OHMs are not allowed?
Then it is closed to machines without a state plate, regardless of mileage or how the entrance looks. The DNR publishes that field for every route — check it before fees and before season dates.
Where are EDIKANI dirt bikes designed to be ridden?
EDIKANI off-road electric bikes and electric dirt bikes are designed for trails, off-road parks, and private property. Always check and follow your state and local laws before riding.
Pick the machine for the ground, not the spec sheet
Wisconsin rewards a specific build: torque to climb out of a sand wash, width to stay upright on loose gravel, and battery to finish a 47-mile grade without a tow. The ED-SN01 dual-motor off-road electric dirt bike carries the 1,664 Wh pack that makes the long corridors realistic; the STK-01 is the lighter, more technical pick for work at Tigerton and Solon Springs; the T300 and ED-S01 cover shorter forest loops without the weight penalty. Compare the full lineup at all off-road models.
Stringing states together? Our Pennsylvania guide covers the East Coast's densest network, West Virginia maps Hatfield-McCoy, and the Tennessee guide covers Windrock and Brimstone. Before loading the trailer, run the bolt torque check — a machine that loses a fastener at mile 30 of a rail grade is a long walk.
Fees, dates and trail figures come from the DNR OHM trail directory, OHM registration rules, nonresident trail passes, state trail passes, the Black River State Forest page, and Tigerton's OHM trail page.
