Never before has there been an organized overland route through the state of Michigan for full-sized vesicles that is publicly available. Countless times on social media Taylor, the founder of Narrow Road Adventures, would read posts about adventurers looking to get into adventure travel in Michigan but not certain on where to go or where to backcountry camp. Taylor, knowing of several organized overland routes in the states of Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee, thought "Why hasn't anyone organized a route through Michigan?" It was this question that kick off the planning and exploration of Michigan Adventure Route (M.A.R.) to come.
Phase 1 of the Michigan Adventure Route will go south to north through Manistee National Forest and be completed in 2020. Once Phase 1 is complete it will be available for GPX file download at NarrowRoadAdventures.com . The second Phase of the MAR will be continuing the route north to the Mackinac Bridge.
This route will primarily be comprised of seasonal dirt roads (2-track trails), some gravel roads, and minimal paved roads. The heavily traveled ORV Routes will be avoided. A license plate will be the only requirement to travel this route.
Camping spots, both organized campgrounds and dispersed camping spots, will be labeled on the route map. Some fun activities and points of interest will be marked as well. The Narrow Road Adventure team is also working with local small businesses to provide discounts for MAR travelers. This effort is to help support local small businesses, added benefit for MAR travelers, and bring greater awareness of the Michigan Adventure Route. Discounts will be offered at NarrowRoadAdventures.com as they become available.
If you know of some great trails, points of interest, or camping spots that would be a good addition to the route please let us know! If you are a local business owner looking to offer traveler discounts please contact us at: NarrowRoadAdventures@gmail.com
Be sure to also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, & YouTube for updates and progress details!
To checkout some of the exploration for the MAR watch the following video:
@Brad Goff We look forward to sharing it and seeing others enjoy it. Before we release it for download we will do a couple follower group rides so stay tuned for that. We will announce the rides on here and our various social media pages. Hope to have you join👍
Can't wait for the phase one GPX file!