17 Jul Tread Lightly! Impact Report: Tread Lightly! Day Michigan presented by onX Offroad

On June 29, 2024, volunteers from across the state of Michigan gathered for the inaugural Tread Lightly! Day Michigan. Together they helped improve recreation areas and motorized trails in five areas across the entire state.

This incredible day was sponsored by onX Offroad with support from, the US Forest Service, 4Fest Events, Holley Oaks ORV Park, and Hamilton’s Northwest.

“Effective stewardship is bigger than any one of us individually. Tread Lightly! Day Michigan was a victorious team effort of partners, land managers, volunteers, off-road clubs, and onX staff and customers. The motorized community showed up in a big way, restoring five revered recreational areas in the state. At onX, we believe it’s our responsibility to support these initiatives, to foster a culture of stewardship, and to mobilize our audience to give back. Our lands and trails deserve that. Kudos to every single person who participated in this one-of-a-kind, scaled effort. Today, we’re celebrating the work we did together to serve and protect our public lands in Michigan. And now we think ahead, to keep the momentum going.”-Becky Marcelliano, onX Offroad Senior Brand Manager – Advocacy

“Thank you to onX Offroad for helping us grow this seed of an idea into a full-fledged day of giving back. Michigan is an incredible place for off-road and outdoor recreation and Tread Lightly! Day Michigan was a testament to the community who works to protect these places. Thank you to our supporters and volunteers. We look forward to continuing this momentum and encourage our community to give back every day.”-Mike Sype, Tread Lightly!

Here are the stats:

56 volunteers
375 volunteer hours
8,402 lbs. of trash removed
1,120 feet of fence installed
76.2 miles of trail Improved
7 signs installed

Project 1: Mio Fence Project
9 volunteers

Over two days, volunteers replaced 1,120’ of fence line on both sides of ORV Trail H58-5 (Meadows-Luzerne) where it intersects a power line. This project helps to reduce off-trail illegal motorized activity and ensure the protection of wildlife habitat in this amazing area.

Project 2: Sand Lake Huron Shores Project
5 volunteers

Volunteers worked to install “No Motorized Access” signs on already placed barrier fencing to rehabilitate a 10-acre area near Sand Lake. They also installed a 50” Restrictor Gate on the H9 trail at Grass Lake Road ORV Trailhead.

Project 3: Holly Oaks ORV Park Cleanup
27 volunteers
1,850 lbs. of trash removed

Volunteers gathered on a rainy morning for a day of giving back to the popular Holly Oaks ORV Park. Together they removed nearly 2,000 pounds of trash and performed some preventative maintenance. Thank you to Can-Am for supporting our Holly Oaks project by bringing volunteers and vehicles to support this cleanup!

Project 4: Ottawa National Forest Cleanup
3 volunteers
2,272 lbs. of trash removed

A small, but mighty group of volunteers gathered to remove over 2,200 pounds of trash from the Ottawa National Forest, including over 30 tires.

“Tread Lightly! Day Michigan, Ottawa National Forest event started out with threats of severe storms and off and on rain but as the volunteers made it to the six dump sites they were rewarded with sunshine, and we successfully removed a variety of trash including tires, household items, construction material, and more. This was the first ever Tread Lightly! event on the Ottawa National Forest and we hope to work together in the future to continue this meaningful work and partnership!”-Amber Tembreull, Ottawa National Forest

 Project 5: Hiawatha National Forest Cleanup
12 volunteers
4,280 lbs. of trash removed

Finally, the Hiawatha National Forest brought together 12 volunteers who packed out a whopping 4,200 pounds of trash from the forest to help leave it better.