by Donna Baylis | Jan 1, 2017 | Reference
Dufferin Grey ATV Club’s trails are approved for ATV, two-up and side-by-side riders only.
If you ride a motorcycle or dirt bike, checkout the Ontario Federation of Trail Riders (www.oftr.ca), Off-Road Ontario (www.offroadontario.ca), Simcoe County Off Road Riders Association (www.scorra.ca), as well as Motopark (www.motoparkracing.com) in Chatsworth for youth.
Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs (OFATV) and Dufferin Grey ATV Club (DGATV) are entirely separate from OFTR with separate legal landowner agreements. Check with OFTR to find out which trails you are permitted to ride.
If you ever get an ATV then you know where to find us!
See also:
Young Riders
FAQs
latest review: May 20, 2025
by Donna Baylis | Jan 1, 2017 | Reference
Here is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and links to topics of interest:
Q: How long is ATV Season? A: Answer
Q: What are the road speed limits? A: Answer
Q: Can I ride at night? A: Depends on the local by-laws. Please be considerate of local residents.
Q: Do you have an events calendar or google calendar? A: Answer
Q: What Events have you planned? A: Answer
Q: Should I worry about Invasive Species? A: Answer
Q: What about Side-by-sides? A: Answer
Q: Who are DGATV’s Sponsors?
Land Owners
Q: What is the benefit of being allowing ATVs to cross my land? A: [work in progress]
Maps
Q: Where can I get trail maps? A: Answer
Memberships
Q: What is the Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs (OFATV)? A: Answer
Q: What is the difference between a “membership”, “permit” and “pass”? A: The terms “membership”, “permit” and “pass” are often used interchangeably. “Membership” typically refers to annual permission to ride on the trails, which also gives you membership in a club of your choice.
Q: What documentation do I need to get an OFATV permit? A: Answer
Q: Where do I place my OFATV permit sticker? A: Answer
Q: How is my Membership Fee used? A: Answer
Q: When does my Membership expire? A: Your Membership expires one year (365 days) after the day you purchased it.
Q: Is there an early bird discount for renewal? A: Answer
Q: Where can I buy a trail pass? A day pass? A: Answer
Q: Where should my trail pass sticker be placed on my ATV or side-by-side? A: Answer
Q: What are the Benefits of Becoming a Club Member? A: Answer
Q: What is a Family Pass (links to OFATV.org page)? A: Answer
Q: Can I ride in other provinces with an OFATV annual membership? A: Answer
Q: What should I do with my pass? A: Carry your wallet card and pink sheet with you and place your permit sticker on your ATV in a visible manner on the left/front side of your machine so when wardens approach they can see it clearly. This makes for a lot smoother verification process when you are stopped. Otherwise, carry your day passes ready to present to a Warden when requested.
Trail Permits – New Bike / Replacement Sticker
Q: I’m getting a new atv. How do I go about replacing the sticker on my new machine? A: Get a replacement card.
Q: Does the trail permit go with the bike or the rider? A: The trail permit goes with the bike. If you have 3 bikes, then you need 3 trail permits. Carrying the permit in your pocket or wearing a laminate around your neck does not constitute permission for the bike to be on the trail.
Q: Can we ride at night? A: The rule of thumb is sunrise to sunset. However, each municipality can have different rules. Occasionally, DGATV sets up a night ride but that requires special permission and insurance.
Q: Are motorcycles or dirt bikes allowed on the trail? A: Answer
Regulations
Q: Are passengers on second seats added to regular ATVs permitted? A: Factory built two-up (2-up) riding is legal. Single-rider bikes with added-on seats are not legal to carry a passenger.
Q: What Ontario regulations are applicable to ATVing? A: See the following:
Q: What other rules and regulations apply to the trails? A: Here are some examples but the list is not comprehensive so check the local ATV by-laws before you ride. For DGATV trails see Other Links for local counties and municipalities. Know before you go!
Q: Where can find local by-laws? A: Here is a link to OFATV’s by-laws library available on GitHub. However, you should always take the township or county versions available on their respective websites as most up-to-date. See Other Links.
Places
Q: Where are local Accommodations? A: Answer
Q: What are the local Restaurants? A: Answer
Q: Where is the Parking? A: Answer
Q: Tell me about Grey County’s Harkaway Forest? A: Answer
Q: Tell me about Grey County’s Kimberley Forest? A: Answer
Q: Can I start in Orangeville? A: Answer
Q: Can I visit Owen Sound? A: Answer
New / Young Riders
Q: What advice do you have for a New Rider? A: Answer
Q: What about Young Riders? A: Answer
Q: What do I wear? (New Riders) A: Answer
Q: Any ATV Safety advice? A: Answer
About DGATV
Q: How do I Volunteer? A: Answer
Q: What does a Warden do? A: Answer
Q: Tell me more About DGATV. A: Answer
by Donna Baylis | Dec 31, 2016 | Reference
Where Do We Park?
Parking/staging areas are found in the following locations:
Dundalk — along the side of the CP rail trail line at the corner of Grey and Proton Streets. Look for marked parking at the rail trail near the Dundalk Legion at 109 Proton Street North. There is also parking at the arena, however, this requires driving through town to get to the trail. Dundalk is an ATV-friendly town although the residents request that bikes stay off the main street. Access to the side-by-side bypass trail.
Markdale — (i) Sideroad 120 south of Markdale; (ii) CP Trail Parking Lot, 205 Main St. West / County Road 12 west of Markdale with access to the side-by-side bypass trail; and (iii) Harkaway Forest on the Townline north of Markdale.
Orangeville — currently there is no official parking in Orangeville. Where Jim Brown Trucking (JBT) had provided us with use of their lot, circumstances have changed and the property is no longer available. Please respect our arrangement with the company because we appreciated their participation in the past and the future is as yet unwritten. If you are familiar with another suitable property and/or a land owner that might be willing to host a parking/staging area, contact DGATV’s Executive. Shelburne is the closest parking area.
Shelburne — south off Highway 89 west of Shelburne behind Bird Fuels card lock, west of the rail trail (4 John St.)
See also:
Accommodations
Restaurants
FAQs
by Donna Baylis | Dec 27, 2016 | Reference
Harkaway Forest is east of the Robson Road trail and is owned by Grey County.
A nature trail through hardwoods and evergreens, this 2 km multi-use trail is used by hikers, horseback riders; ATVs in the summer, and snowmobiles in the winter.
Harkaway Forest is open to hunters at certain times of the year.
For ATVs, Harkaway Forest trail is open from the day after Victoria Day weekend(1) (to accommodate the wild turkey hunt) to October 15th (or snow, whatever comes first).
Parking is located off the Townline just north of Markdale.
(1) revision made 10-Feb-2021: date revised from June 22nd
News Stories:
June 3, 2010 – Grey Allows ATVs in County Forest for Trial
by Donna Baylis | Nov 12, 2016 | Reference
The Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV), formerly the Canadian All-Terrain Vehicle Distributors Council (CATV), founded in 1984, is a national, nonprofit, trade association representing the responsible interests of the major ATV, off-highway motorcycle and recreational off-highway vehicle (ROV) manufacturers, distributors and retail outlets of OHV related products and services. The member companies of the COHV account for over 90 percent of all the new OHVs sold in Canada.
The COHV sponsored an independent study of the impact of ATVs and ROVs on the Canadian economy. They found that Canadians spent $6.9 billion on direct activities involving ATVs and ROVs in 2015.
That’s a lot of money. That kind of money gives ATVing and ROVing credibility when it comes to establishing trails for tourism. Talk to your local government representatives, ask for better ATV/Side-by-side trails, and make sure they see this article.
by Donna Baylis | Oct 27, 2016 | Reference
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Mountain bikers, Greg and Rich, were kind enough to send us pictures and comments about our trails:
“We enjoyed riding the Orangeville-Owen Sound rail trail immensely and very much appreciate all the work you folks do to maintain it … We found the trail conditions to be excellent for mountain biking. In general, hard-packed gravel is perfect but of course, where the trail is freshly groomed the softer gravel or sand makes it tougher going. The Orangeville-Shelburne segment was mostly hard-packed I would say. The trail got a bit softer in sections north of Dundalk. In the vicinity of Holland Centre there were work crews actively grooming the trail. For a few kilometers the trail was being graded by an operator and then for several more kilometers north of that was freshly laid crushed limestone and another crew were working on spreading and packing it. From that point north to Owen Sound it was all crushed limestone and the trail was in excellent condition.” Rich M.
“My friend Rich and I had an awesome mountain bike ride From Caledon to Owen Sound on Monday and returning on Tuesday, for a total of 300k. The best part was the 100k of Dufferin and Grey County rail trails. Thanks for having them so well maintained.” Greg A-B.
While Dufferin Grey ATV Club membership is for riders of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs, 2-Ups, Side-by-sides), we do consider ourselves a custodian of the trails for other users as well.
In the summer the public trails are shared by walkers, hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. ATVs are permitted on the trails throughout the ATV season. Motorcycles are not permitted.
In the winter snowmobiles use much of the same trail (although not identical as they are subject to different landowner agreements). Walkers and cross-country skiers also enjoy the groomed trails.
Dufferin Grey ATV Club spends a significant sum of money from user fees and fundraising on trail maintenance every year. Funds and Volunteer hours go towards grass mowing; tree trimming; brush and trash cleanup; gravel for filling holes, smoothing slopes and preventing erosion; dust suppression; safety; signage; gate installation and maintenance; bridge building and maintenance.
When the trails are tended for ATV/snowmobile use, all users benefit.
